Country roads, take me home

Allow me to explain the title of this post. Last time I mentioned the impending crazy busy week at work. That was thanks to the fact that we had four programs going on all in the same week, one in Louisiana, one in Michigan, and two here in D.C. After all was said in done, my fellow intern Aislan and I had collated 137 binders, 35 teacher folders, 25 of the all important speaker information packets (basically their life line while they travel to and from the program, including airline tickets, hotel confirmation numbers, program schedules, etc., etc.), acquired approximately 6 paper cuts, and logged probably 30 miles walking around downtown D.C. in 95 degree weather. IT WAS SO FUN!!! Bet you weren't expecting that, but it actually really was. Allow me to explain.

Last week we had a group of 35 teachers visiting from Dunbar, West Virginia. Now I have never been to West Virginia save for a brief church ski trip back in middle school where all we did was skid down slopes of pure ice for three days, get hyped on hot cocoa and annoy our supervisors. But after spending two days with our group of born and bred West Virginians I feel like I got a pretty good taste of the state. They were hilarious, I don't really know how else to describe it. I was put in charge of making the nametags for this group, and actually meeting Corky Skidmore and Suzie Shirky (there are more epic names, those are just my favorite) in person was quite an experience. So not only did Aislan and I get to print off all the copies for this teacher workshop, compile all their important informational folders, make their nametags, etc. (all the behind the scenes work you might call it), we also got to staff the event. So bright and early on Wednesday morning, I met the group at the Holiday Inn Capitol over near L'Enfant Plaza to escort them back to our office for the first leg of their workshop. At 8:15 in the morning I was greeted by a slew of fanny packs, crocs, and the terribly tacky tie-dyed D.C. t-shirts the roadside stands sell to poor, innocent tourists. Oh yes, and I was also greeted by something absolutely glorious. SOUTHERN ACCENTS!! As we walked back to the Smithsonian I basked in the beautiful sound of southern drawls in my ears and thought about how much I have missed the word y'all.

Once we got back to our building, we started in on our busy schedule. This group was participating in a Teaching American History workshop with a focus on the Civil War, so their itinerary included a presentation from the Dean of Students at the Duke Ellington School of Performing Arts who introduced Civil War artifacts and gave a powerpoint on slave quilts and symbolism. Then we rounded the group back up to head to Ford's Theatre and the Petersen House. This is where it got really interetsing. Our group was great! They were friendly, talkative, and had a great sense of humor. But... they HATED (and I mean hated) walking. Now Ford's Theatre is about a 10 minute walk up 10th street, no big deal at all. However, approximately 3/4 of our group opted for taking the metro which, ironically, actually takes longer since you have to switch lines. Yet we willingly obliged and sent Aislan and Shannon off to guide the group while I led the meager little walking group. Our guided tour was set for 11 and we showed up around 11:15... the metro group arrived around 11:27. Apparently someone lost their metro card and had to buy a new one before they could be "released" as they called it. Then someone lost their Ford's Theatre ticket. We found an extra copy. Then half needed to use the bathroom. We guided them in that direction. Seriously, all my years of babysitting were put to use I feel like!! But wandering around the museum with these good old Southern folk :) was very enjoyable. They would just chat your ear off and it was fun to hear about their background and their families.

Day two of the program included the same early morning pick up at the Holiday Inn. And the same desire to metro it instead of walking (once again, 10 minutes max). This time our destination was the National Portrait Gallery where we got to enter before public hours and received private guided tours of the Civil War collections. Then we headed back to the Smithsonian for a performance by a group called Magpie that performs Civil War battle songs. That was quite the experience as well. Then it was time for our group to head home... which is where my title comes in. We're walking out of our office building (towards the metro station of course) and my newfound friend Corky Skidmore starts singing at the top of her lungs (much to the alarm of a group of serious looking suit-clad politicians) "Country Roads Take Me Home." It was all I could do to keep from bursting out laughing and it was the perfect end to the program.

Friday night was a whole other experience. I volunteered to help out at the Smithsonian Sleepover at the Natural History Museum. The Girl Scout themed one. So from 5:30 to 11:30 I ran the fossils craft table where I instructed the 3rd-5th grade girls to pour their bag of dirt out on their paper plate, add their cup of glue, and mix it up with their hands. Yup, if you're thinking that made a pretty big mess, you're thinking right. Then they were shown to the bathroom (probably the most important step in the craft making process) before they got to come back and decorate their mud patty creation with dried pasta to create a "fossil." I woke up the next morning sounding like a bullfrog thanks to how loudly I had been talking in my really excited "let's make a fossil!!" voice.

Then Saturday morning I drove up to Riesterstown, Maryland to visit a friend from Davidson. It was TOTALLY worth navigating my way through I-495 traffic for the stupendous, outstanding, amazing, delcious, delectable double crab cakes platter that we all had for dinner at Jen's favorite restaurant G&M. They actually ship their crab cakes around the country and I can completely see why! I ate more than her boyfriend and her dad, just throwing that out there. Then it was off to see Toy Story 3 before taking the metro in to the Baltimore Harbor on Sunday morning to scarf down delicious caramel and chocolate glazed monkey bread at Miss Shirley's Cafe.

Since getting back to D.C. I've been enjoying a much more laid back week at work. (I'm actually wearing a JEAN SKIRT right now!! Shhh...) Since my supervisors are all in Michigan this week for another program, Aislan and I have just been chipping away at the long to do lists they left for us. I've also been volunteering more and last night I helped out at the face painting table at the annual Picnic at the Zoo event. Yes, you read that correctly. I, artistically challenged Katie, worked the face painting station. The first little girl that came up asked for piggies. The final results were the saddest looking little creatures I've ever seen but for some reason she loved them and gave me a big hug. Maybe she wears glasses normally and had left them at home so she couldn't see properly when I showed her in the mirror. However, my flamingos and pandas were pretty good, not to brag or anything. But we have actually finished everything at work now though, so I am off to NORTH CAROLINA!!!!! Country roads, take me HOME!! :) Yes I am going back to my state where they have sweet tea and southern accents, and where my form of transportation can be a boat rather than a metro car. YAY! Don't get me wrong, I like it here a lot, but I miss my state.