I am with you kid. Let's go.

what's not to love about this eastern market brunch shot?

On the train back from Charlottesville this past weekend, Abdoulaye turned to me and asked if I was ready to hear his first impressions of America.  I smiled and nodded - since arriving in the US on December 8th, I've asked Abdoulaye about every five minutes what he thinks of all that's going on around him - after two weeks, he had a little more to reflect on.

Since his arrival, Abdoulaye has visited four cities - Washington, DC, Roanoke, Charlottesville and Virginia Beach.  He's been more impressed with the landscape of Virginia than the buildings of the city though we haven't gone monument visiting yet (he did a bit on his own on the Mall).  He's found folks to be friendly - many smiling or nodding and mumbling a 'how you doin'?' even when they don't have time to stop and properly greet and has found many to be patient with his English (granted, he's spent most of his time around our family and friends who of course would be patient with him. :)  He finds the city clean and organized and he's puzzled by the homeless people he sees in this land of plenty.  Abdoulaye posits that many Americans are overweight because there are so many options for things to eat - how could you stop??  

Interestingly, he noted that he's so used to the disorder of West African capital cities that the order of DC has been a little disorienting.  While he misses everything from back home, he also feels at home here thanks to our network of loved ones and his ability to be in touch with folks at home and abroad via Skype and phone.  He's also thankful he can read so he can use his little black book to get around since there are so many streets to get lost on.

Walking to the grocery store I'll notice a string of crooked Christmas lights on a balcony or a woman walking her dog in a stroller - what do you think, Abdoulaye?  I'll eagerly ask him.  He smiles and half chuckles, it's good! he'll say.  When we see other people and they learn how short of a time he's been here they'll similarly ask for his impressions of the US and, like him, have this underlying tone of - isn't America incredible?  Aren't all of these things around you wonderful?

While Abdoulaye's adjustment and integration to the US is something I think about, I'm not worried about him adapting to life or people here because it's something he does so well.  I admire so much his ability to make people feel at ease and the way he devotes his attention to others in that special way that makes you feel so important.

I know we're just at the beginning of our American adventure and I'm excited to see where it takes us and all the other impressions and observations we'll share together.  I love this quote by Maya Angelou that sums up how I'm feeling these days: "Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told: 'I am with you kid.  Let's go.'"

some of my favorite feet

eastern market meets west africa

Isn't this song just achingly beautiful?

memaw!

 Memaw rode the Amtrak train to Union Station on Friday and I picked her up on a lunch pause to begin a weekend adventure.  I brought her back to the office where she met a number of colleagues before settling in nicely in a chair next to my desk.  I could get used to spinning around and having her cute little face right there!

On Saturday we took a tour of the Capitol with a group of folks Cassie and I met at the Ambassador of Mali's home last month.  Afterwards, we followed the underground tunnel to the Library of Congress and saw where Memaw wrote her papers while a student at George Washington University.  Then we took the bus to Georgetown, had lunch and picked up some groceries and cupcakes for a little soiree.

Sunday morning we donned skirts and dresses and headed to Foundry United Methodist Church where Memaw was baptized (as well as my Mom and aunts) and where she married my Granddaddy 64 years ago tomorrow.  It was such a treat to sit in the same sanctuary where such important events in Memaw's life took place and were commemorated.  You can see the White House from the sidewalk in front of the church and Memaw told me how dignitaries and foreign visitors would come to Foundry while in town and the secret service would be there.  DC is thrilling for me now and to hear Memaw's stories I know it was just as thrilling way back when.

Last night we had an intimate Baha'i study circle meeting of myself, Memaw and my friend Kyra where we talked about prayer and its place in our lives and what prayer means (coincidentally, the same topic of the sermon at Foundry!).  Again, such a special time to share with Memaw and listen to her prayers and thoughts behind the act.

Memaw will board the train bound for Virginia Beach (via Newport News) this afternoon and I'll get cracking on some school work that is itching to get done.  I've been spoiled having her here and will miss my little shadow and cute-as-can-be companion.  Enjoy some photos from our trip below!

With the suffragettes

With new friends (many-if not all-members of AMAW (Association des Maliens de Washington, DC)

Foundry United Methodist Church

Keeping it comfy in the apartment

bicyclespace yoga.

Image source.

OK - so that's not even remotely what I looked like when I did yoga at BicycleSpace last night.  But it was still a good time!  On Mondays at 7:15 (and Saturdays at 8:30am) the shop hosts free yoga classes (on a donations basis, which benefit local bike causes and groups).  I didn't catch the name of the non-profit our donations went to but it was something encouraging women in cycling; I've got no qualms with that!  

