Kindness from Strangers

I've arrived! After a layover in Chicago that was extended due to a sudden thunderstorm, I arrived in balmy, 98.6 degree Washington, D.C. on Sunday!  As my cab cruised the banks of the muddy Potomac I glimpsed the impossibly majestic dome of capitol building above the dignified presence of the memorials scattered beneath it. Crossing the Arlington Memorial Bridge into the District filled me with a sense of being at once awestruck and at home. My nation's capitol, with its countless idealistic servants hoping to make their mark on the future of our country, its grand architecture, its vibrant diversity, and its intense heat, made me feel so excited to be part of our political process.

My cab delivered me to the housing office on George Washington University's beautiful campus and after checking in I began the five-block hike to my dorm with two huge pieces of luggage and my backpack in tow.  No sooner had I left the office than the first wheel of my 70 lb. suitcase started to come off of it's axle. I had only dragged it a few feet before I heard a voice behind me say, "Do you need some help with that?" A kind fellow intern from Missouri offered to escort me to my building.

Together we dragged the suitcase on its remaining wheel until both handles fell off. After just a couple of blocks trying to manage the unwieldy elephant of a suitcase we were both dripping with sweat, exhausted, and left without a way to get the luggage to my dorm.  Just as we were about to give up and hail another cab a couple walked by and the guy offered to carry it the next block for us.  My Missouri friend and I followed behind until the couple had to take another course, when we were now just a block from my front door.

I ran ahead to the dorm in the hopes that there might be a trolley to take it the remainder of the way to my room, but finding none, I enlisted the help of a guy from Tanzania who was just learning English to carry it the rest of the way!

Finally in my dorm room, after saying goodbye to my helpers, I couldn't believe the luck I'd had running in to four strangers who were willing to help a sweaty, tired Washingtonian.  To those four individuals, thank you from the bottom of my heart!

I'm staying in Aston Hall (law school housing) at the very northern end of GWU's campus.  I have a room to myself with a kitchenette, bathroom, and most importantly, air conditioning!  It's also a quick jaunt to the Foggy Bottom metro station and Whole Foods.  The pictures below are, from left to right: my living area, view from my very dirty window of the construction going on below, and kitchenette: