President Obama (center), flanked by Nancy Pelosi on his left and the Taoiseach of Ireland Brian Cowen on his right, visited Capitol Hill on Tuesday, March 17 for a St. Patrick's Day Luncheon with a number of others. I was on the other side of the lawn on the West Side of the Capitol Building, watching Obama as he ascended the steps with the help of some festive and timely tunes.
I don't know if you can really tell from this photo, but the White House fountains were dyed green in honor of St. Patrick's Day and the various visiting Irish dignitaries.
Aside from the sort of weird paeans to "Irishness," there wasn't really any sign of typical American St. Patrick's Day revelries. Compared to Boston and Chicago, where I have spent my last few St. Patrick's Days, it was downright tame. Yes, they dyed the two White House fountains bright green... Well, Chicago dyes their entire river. Come on now. But I suppose it is reflexive of the atmosphere of this city, which I think I am beginning to get a better sense of now, after being here for nearly two months. Washington is driven by the political scene. It is suits and heels and commuters in office buildings. This city is its own strange world, and everybody here is something. You are a politician. You work for a politician; a lobbyist; an NGO; the media. There isn't anything wrong with that either. There is a very interesting dynamic here, and if you are interested in politics or policy in any way, this is certainly the place to be. I don't think, though, that this is the right city for me right now. I am struggling to figure out what I am, or rather, what I will be once I am no longer a student. Photojournalist? Honestly, not really. I'm not that great a photojournalist. I suppose I am a decent photographer, but there is a distinction. Now my question is where can I go, having made that distinction. Well, I've got almost exactly two months to decide, I suppose. No need to rush it... Ha.
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