I found this article when searching for like-minded bike groups, What Will Encourage More Women to Bike, which talks about just that and says that safety is what women want when thinking about biking around town.  Now I want to read this book!  

I rode the Rock Creek Park path to work for the first time yesterday and am hooked - no stop lights, no waiting and gorgeous scenery.  What I want when biking is smooth roads, sun protection and clean air.    

Check out BicycleSpace's video below promoting yoga at their shop:

Do you bike?  I ride mine everywhere!  I think I'm too antsy to wait for planes, trains and automobiles :)  OK, I'll wait for trains.... 

weekend wonders.

picnic party for two.  i can't get over it, i love this picture!

the washington national cathedral

not real ants on our plants!

eastern market meets (north)western dweller.

This weekend was a treasure.  Only one or two things planned and sweetly filled in by unexpected delights.  Cassie and I made a trip to St. Alban's Episcopal Church Opportunity Shop for their $7 bag sale - and their last day open before an August close.  Then we visited the Capital Fringe Festival, which had their last shows for 2012 yesterday to see Burlesque and Belly Laughs (I volunteered and got free tickets!  Woohoo!).  A little more skin than we were expecting (along with some improv comedy which we were) and like the announcer said - I'll never again be able to say I haven't seen a burlesque show...though that question is rarely posed to me....

After the show we headed to Busboys and Poets, which hosts cool events like these.  Our Saturday afternoon was a homey one and we trooped to the park behind the National Cathedral for a sunset/moonrise picnic.  Swoon!  I loved it and we were practically the only ones there.

Cassie and I missed the Cheick Hamala Diabate show last night because we were exhausted after biking to and from the Eastern Market on Sunday morning to meet Cat & David (and their butterball turkey!) for brunch and market perusing (about 18 miles round trip!).  I got some bread and an ice cream cone :)

How was your weekend?  I'm still on the look-out for DC favorites!  :)

treasures.

From moving to DC with Cassie to checking out wedding venues in Virginia Beach (more on that later!) to meeting the Malian ambassador to the US and Cheick Hamala Diabate - life has been filled with some treasured moments.  I am getting used to my neighborhood and trying to find a safe, bike-friendly route to work and also seeking a balance between work, school and play.  Let's just say it's an evolving story :)  

Treasure at EQUIKIDS.

It's hard not having Abdoulaye here to share these moments but we are so blessed to have Skype and that we can talk everyday so I'll keep my complaining to a minimum!  OAA is still in full-swing, we're crossing our fingers for a November/December arrival.  

I love the horse in the picture above (and his name :) and I hope you'll love the video below, which captures some moments from my move from Virginia Beach, VA to Washington, DC.  

Moving to DC from Jennifer Davis on Vimeo.

Check out these videos about what is happening in Mali - hoping reports that she will become the next Somalia or Afghanistan won't prove to be true...

one of the ones.

Cheick Hamala Diabate, me, Ambassador Al Maamoun Keita

 

Breaking the fast and wishing Andrea, the girl in stripes, a Happy Birthday (she's making a film documentary on the Festival in the Desert)

Washington National Cathedral by night

It's wild how one event can lead to another.  Last Tuesday Cassie, Beatrice and I manned a table at the Peace Corps event 'Around the World in 90 minutes' for Peace Corps recruits, nominees and those just interested in joining the Peace Corps.  While there, one of the guys running the show (a Mali RPCV) told us about a show at the Bossa lounge where Cheick Hamala Diabate would be playing.  I had heard of him through the Fringe Festival because he's playing a show at the end of the month.

All of that to say Cassie and I found ourselves at the Malian Ambassador (Al Maamoun Keita - appointed just 6 months ago) to the United States' home on Friday night (it's right across the street from the Malian embassy) for a Mali-fundraiser and to break the fast together on the first night of Ramadan.  We met the bureau chief for the African Sun Times, the President of the Africa Travel Association, the co-founder of the Diaspora Angel Investment Network (DAIN) and it was all organized by the Association des Maliens de Washington, DC (AMAW) - among many others!  The night also included a surprise (to me) performance by Supernova of his latest single 'Gogo Danseuse'.  


One of the drummers at the ambassador's home made a beautiful speech about all of us doing our part for the over 300,000 internally and externally displaced refugees who have been forced from their homes by the current political and social instability in Mali.  He said we are all one of the ones - each of us can make a difference.  I am going to try and keep his words in mind!


