Hey Everyone!
Today was insane! With the sun barely peeking through our windows, the group dragged their tired, sore bodies from their comfortable beds. This was the first day that our delegation could go and site-see on our own. After a quick breakfast, the delegation set out on their long and busy day.
Our first stop for the day was at the United States Holocaust Museum. This was the first time anyone had visited this museum so it was an amazing experience for everyone. Basically, the museum was divided into 4 different levels. It was very interesting to visit the museum and develop a totally different perspective about the holocaust. Reading about the tragedy of this event in a textbook does not cut it. There were some moments in the museum when I just wanted to cry. It's amazing to comprehend the effect the Nazis has on the lives of millions of innocent people. The most powerful room to me was near the end. In this room they had piled all these shoes that the Nazis had taken from the Jews after killing them in the gas chambers. I can't explain why, but seeing and smelling the shoes totally killed me. If it had been a picture, I don't think it would have bothered me as much. But the foulness in the air from the shoes made me sick to my stomach. The Holocaust museum was definitely the most life changing event during the whole conference. And to think that Genocide is still occurring right now. What's sad is that I know nothing about it and thousands of people are suffering and dying at this very moment. I guess Americans have still not learned their lesson.
Though we had to start off our day at a more depressing place, we continued our journey and headed over the Bureau of Engraving were they print money. This place was really cool. We got a V.I.P. floor tour because our advisor had a good friend that worked for the government. We got to see the complicated steps that went into printing the dollar bill. There are 4 steps and each step required high-tech and specialized machinery. These machines are able to produce hundreds of thousands of dollars in one day. I even got to touch 64 million dollars! That’s the most money I will ever touch in my entire lifetime.
















It didn't surprise me that after the Holocaust and Bureau of Engraving our delegation was extremely hungry. With a few of our advisor's friends, we went to the Old Ebbitt Grill. This place was pretty sweet because it was a super old saloon that many politicians dined at in the past and today. The food was awesome and I almost had to have Carolyn grab a wheel barrel to wheel my tubby body out the door.








Unfortunately, when we exited the grill, the rain was pouring down. Our journey had to be cut short and we headed back to the metro. There was still so much to do and our delegation was really depressed.
After the metro, however, our delegation decided to go shopping a bit before getting on the bus to head back to the conference center. At the Chevy Chase Pavilion the group shopped a bit and had some coffee at Starbucks. I think that it was nice that our group got to take a break from all the hardcore walking we had been doing for the past few days.
When we finally got back to the conference center, we realized that many of our friends from other states had gone home. However, being the coolest delegation ever, we managed to find crazy ways to entertain ourselves all night long. With only one more full day in Washington DC, our super massively awesome group went to bed, stoked for Fridays unending possibilities.