AFGHANISTAN & SPEECHES

YESTERDAY (WEDNESDAY):
We started cool stuff bright and early. At 9am, Lissa Muscatine came to our school to talk to us. She literally just retired a few days ago from being the Head Speechwriter at the State Department and being Hilary Clinton's chief speechwriter since she was the first lady. She is also a friend of the school's. She talked to us alot about writing a good speech; ket things, what it needs, some writing tips, and alot more. Speeches she's written have been some of the top in history. Hilary Clinton had a speech where she said a line that made history, "Human rights are women's rights, women's rights are human's rights." Ms. Muscatine wrote that line, and that speech. She is amazing, and so down-to-earth. She made her time with us very interactive which was awesome. She told us some stories and the tips she gave us are amazing. I now feel so much more capable of writing a good speech than before.
    And now I have to utilize that knowledge because this week we have to write a speech, as Hilary Clinton, about women's rights in Afghanistan. There are 4 groups, each writing a speech to theoretically present to a different audience. My group's speech is directed towards the Afghan Parliament. The speech is going really well so far and I'm really excited to see how it turns out. On Friday (tomorrow) we'll be presenting it to Ms. Muscatine! OMG! It's so exciting but nerve-racking at the same time because....well, it's Lissa Muscatine! One of the best speechwriters of all time!
   After Ms. Muscatine left, we started working on our speeches, and then shortly left for the State Department, which was stressful because I forgot my ID! But it all turned out ok, Noah saved the day :). We met with Vikrum Singh, the Senior Defense Advisor to the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. He was so knowledgable, and I feel like I know so much more after meeting with him. He set some things straight and talked to us alot about progress in Afghanistan that's been overlooked. For example, in 2002, there were only 10 thousand phones in Afghanistan and now there's 20 million. 
    After the State Dept. We took cabs to get to our next destination...THE AFGHANISTAN EMBASSY!!!! We went there and met with a Representative who talked to us for a while. He was really funny and was really interested in talking with us. He was definitely a salesman...just saying. He gave us the Afghan perspective on alot of issues which was really good to hear. Before we left, he gave us all packets with a bunch of different Afghanistan info.
   then we came home, did homework....the usual. It was a VERY long day, but so worth it :)

Women's rights in Afghanistan part 1...State Department

Our case study this week is Afghanistan, specifically Women's rights in Afghanistan. To kick off the case study we met with Ambassador Melanne Verveer at the State Department. You can read about here here:

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/122075.htm

To prep for going to meet with her, we read the recent TIME magazine article about women in Afghanistan. On the cover is a women whose nose and ears were cut off because she ran away from her husband's abusive family, which is a crime there. Here's the article if you want to read it:

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2007238,00.html

Ambassador Verveere is the Ambassador-at-large for Global Women's issues. Today she talked to us about the women's rights issues in Afghanistan. She was just there a few weeks ago and told us stories about women's experience there that she knows. Most of the time we asked questions, which I liked. As usual, I had alot to ask. I asked her, "In the TIME magazine article they quoted a man who said "We want Islamic rights, not Western Rights." In your opinion, how can we separate women's rights from being an islamic vs. western issue, and make it a global issue?" Or something like that. She answered me by saying that there has been a big push to really put out there that Women's Rights is a global issue. She quoted a Hilary Clinton speech saying, "Women's rights are human rights, and Human rights are women's rights." She talked about how not only should women have rights, but their rights and voices are essential for a functional and growing society. No society can go forward when half of its people are behind.

Talking with her was so cool. It's really not everyday that you meet someone like her!

STATE DEPARTMENT PICTURES:

The bathroom: didn't have time to go in tho :(

Resting, Relaxing, and Cleaning

So today alot of the people went to the zoo for the day. But I decided to stay home and catch up on some sleep and clean! I'm still sick and I've been exhausted lately so I definitely needed/need to sleep. Also, my area of the room was a MESS! Like you wouldn't expect a person to go near it....But now it's all clean....for now. No more crumbs, scraps, and pesos. Yes, I mean legit pesos, which I found all around my stuff...I'm just as confused as any of you probably are don't worry. I did pretty much all my homework for the weekend too so I don't have to worry about it anymore! YAY! I can actually get to sleep before the next day now!

Now I'm just chillin'...My favorite thing to do :)
Tonight we're going out to this coffee house/shake place and it's going to be super chill :) And when we get back I'll be able to go to sleep right away, which is the best feeling EVER!!! :)
...........
I was right...Tonight was super chill. We got shakes and french fries and then chilled on the Library of Congress steps :)

ALL OF US AT THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS:
(I'm on the right with the green shirt and the diet coke)

PEPFAR AND MIKE DYBUL!

