And I'm back where I started!

Well all, my whirlwind tour has come to a close. When I arrived back in Spokane around noon today, I had been gone for 70 hours. Of that, 21 hours were spent in the air, flying. (And that doesn’t include airport time, just the time in the air!) I apologize for not updating throughout the trip, but I really never got the opportunity! The one chance would have been last night, but even then, I needed to be up in about six hours to fly again, so please forgive me. Anyway, here is how the trip went:

After my Portland post, I flew back to Oakland, arriving around 8:45p. I met up with Amanda and Hal and the three of us got In-N-Out. It was glorious. After meeting up with my mom back at the airport, we hopped onto the jetBlue red-eye flight, which was also a bit delayed. Got us into Dulles around 7:30a, and really only got about an hour’s sleep on the plane Went to Enterprise Rent-A-Car and got a BRIGHT yellow car (ugly as sin, but we never lost it in a parking lot!). Navigated our way through the D.C. traffic and had enough time when we got to our family friend’s house to eat and shower before heading out to Georgetown.

I met with three professors while we were there, learning more about the quantitative methods and research class, the program itself, and what to expect from Georgetown. One of the directors of the program took us both out for lunch, which was really neat. I also got the chance to sit in on a graduate seminar for the Presidential Electoral Politics course, which was comprised that day of three student presentations. It was actually quite interesting! From there we waited for our friend to get into Georgetown, and once she was, the three of us went on an adventure to find some food. Ended up eating at a French bistro on M Street. Not my favorite dish ever, but it certainly wasn’t bad! Got back to her (typically small) D.C. "burb" home in Maryland around 9:30p, and I was completely out by 10:30p.

Yesterday, after sleeping for about 10 hours (tired much?), we went to American University. I am glad we visited, for I would have always wondered in the back of my mind, but it was not the place for me. The university would have been fantastic for undergrad, but it was not what I would want from a graduate school. If you ever get the chance to visit though, it is a really nice campus! The three of us then went downtown and met up with person for lunch at the Waffle Shop, followed by a little bit of walking around. We tried to get in to see Ford’s Theater, but no such luck. Mom and I headed back to Dulles and were through security by about 5p. Flight took off at 6:00p, and we arrived back home at 9:00p. Couple interesting events on the flight home, but nothing really big to report.

Anyway, it was quite the whirlwind tour, but I’m really glad I did it. It definitely confirmed that Georgetown is the place I really want to go. I still can't believe I got in, but I think I'm going to do really well in the program. It's going to be a challenge, but I think I'm up to it. =).

Until next time,

Dan

First leg of the trip. Thank you Portland for your free Wi-Fi!

Well, I am on my way for my first venture into the graduate school world. I'm red-eying across the country tonight with my mom, arriving in D.C. early tomorrow morning. (Woo JetBlue!!) I'll be meeting with Georgetown professors all day, including the directors of the MA in American Government program, and I will also be sitting in on a gradate seminar course in the afternoon. I'll spend tomorrow night and most of Friday in D.C. as well, flying back to Oakland Friday evening, and back to Spokane Saturday morning. Kind of a whirlwind tour, but it's also giving me the chance to get a lot of schoolwork done, which is nice.

Hopefully these meetings will give me a better idea of what I am getting into, helping me find out what the brochures and websites don't say. If nothing else though, I'll get a chance to see where I'll be going to school next year, and I might even get the chance to spend some time in Georgetown itself! You know, scope out the area ;).

Thanks for joining me in this adventure. I'll be sure to keep you updated as things happen!

Until next time,

Dan