PS- Cassie and I might also be one of the ones featured in a Supernova dance video - I'll keep you posted if that develops! :) 

On the fringe.

Image source.

Image source.

Tonight I'm volunteering as a box office assistant for the play Domino's Pizza Saved My Life at the Goethe Institute, which is part of the Capital Fringe Festival, the second largest unjuried fringe festival in the US.  Every time you volunteer you get a voucher to see anohter play!  Last year they sold over 28,000 tickets to 13,000 patrons.  This year there are over 130 plays and 830 shows!     See the Fringe calendar here!

Have you ever heard of or been to a Fringe festival?  Neat idea!

dc politics.

Jim Graham, Ward 1 councilman, with his dog Guapo.  Image source.

While leafing through crumbling maps and moth-eaten dresses at a local antiques store this past weekend, I met Ward 1 councilman, Jim Graham (pictured above).  He had the cutest little pup-pup named 'Guapo' with him.  A bi-lingual dog; I love it!

Mr. Graham is the council member representing the neighborhood where I live now though I'll need to learn more about Mary Cheh, who is the Ward 3 councilwoman, where I will be living.

Here is Mrs. Cheh's biography, posted on the DC Council website, and a few snippets from it here (an impressive woman!):

Councilmember Mary Cheh is committed to good government, law reform, and serving her constituent neighbors in Ward 3 and throughout the District.

She has also worked on international law reform projects in countries such as Tajikistan, Bosnia, and Kosovo.

Mary has served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C.; worked pro bono for the Centre for Applied Legal Studies in South Africa; served as a consultant to the National Institute of Justice and the President’s Commission on Organized Crime; chaired the subcommittee on criminal justice for the D.C. Circuit Court’s Task Force on Gender; and has served as a member of the Rules Committee of the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces and on the Board of Directors of the National Institute of Military Justice. A former member of the ACLU Board and current Vice-Chair of the ACLU Screening Committee, Mary Cheh is an avid defender of civil liberties. She is also a Founder and Co-Director of the Animal Welfare Project, which worked with community leaders, activists, and government officials to craft model animal welfare legislation. Mary also founded Project Re-Entry, a pro bono law reform project that aims to reduce recidivism and assist ex-offenders in their return to productive lives.

Mary is also a tenured law professor at George Washington University, serving as the Elyce Zenoff Research Professor of Law and teaches and writes primarily in the areas of constitutional law and criminal procedure. She chairs the GW Law Public Interest Committee, which assists students in providing legal services to the underserved, and she works with students on community and environmental pro bono projects. Ms. Cheh joined the GW Law School faculty in 1979 after being in private practice with Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Kampelman in Washington, D.C. and serving as a law clerk to the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. Mary has been honored by the University with an Award for Community Service and with a teaching award from the Law Association for Women.

Finally, Mary is a long-time resident of Ward 3, with deep roots in the community. She and her husband, Neil Lewis, a journalist, moved to Washington in the late 1970s. In 1986 they moved from Cleveland Park to their current home in Forest Hills. Mary and Neil’s two daughters, Jane and Nora Lewis, were born and raised here, both attending Murch Elementary and Georgetown Day School. Mary is a former member of the Murch after-school board, a Stoddert soccer coach (and a licensed referee), and member of the Stoddert Board. For many years, Mary has taught units on constitutional law and “street law” to students in local schools. Mary is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Douglass College and holds law degrees from Rutgers University and Harvard Law School. She is admitted to practice in D.C., New Jersey, Massachusetts, and before federal courts.

Do you have any DC politics things I should know?  I've heard it's a circus...  I don't know if I'm ready for it! 

amani ya juu.

Image source.

Source.

On Saturday before hitting up Novalima with my friend April, I wandered around the neighborhood and stumbled on Amani Ya Juu (it means 'higher peace' in Swahili).  Check out their blog and website if you like.  The store features handmade goods crafted by women in Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, Uganda, Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and more.  Gorgeous gifts and reasonably priced (while their dresses are expensive they are really well made).  If you're in the Mt. Pleasant area and looking for a treasure you should check them out!  

ultimately yours.



Image source.

This will be me today as I get back on the frisbee field after a 4 year hiatus (eee!).  OK, so it's more likely that I'll be doing something a little less intense than what's pictured above but you get the idea :)  I'm joining a pick-up group that meets on the lawn by the Smithsonian and I'm excited! 

Any DC recommendations?  I'm on the lookout for a bike and a Community Supported Agriculture group to join if you have any tips!