Today was a normal day of school....UNTIL 5PM when Ambassador Mark Dybul came to our school to talk with us. He initiated PEPFAR (US President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief) During Bush's administration. PEPFAR is the biggest financial commitment to combatting HIV/AIDS the US has ever made...and Mark Dybul started it! As I said in my last post, we were in 4 groups and had to write an executive summary/proposal for how to reallocate PEPFAR funds, my group had Botswana, the country with the most HIV/AIDS cases in the world. We presented these proposals to him, and it was really cool. He really questioned us and made us realize that alot of the parts in our proposals couldn't work, and those were things he had to think about to craft policies. Our group said to give Botswana money to build more clinics and hospitals and train more doctors there...He said they have a ton of clinics, more than pretty much every country. That would not treat the problem either. Those were things we thought about, but overlooked. I agreed with him though, and brought up those points a few times yesterday. I had a pretty long on-going conversation with him during our group's time. What surprised me was that I knew enough about Botswana and the situation there to have a good conversation about it. I'm really happy I learned so much in just a couple of days. Meeting with him was AWESOME!

HIV/AIDS... & BOTSWANA

So our case study this week is on HIV and AIDS.

Earlier this week we learned about the actual virus and how it spreads, in alot of detail. We talked about alot of things regarding HIV/AIDS. We also talked about statistics, countries affected, racial differences, and the problem in DC (1 in 20 people has HIV/AIDS in DC).

Today, we were split into 4 groups. Each group was given a country dealing with HIV/AIDS. The countries were Uganda, the Ukraine, India, and Botswana. My group got Botswana, which has the worst AIDS epidemic globally, 1 in about 5 people there has HIV/AIDS. We went to meet with a Rep. at the Botswana embassy (2 houses down!) at 9:15 and we were there for about 2 hours! It was really cool, and the woman was really nice. The Ambassador wasn't there because he's at the Millennium Goal Discussion at the UN in New York. The woman was so informative and cool, she gave us tea and everything! And that turned out pretty well actually because the doctor told me to drink tea to get better (I'm still kinda sick). We then went back, talked with Gray (Academic Dean/History teacher/coolest guy ever) about different sources, and then we talked with Lucy (our RA/Super Woman) about how to write a memo and an Executive Summary. Our task was to write a proposal for how PEPFAR (U.S. Presiden't Plan for AIDS Relief) should reallocate money in Botswana, like where the money should go. We had to do a ton of research for the proposal, in a really really short period of time, but we got it done :). I thought the task was really cool but it was super stressful! We are presenting our memos to Mark Dybul on Friday, who is the guy who pretty much started and implemented PEPFAR during the Bush Administration. Oyyyy vey!!!! I'm excited but kind of nervous too.

P.S. the power in the house just went out. Great.

Jordan in da White House :)

Today was really cool. I have a family friend, Herbie, who works in the White House. He helped alot on Obama's campaign and now works for Vice President Biden. I've emailed him a bunch in the past, but I had never actually met him until today. We set up a time for us to meet, and I went in today (After a few failed attempts at getting a taxi)! It was SOOO cool to be there, and Herbie is awesome! He showed me around, and we talked for a while. He showed me the West Wing where Obama and Biden's offices are, and Biden was in there when we were! But the door was shut so I didn't get to see him :'( On the way in though I got to briefly meet the guy who writes Biden's speeches :) Then I left....But not without getting some ideas....   ; )

I forgot to take a bathroom picture tho! Sorry.

YOM KIPPUR

Today for Yom Kippur I went with my friend Dana to services, then we hung out all day, then we went to a breakfast with her family. It was super chill :)

Sundayyy

Today I slept alot and had to do A LOT of homework :(

At 5 we all went to Georgetown for a classical concert that our Arabic teacher and his friend were putting on just for us. He played piano and his friend sang oprah, they both were amazing. His friend is an amazing oprah opera singer, she's sung pretty much everywhere and she was the first oprah singer I ever saw live! She left a good impression :)

Then we came home. And did homework :(

education wrap-up

Today was pretty normal for the most part. Test, sleep, haircut, history, fun spanish class, a math class I didn't understand. Nbd (No big deal) lol :) Oh and yesterday I found out I have bronchitis! That was fun...now I'm on meds.

