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<\/a><\/p>\nThe White House<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
It’s 7 am and I wake up in a different world. The bus is arriving at the National Mall in DC, an impressive view. We stop at a traffic light right in front of the United States Institute of Peace<\/a> (surrounded by a tall fence). I wonder if the institute is part of the Department of Defense. I get off at the bus stop and start walking. It’s cold but nothing like the apokalyptic snowstorm the news made me to expect.<\/p>\n Chinatown<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The nice thing about DC is there is a Starbucks on every block. This one is only a few blocks away from the White House. People on the next table discuss international affairs. Yep, I am not in Knoxville, Tennessee any more. I get a hot chocolate, go online and start looking for a place to sleep tonight…<\/p>\n My hostel<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \nNo luck with the couchsurfing but I find a centrally-located hostel, a bit expensive though. It turned out to be a great place. Very friendly, clean, safe. Some of the usual weird\/crazy guests (I wonder if I will turn into one of those after a year of traveling). My stay in DC turns out to be quite different than expected. I am very busy with scistyle<\/a> work (two deadlines on the same weekend), my private projects, keeping up with writing emails and organizing things. Eventually, I spent most of the time with my laptop at Starbucks in Chinatown and get to see only a few museums in DC, all of which I love. The National Mall is truly impressive! DC is extremely different from Knoxville, TN (are you surprised? I am not…) … not just bigger. Interestingly I found DC to be very calm taking into account that it’s the capital of the U.S. I expected it to be a lot more busy. <\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n