Back from Washington DC

The bus ride to DC was so looooong, but I had loads of thoughts on the way.

We passed by many of the suburban areas with huge pretty houses, except that there are nothing but trees around... and maybe a few (squarish box looking) shops/restaurants every few miles,no busses, no nothing - which I think, is the kind of place most Americans outside the big cities live in. And I was really wondering if I could possibly live in places like that. Actually, I think I wouldn't mind it for about a week, as a change from the cities I'm used to... just to experience what living in a big house in small town is like... but probably no longer.

There were so many bare trees on the way, and I was suddenly reminded of a picture of my Dad which my mum used to keep in her wallet- one of him standing among a lot of trees in autumn, probably somewhere around the Virgina area.

The weather was nice and warm when we first got to DC... then it started snowing as we were walking around... which was pretty, white ground, nice monuments, azure blue skies and all... then the snow stopped, then it got warmer, and all of a sudden... the snow was SO HEAVY as the night came. I was completely 'snowed over' (i.e. covered in snow from head to toe). We wanted to take sheltar in a toilet, but there was so much snow that we couldn't even see the toilet. (According to the news at DC, it was close to a blizzard). As usual, I thought I was going to freeze to death... everywhere I go, everytime I get used to each drop in temperature, I seem to meet worst and worst weather conditions!

This is me trying to take a picture jumping in the air among the snow while it was still nice and warm. There's a limit to how high I can jump with the weight of all the jackets...

Capitol Bulding.

I like this!

Washington Monument - This brought back another memory. According to my Dad, when we used to drive by it when I was three, I would point and say, 'pencil building!' I'm not sure, but I think we had a recording of me saying that.. National Aerospace and Air Museum. It's actually a display showing how air pressure can cause things to remain suspended in the air...and Taitong and I decided to try to take pictures which looked like we were making it float.

Actually, we didn't have much time to visit most of the places in DC. We spent most of out time in the Holocaust Museum. 'Enjoyed' wouldn't be the right word, since it was really depressing... but I read quite a bit of the history stuff in there... somewhat overwhelming because I realized that I've studied these stuff, but I've been out of touch with History for so long, when I used to be really interested in it. And, it seems so unbelievable that the Holocaust wasn't all that long ago... while sitting down to wait for the rest, I thought, 'I'm so lucky. I've lived a life so untainted.'

If I had to live somewhere in US, it might just be DC. The place is nice, there're sufficient stuff in the city-shopping, movies... and most importantly, the transport system is great. The Metro is so much newer than the subways in NYC... much easier to navigate, and basically works the way the MRT does, which I'm so used to.

Oh, something hilarious happened over dinner with Justin, Taitong's friend who studies in Maryland. Erwin was really quiet for a long time... and suddenly asked Justin, 'Which kindergarten did you go to?' We were all pretty stunned by such a random question... and the next thing we knew, Erwin said, 'I was from the same school. You used to cycle around with me in the void deck!' I think I almost died laughing, the world is so small!

I spent most of my journey back listening to music on my mp3 player. And I realized, I haven't played the piano for so long. And I don't even think I will still be able to play by the time I get back.