Then this afternoon we had 5 education experts in DC and in the country come in and talk with us. We all sat in a circle and had a cool discussion about education, education in DC, different types of schools, and Chancellor Michelle Rhee. The conversation got pretty intense at times, which was good :) Some of the people who came to talk to us were very very passionate, which was cool, and made the discussion more intense. I really liked it. The people weren't there to preach, but really just to participate in our discussion.

I ate pizza to last me for the next 24 hours because it's Yom Kippur...yay? I fast every year but every year it's just as hard, I just love food wayyyy to much! On the way back to the house on the Metro we saw Bud Krogh again which was really cool.

I'm going to services tomorrow with Dana and then staying with her the whole day! yay! and then breakfast...I ALREADY CAN'T WAIT!!!!
And now I'm doing homework because I don't really have any other time to do it this weekend...


            

EDUCATION!!!

This week's case study is on Education, specifically in DC.

DC's education is historically one of the worst in the country. There has been controversy over Chancellor and Superintendent of DC public schools, Michelle Rhee. In her first 18 months she shut down 21 schools,  and fired 270 teachers and about 20 principles. She fired many teachers after she had them agree to revoke their tenure, which I think is unethical.

Yesterday, Tuesday, we had a visit from a guy who does diversity-work in schools. He had us do some different exercises which were very interesting regarding race, racism, class, and classism. The exercises were very hands-on which I liked. We talked about illegal immigration and similar issues too. My belief that race should not be a forbidden subject was reaffirmed by the speaker and the exercises. I am white, that's a fact. To become sober, you first have to recognize that you have a problem. To become more tolerant, I also believe you have to recognize other races, and not hide the fact, because there is nothing to hide or be ashamed of (I'm not saying race is an issue like addiction). We can't make progress if we keep race a forbidden subject. (Sorry if that's a bad analogy)
Yesterday was also the mayorial elections, and the mayor who hand-picked Chancellor Rhee lost, so she probably won't be around for much longer.

Today we visited 2 DC schools. One is one of the top schools in the country, National Cathedral School (NCS) which is an all girls private school in DC. The school was unbelievably nice, state of the art everything, and I mean EVERYTHING! It was like college. Although it was nice, I felt very uncomfortable there, just a gut feeling, I can't really describe it. Maybe because of the wealth of the school, but I don't know for sure.
     We then went to a charter school, Thurgood Marshall, in DC. A former SEGL student goes there and he gave us a tour which was really nice. I really liked the school. 100% of seniors there get accepted to college which is awesome! They also do the best on tests out of every other school in the area.

We had a bunch of interesting conversations about private schools, and these schools, so far. These schools are so nice, but at the same time the public schools in DC aren't doing well at all, there's about a 30% graduation rate. This case study made me think alot about how I go to a public school, and many people here go to private schools. Is there a difference in our education? Would I be different if I was always in a private school? I just don't know, but I can live with that.

EXPRESSIVE

A few days ago, we did an exercise where we figured out what type of personality we are. Our task was to design out ideal day and we were separated into 4 groups by 2 questions. 1) Are you usually one of the 1st to talk or are you more of an observer and sit back and watch? 2) Do you make decisions based on emotion or logic? I'm kind of on the line with some parts but I ultimately chose, 1st to speak and make decisions based on emotion. I was in a group with another girl who is very similar to me, and we designed our ideal day, and so did the other 3 groups. Once we presented, Noah told us what group we were and then talked about it. There are 4 personalities that are thought to all be needed in a group/team: Supportive, Drive, Analyst, and Expressive. I'm an Expressive. I don't remember exactly what he said, but almost all of it was so spot on!  I thought he was talking about me! I also consider myself an analyst too.

Here's 2 little things about expressives.

Expressive:

Expressive - "Wow, that’s a great report - I know a great place for lunch". Very outgoing and enthusiastic, they create excitement and involvement with others. They have a high energy level and make others feel good about themselves. They know that you value them. Excitable, fun-loving, and talkative, sometimes overly dramatic, impulsive and manipulative. They love attention, and having an audience, and especially applause and recognition. They are achievement oriented but sometimes slow to reach a decision. They have good ideas, but are not always completion-oriented. Particularly fond of socializing. Risk-takers, competitive and spirited. They are also futuristic, creative and inspirational.

Some adjectives for them: communicators, charming, confident, impulsive, enthusiastic, animated, dramatic, influential, motivating, optimistic.

The Expressive, a verbally adept personality, is engaging, accommodating,
supportive of others, persuasive, socially adept, and relationship- rather
than task-oriented. He or she loves to be one of the gang, and is always ready for
something new and exciting, especially if the gang is ready to participate.
Additional strengths include enthusiasm, diplomatic skills, and the ability to
inspire others.

