I have a love/hate relationship with public transportation. It took 2 hours to get home from the metro yesterday (when it should have taken less than an hour), and I found out today that I'm getting charged a few dollars more to ride the metro during the rush hour (which is, of course, when I go into DC). But I guess that's okay since my time on the metro is extremely entertaining.
I find human interaction very interesting so I simply observe. Some people give up their seats, others read their books, many listen to music, but most just stare into some distant realm. People respect your space, they accommodate for new passengers, and they quickly move out of way for exiting passengers.
The morning metro has a totally different vibe than the evening metro. Morning metro: fast-paced, jittery, and fresh. Evening metro: slower, calm, and tired. When I get up the guts to talk with someone on the metro, I'm always glad that I did. Yesterday, I talked to a man whose wife is from Kazakstan. We talked about travel and missionaries and culture. Another man asked me if I was done for the day, and I told him about the crockpot meal I had waiting for me at home.
I checked out the Smithsonian National History Museum this week. The most difficult task was actually getting to the museum. I got off the metro rail -Smithsonian (easy enough), but I ended up wandering around for about 10 minutes before I caved and used the GPS on my phone. I always try to get as far as I can without a GPS, which usually means I have to go even further to get back on track. There are 17 Smithsonian Museums in DC. I trekked to the National History Museum because it was the closest to the metro station, which was still further than I wanted to walk with the painful blister forming on my right heal.
It was cold and rainy outside so I ordered a coffee in the Smithsonian café. I was then told that I could't take the coffee (which was purchased inside the Smithsonian) into any of the Smithsonian exhibits. I took my time and enjoyed drinking that cup of coffee because it wasn't cheap. When I finished that, I unashamedly spent most of my time in the Texas portion of the museum. Why? Because I miss Texas, and because Texas history is the only history. I'm sure that if you went to any Texas museum they would let you take your coffee anywhere you wanted.
I also enjoyed the First Ladies exhibit, which discussed how each first lady made the unofficial position her own. Each first lady utilized her position as a woman and as a public figure to advocate for her causes. First Lady Hoover, for example, always wore American-made clothing. During the Great Depression, she wore cotton dresses (even for special events) to promote the textile industry. She could have worn anything and she chose to wear cotton. I want to be that kind of selfless woman.
I met two other ABA interns today! Ashley (an undergrad from Virginia) and Joey (a third year law student from China). Joey, contrary to what you may be picturing, is a girl. Our bosses thought that both Joey and I were boys before our interviews. Surprise!
We got to hear some pretty cool stories on the detainee hotline today. One man called to request some information, and he started our phone conversation with, "Let me tell you my story." It was filled with gangs and violence and crime and fear and hope.
After our conversation, I gathered all the information he would need (and then some). I stapled the packets, stacked them in order, printed and signed the cover letter, and sent the giant manilla envelope to the boss's desk. I spent a good chunk of my morning doing all of this. It seems strange, but I became truly attached to that man and to his situation through the process. I asked my boss, Karen, about this. She said that detainees often become your good friends. One detainee calls our other boss, Robert, every week just to see how he's doing.
This internship is vastly different than anything I've experienced before. It's not through a ministry- it's not even in a Christian environment, but I feel so cared for and supported. The Lord calls us to help the least of these, and that's what all of us at the ABA's Commission on Immigration are doing. We are helping a very vulnerable group of people, and I praise God for such an incredible opportunity to glorify him.
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