+++
date = 2025-08-07
description = "First night with AFS"
+++

Today, after a luxurious, sleeping-in kind of morning, we headed up the [old post office clock tower](https://www.nps.gov/nama/planyourvisit/opot.htm) to see the view of the city.

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After soaking that up, we made a beeline for the [Smithsonian Air and Space Museum](https://airandspace.si.edu/visit/museum-dc) to burn the midday. Even just after opening, the line was out the door! It was worth it, though. To see a real Rocketdyne F-1 engine, nuclear ballistic missiles, and an adorable slide rule, the museum was perfect as always.

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Then came the hard part. We took the train to the [Washington Dulles Hilton](https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/iadahhf-hilton-washington-dulles-airport/) for dropoff. It's easy to hypothetically say goodbye for 11 months to someone you love, but it's a lot harder to do it for real. I sat outside for the next hour to enjoy the tranquil sounds of nature and construction to cool my nerves. until dinner

Back inside, I met my roommate and rendezvoused with the other program members for dinner and a few hours of presentations. Dinner was fine - veggie lo mein with rice - and we learned a lot at the presentations. Alumni and a former German host family spoke about what the experience would be like, what some key cultural differences might be, and what the agenda for the next couple of days will be. Tomorrow, we have a meeting with the Department of State fresh in the morning, after which we head to Capitol Hill to meet with congressional staffers.

In the meantime, I am just 3 days away from finishing the [Goethe Institute A1 Wordlist](https://github.com/patsytau/anki_german_a1_vocab)! I'll have to start [the A2 list](https://github.com/codersasank/ankideck-german-a2-wordlist) next. I'll start writing this blog in German once I am in Germany on the 10th - albiet with a heavy reliance on a *woerterbuch*.

As always, I love yall and hope yall have a fantastic rest of your day.

~ Andromeda <3