Weaknesses involve impatience, a tendency to generalize, verbal assaults,
and sometimes irrational behavior. The Expressive can also be egotistical,
manipulative, undisciplined, reactive, unorganized, and abrasive.

The Expressive readily exchanges information and life experiences. His or
her main need is to be appreciated and accepted. The Expressive’s pleasure
is recognition and approval. His or her pain is isolation and lack of attention.

A CHILL DAY...

Today was super chill. We had a nice brunch and then some people went to Georgetown and some other people and I stayed. The people who went to Georgetown brought us back cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcakes (aka DC Cupcakes on the food network) and they were SOOO good.
I did alot of homework and then I went out with some people and had french food :) It was really really good. Then studied. ate dinner, and then studied up until 5 minutes ago. Most of us have our 1st test tomorrow, and it's a big one, in History. So we all studied together downstairs which was really cool for me because usually I don't study with other people, but it helped alot. I feel pretty confident about the test tomorrow but still pretty nervous. FINGERS CROSSED!!!!

Once a pterodactyl always a pterodactyl...

 Today I went with some kids from SEGL to a 9/11 Memorial Service at the Washington Memorial. It was definitely not what I expected, but it was interesting. There were protesters from all over, democrats and replublicans...and a preacher talking about how Obama and everyone who doesn't love Jesus is going to hell. All this wasn't part of the actual service but it upset me because it took the focus off of 9/11 and onto current issues which I feel was disrespectful. We stayed for a little while, then came back where shortly after Carl Wilkens and his wife Teresa came to the house.
      Carl Wilkens was the ONLY American who chose to stay in Rwanda when the genocide started. There were 257 Americans in Rwanda at the time and they all left except for him. He stayed and helped countless Rwandans (way more than the U.S. government) which was extremely heroic, to say the least. He witnessed the horrors of the genocide firsthand and admitted to being very disappointed in the U.S. government. He said he's coped with the disappointment by re-humanizing the government and realizing that it was only a few people who made such horrible decisions. He was so cool and was in a documentary that we watched the night before called "Ghosts of Rwanda" and is also writing a book. He really inspired me and I consider him a true hero.
     After we met with Carl and his wife, we had a nice lunch and then went to a Jazz festival. Jazz isn't my forté but it was still fun, and there was good food :). We came back, and prepared for wacky tacky game night! We all dressed crazy, had chill dance parties, learned the cupid shuffle, and played mafia...in wacky tacky clothes of course! It was super cool, and we all had alot of fun! :)
    

                                                                     CANDID CARL:

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY:

                                                              A GAME OF SLOTH :)

STICK FIGHT :)

ME AND MY FRIEND ZOE MAKING WEIRD FACES :)

:)

                                                 WACKY TACKY GAME NIGHT!

"My best friend calls me scumbag...but you can call me Bud"

                   I'm going to be updating this post for a few days in a row so keep an eye on it! :)

Today was very interesting. For 1, it's Rosh Hashannah, the Jewish new year, so...
                                                            HAPPY NEW YEAR ! 

Our case study this week is Leadership in times of crisis.

We started off the day by going to the Holocaust Museum. It was my 2nd time going but nonetheless, just as moving. It's definitely hard going there and seeing everything but it is so worth it and it gives me a stronger sense of pride of being a Jew. It makes me feel united with other Jews around the world.

After the Holocaust Museum, we went to the Center for the Presidency and Congress where we met the President, Ambassador Abshire, and met with Bud Krogh. Bud Krogh worked in President Nixon's administration when he was a very young guy, but with an important job. He had many tasks at the White House. One task, was taking care of the Pentagon Papers situation, and being co-director of "the plumbers." He was told by the President to take care of the Pentagon Papers situation. After talking with others, he decided to run a covert operation and hire people to go into Dan Elsburg's  psychiatrist's office and find papers that would discredit Elsburg, who was the one who released the Pentagon Papers. Not only did the spies not find anything, but they also were not so "covert" and left a trace. That trace led back to Nixon and Bud, which Bud says was the beginning of the end of the Nixon administration. After being caught, Bud was the only one who confessed to being guilty. He also wanted to go to court without a Lawyer so he would get the punishment he deserved, not one that was bargained. He went to prison for about 6 months, 4 and a half of them working on a farm in Central PA. Now he's a senior fellow on Leadership, Ethics, and integrity at the Center for the Presidency and Congress. He also wrote a book called "Integrity: good people, bad choices, and life lessons from the white house." He is an awesome guy! He has definitely made some not-so-great choices but he is ethical by nature and is using his experience to help shape other ethical leaders. He is inspirational and sincere. He had cookies for us and everything! He also told us some really really cool stories about Elvis Presley! He gave us about 2 and half hours of his time and he's coming to our school tomorrow too! Meeting with him was awesome!

