 |
| International Guest House 1441 Kennedy Street NW Washington D.C. 20011 Serving at the Guest House
So now we are in a city where we know the language. Riding the bus, navigating the streets, and ordering at resaurants no longer includes so much alertness and guesswork! Jess and I arrived at the Guest House on Tuesday, February 19 and began 2 days of orientation to the first shift (7-3). We work 5 shifts a week and our work consists of making muffins, serving a family-style 8:00 a.m. breakfast (which includes a devotional, muffins, cold cereal, fresh fruit, coffee, tea, and juice and conversation), cleaning rooms and bathrooms, doing laundry, making lunch for the staff, and attending the 9:00 p.m. tea and conversation time. The guest house host is Rene, who is here for one year. Volunteer staff can stay for as little as one month, as we are doing. The other volunteer staff includes two retired couples from Canada--Bill and Marlene and Dan and Erica, and a young adult, Janae. So we have been learning a lot about Canada and how it is different than the U.S. politically and otherwise. One thing that is interesting to me is that Canadians do not revere their national leaders in the same way Americans do with our presidents. These couples have noticed this in a big way as they have visited different Presidential memorials throughout the city.
|
Tea and cookies are served at 9:00 p.m. in this front room. Each person tells about their work or adventures for the day. So far we have had guests who are doing research at the national archives, lobbying for a smaller defence budget, attendeding a conference, attending board meetings for a peace organization, and family or friends of the staff. There are many lively discussions topics ranging from politics to where they are from to great places to see in D.C.
The rooms at the Guest House have 2-3 single beds in each. If you come by yourself, you might share a room with someone of the same gender. There are also shared bathrooms (women's and men's). Part of our work in the mornings is to get the fancy fold on the quilt of the bed--Jess let's me do that task while he grabs the vacuum!
A fun quirk in the guest house is the tile "artwork" in the basement. Someone (who had WAY too much time on their hands and WAY too much leftover tile) had a hayday in the basement. The basement has a sitting area, ping pong table, snacks for purchase, and a kitchenette where guests can help themselves to an early breakfast if they are leaving before 8:00 a.m.Here is the room where Jess and I are staying. I love the corner windows, which look out into the neighborhood. We brought our Scrabble game so we can continue our favorite competition with each other on our time off.
Out and About in D.C.
On our first day off, we ventured out and took the bus down 14th Street to the Mall area. We went to the National Gallery of Art, where Jess found a couch in front of this huge amzing painting of Daniel and the Lions Den by Peter Paul Ruebens. He spent his time there watching people and journaling.
I went to find Rembrandt and the Impressionist painters, some of my favorite art! Here is a painting by Monet. . .mmmmm--love it!
To take a break, we headed down 7th Street, and found the Verizon Center, where the Washington Wizards play (NBA basketball team). We ate lunch at a Mexican resaurant where the server makes your guacamole right at your table.
On another day off we went to the Holocaust Museum and spent 5 hours there. We learned the history of how Hitler got into power and the expansion of Germany during that time. They also had an example of a railroad car that would haul 100 people to the concentration camps--it was dark with 2 small high-up windows (most of the people died along the way). . .and a room of leather shoes taken from the prisoners before they were gassed to death. . . The most moving part of the museum for me was the video with survivor testimonies, which was shown at the end.
On the Bus (usually Bus #52 or #54)
One of the very interesting things about D.C. is the diversity! There are so many different languages that you hear spoken around you--especially in the Mall area--it is really wonderful! When we ride the bus (which is a short walk to the end of the block), we go by an Ethiopian neighborhood with Ethiopian restaurants, shops, hair places and people speaking Amharic getting on the bus. Then after a few blocks, we go past a Latino neighborhood with Papusarias and people speaking Spanish getting on the bus. D.C. is over 50% Black persons and we ride the bus with many of them. One day there was a big, loud guy who got on the bus looking for "Toby", who supposedly owed him some money. Jess heard him say he was living "on the streets" (homeless). After riding the bus for several blocks, talking loudly to the whole bus as we went, he decided to get off. As he stood in the door--and we all waited--he told us all loudly that he thought Toby might be at this stop and he was going to get his money from him "one way or another"! The bus continued quietly on. Another day, two young black women got on--both talking loudly and with expletives on the cell phones in separate conversations about a woman who had wronged one of them. They continued their conversation the entire time they were on the bus, inspite of a black man near them asking them to quiet down. When they left, the bus quietly drove on. Another day a very young girl and her sister were in a seat together. The little sister must have been 2 or 3 and was very lively. I noticed they got off together. . . but not with a mother.
No comments:
Post a Comment