NEXT DAY (FRIDAY):
Today we had our normal schedule except for the last class of the day, Ethics and Leadership, Bud came to our school and we had an ethical dilemma case study which he dealt at the White House. Our case study was about 1,000 Native American protesters that stayed in the BIA and wouldn't leave and were ready for violence. We debated what to do and I was very firm on my belief to negotiate and not use violence, the Native Americans are PEOPLE who had not eaten in a few days, in the cold, and had no place to go. All they wanted was to voice their frustrations to the Government which was hurting them. Bud was in charge of this dilemma and he made the same decision that our class agreed would be the best, but he didn't tell us what he did until after we decided. He was SO cool and we had this inside joke about texting, so when he left I texted him and he sent me back a really nice message :) I consider him a mentor to me. When we came home, I had my afternoon subway snack and then we had dinner. Then, we watched "Ghosts of Rwanda." It's a documentary about the Rwandan Genocide, it was very intense and emotional, and I felt extremely angry at the U.S. government after watching it. It disgusts me the type of people that run this country and make decisions for the U.S. We talked about it for a little while, and as you might guess, I had alot to say. One of the guys interviewed in the documentary was Carl Wilkens, the last American to stay in Rwanda. He would not leave, unlike every other American in Rwanda, and he helped to save far more people than the U.S. government did. He is a hero, and he'll be coming to talk to us tomorrow.

                                                                     BUD'S BOOK:

                                   ME IN CENTER FOR THE PRESIDENCY BATHROOM:

ME IN CENTER FOR THE PRESIDENCY BATHROOM AGAIN!

A VERY JEWISH NIGHT :)

Tonight I went to one of my best friend Dana's house for Rosh Hashannah dinner. It was super convenient because one of my friends at SEGL lives in Dana's neighborhood, and was having some other SEGlets over for dinner, so I took the metro with them and they drove me home :). Dinner at Dana's was awesome !  Her family is amazing and I was comforted being in a homely Jewish environment for Rosh Hashannah. I felt so comfortable there. Dana is one of my best friends in the entire world and I am so excited that I get to live around her in DC :) Dinner was really good (desert was too :)) but what made the night was being with  one of my best friends and her awesome family.

A day in the life...

Life at SEGL is super cool. We learn alot but it's alot of fun. I'm pretty adjusted now and I feel like this is home (as corny as that sounds). I know the area pretty well and know the way to school. We have a pretty long day here. We leave the house at 8:15 to go to school and we get there at 9ish. Then we have morning meeting for a little then go into our classes. Obviously, the classes are really cool and interesting, and the teachers rock! We have lunch at 12 and this is when we chill ( if you know me then you know I love to chill !). At least once a week we eat out in Dupont circle (where our school is). We have a bunch of free periods, at least one a day, so I use that time to go out and catch up on some necessities; Soda, chips, dunkin' donuts, subway etc... :) When school ends at 5ish we do our chores and then go home...where we either have to exercise as a group, or chill. I'm a big fan of the chill. We have dinner at 7:30 and it's homemade which is really nice, I even like it and that's saying something! Then after, we have quiet hours from 8:30-10:30. At 10:30 we have check in which just means that we have to stay on our floors. We don't have a lights-out time which is really nice, because we have lots of work to do! Then we wake up, and do it again !

On Wednesdays we have ethics and leadership the whole day where we have a case study and go places and have speakers about that case study. Last week as North Korea.

Saturday nights we do a group thing together....like last saturday we did a night tour of DC and the monuments and memorials.

Sundays...we chill :)

......I love sundays

AARATI

Hello for those of you who do not know me, this is Aarati, pronounced Arthi, don't ask me about the spelling! We are having an awesome time here! Jordan is letting me blog because he thinks I am the coolest person here, jk jk! Jordan led school meeting today, and we played this thing that is not a game, we had to talk to another person in the room who we feel supported by! I am soooooo hungry right now and we are having lunch in 30 minutes! Homework is annoying, and I don't feel like doing it! The weather has cooled down, and it's so nice outside!!! Yay! that is my first blog post! Also Jordan just asked how to fatten his tuchus (Jordan's word)!

doesn't matter...as long as it's chill :)

Today was alot of fun. We had english at the house for 2 hours from 11-1. We talked about 2 readings that we had read prior. The readings were written by 2 very controversial philosophers Singer and Hardin. Singer arugues that everyone should donate as much as they can to the poor, and that money used to go out to dinner and buy a new tv is essentially killing a child because that money could be going to them. Hardin argues that we really shouldn't give to the poor, something that I don't agree with. The readings go into a lot more detail than this, what I'm saying about it is just very basic. We debated the readings in class, and Noah, director of SEGL and our english teacher, enjoyed playing devil's advocate. He had said to me something like, "When was the last time you went to Starbucks?" I replied by saying a few days ago and he answered "that money could have gone to saving a child's life, it can add up. To save a child's life, are you going to give up starbucks?" Or something along those lines. I thought about it and I'm not going to give up starbucks or things like that because I think giving up things and donating should be in moderation. It's just not practical that everyone's going to give up some type of things, though morally maybe we should.
      We then went to Eastern Market, a little walk from us. It's kind of a flea market/farmer's market with cool stuff. I got a ying/yang necklace which I felt good about buying because it was supporting a local woman. And there were red velvet cupcakes there which are my favorite! :) We came back and Noah cooked our dinner which was really good. Surprisingly enough, I've been eating a lot of tofu and vegetables and healthy stuff here! I've even been exercising! I know this may come as a big shocker to people who know me but....believe it :).
    For our Saturday night activity, which students plan during the week, we did a night tour of DC's monuments. It was so cool and the monuments and memorials were beautiful, and it's so cool that we can walk to all of them! (but not without some sore legs). We went to the Washington Memorial, WW2 Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Korean War memorial, a small local WW1 Memorial etc. We left at 8:30pm (ish) and roughly came back at 12:30am, just to give you an estimate. It was a ton of walking (and running!) and now my legs and feet are suffering the consequences...but it was worth it. I'm looking forward to just chilling tomorrow :)

I'm working on putting up videos but the site's givin me issues so bare with me :)

ARTSINESS AT THE FLEA MARKET :) :

CAPITOL HILL:

IN THE HOUSE:

NORTH KOREA !

Today was awesome. On wednesdays we usually have Ethics and Leadership the whole day where we do something cool relating to a case study, but this week thursday and wednesday were switched so we did the case study today. This week's case study, our first case study, was about North Korea. We were introduced to North Korea this morning by our Residential Advisor (RA), Lucy.  We also watched the original footage of the Millgram Experiment and explored obedience to authority. We aimed to explore 3 ethical questions revolving around North Korea, or DPRK. 1) Should the US give humanitarian aide to North Korea? If so, how much. 2) Should the US pursue sanctions toward North Korea, and if so, to what extent? and 3) Should the U.S. attempt to negotiate with Kim Jong Il, and if so, under what circumstances? To explore these questions, we met with 3 of the top North Korean Experts in the country. First, we met with Scott Snyder, a Senior fellow on the Council of foreign relations, and director (I think) of the Asia Foundation, along with many many other things. He talked to us about humanitarian aide dilemmas in North Korea, and the North Korean drought of the 1990's. Then we got to go to the State Department and meet with Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell (who happens to be a huge red sox fan!) He's in charge of making US policies towards North Korea and was really cool. He explains how Kim Jong Il is starting to train his incompetent son to take over. He talked about his experience with North Korea and how it is not an easy situation at all. By the way, today at the State Dept. there was the negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis so there was cameras everywhere and I had a little issue getting in because I didn't have ID (whoops). Then we went back to school where we had our last speaker, Gordon Flake. He's the executive director of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, among many other things, and he talked all about dilemmas in the past revolving around North Korea and what's going on right now. He says that unification between North and South Korea may be the only way to stop North Koreas' nuclear program and their human rights abuses. South Korea has already started setting aside money for the reunification (as we learned). We learned a ton and it was so cool getting to meet with experts on North Korea. Tomorrow we're going to the South Korean Embassy and I can't wait!  :)

We also had our 1st arabic class a few days ago which was really cool because it's fun and the teacher is a guy who's very involved with the Arab world and really smart. All of my other classes are going well too :)

NEXT DAY:
Today we went to the South Korean Embassy and met with Secretary Yi who was awesome. He talked alot about North Korea and about his opinions...and he's been to NEEDHAM! :)

ME DRESSING "FORMAL" :

ME IN KOREAN EMBASSY BATHROOM: