Wednesday in DC -- Voto Latino, Food Trucks, Monuments, and More

By Khalil, Sophie, and Oni

Going to Voto Latino on Wednesday morning was very fun! Adrian and Sindy were great hosts and they knew how to keep our attention. First, they introduced themselves and told us what Voto Latino does. They work to register voters and encourage Latinos between 18-35 to vote. They do this in creative ways, like working with musicians and registering voters at their concerts and making Public Service Announcements with celebrities; they even use Facebook. Next we did an icebreaker where we were told to say our name, and our “peoples,” the groups that we identify with. For example: “I am Khalil and my peoples are science nerds and athletes!”  After the icebreaker, we were asked to write a piece about ourselves -- about our lives and maybe some of the challenges we have faced while growing up.  Voto Latino tries to connect personal stories with community concerns. We were supposed to take our stories and make a connection between our experiences and why we thought the DREAM Act or other legislation is important. For example, some people who were immigrants themselves or had immigrants in their families connected their stories of immigrating to the US for a better life to the experience of DREAMers. We then used these as a basis for creating fun and engaging Public Service Announcements for the DREAM Act. Then we said thank you and left. It was a fun, educational, and inspiring experience.

Sindy and Adrian from Voto Latino

After visiting Voto Latino we all walked down to Farraget Square where there was a huge statue with a lawn surrounded by food trucks. Now I know you might be thinking that food trucks are gross because you are thinking of the hot dog stands. But they are really cool. They are like restaurants on wheels. There were all different kinds of flavors and cultures. They included Hawaiian, Mexican, Gyros, Popcorn, Ethiopian, and Italian, etc. Everyone split into groups according to what you wanted to eat. I got Chicken Teriyaki from the Hawaiian Hula girl place. Everyone got different things to eat and they all looked really delicious. After everyone got their food we all sat down together and just hung out and enjoyed each other and the warm sunny day. After you were done eating you had the option of getting popcorn or frozen yogurt for dessert. The food was so good. It was a really fun time.

After lunch, we went back to our Bed and Breakfast and split into our lobby groups to prepare for Thursday’s lobby meetings. We brainstormed the most important aspects of the DREAM Act, so that we could be sure to make those points in our lobby meetings. Then we went out for a monument scavenger hunt.  Each group tried to answer trivia questions about the monuments, such as “Name two of the eight columns from the World War II memorial that have places engraved in them that are not part of the United States.”  The hunt was fun but exhausting, and we ended at the new Martin Luther King Memorial with barely enough energy to take a group picture.

At the World War II Memorial

Channeling our serious side at the Lincoln Memorial

After eating a delicious dinner at the Hard Rock Café, the fifth floor walked a couple blocks to Red Velvet  Cupcakery. It was a short walk from the White House. This is one of the most amazing cupcake shops I have ever been to. The first impression that you get from this place is that the cupcakes look great. They had a lot of flavors to choose from from Vanilla to Chocolate Peanut Butter.  The cupcakes were amazing. Now there wasn't enough space in Cupcakery to fit all 40 something of us so we went to the park. At the park we got to eat our cupcakes and just let out all of our energy from the day out before returning to the hotel. It was a great way to end the day.

The Metro

By Cara E.

To get around we rode the metro in Washington D.C. The metro there is very different form the subway in New York City. It very clean and the whole ride was very smooth. The first time getting on the metro was very scary because in order to go down to the metro you go down to flights of escalators. The first one was not bad. When you get on the second escalator it looks like to are about to fall over the face of the earth. Many people screamed and I heard many gasps. I could even feel my heart skip a beat. When you get down the second escalator you see a clean, modern, and smooth moving subway. For many of us it reminded us of The Hunger Games Train were they are heading to the capitol. The Metro was a great and clean way to get around the city.

Our first day in Washington DC!

 By Stef and HG

After our arrival at Washington D.C. we went to an office building for members of congress.  We met former history teacher Rachel Sussman, whose roommate works for Senator Max Baucus. From there, some of his staff took us through a series of tunnels to a secret train, which basically consisted of a small, open train car which we rode to the Capital Building.  Most of us were very excited about going on a secret train.  We then waited on a series of lines, and eventually gained access to the gallery in the Capital Building.  We were let in by groups by a very funny guard who made us all laugh once or twice.  We walked around the gallery, looking at beautiful pieces of art, and then we went to the Senate meeting room, and watch Barbara Boxer, a senator, argue for the passage of a transportation jobs bill.  We left all too soon, as we were only allowed about five minutes to watch the debate.  We then left the building and took pictures outside of the Capitol Building, and asked our tour guides questions about the Capitol Building.  Overall, we had an excellent time. 

We're riding the secret train!

One of my favorite parts of the trip was going to Ben’s Chili bowlwe headed off to Ben’s Chili Bowl, a DC institution, for dinner.  Our feast included unlimited French fries with chili and cheese sauces and then chili or half smokes or burgers.  We learned about the history of Ben’s and its connection to the African-American community.  We learned a lot from the guy who was speaking to us. I thought he was a very good speaker because he had my attention almost the whole time. I also understood what he was talking about - the importance of the Chili Bowl to the African American community in DC. The best part about the visit was that I was laughing with my friends. It was really fun because I don’t think I have ever laughed that hard before. The soda tasted so good and so did the fries. I didn’t really get to eat my hotdog because I was so full of fries. The hot dog tasted good especially because it had the famous chili sauce. I was the best night for me because I got to walk back to the playground with my friends right after. 

Then we went back to our Bed and Breakfast, the Adams Inn, for quiet time and bed. It was a great first day.

Fifth Floor Students Host Cultural Festival!

By Altana

This past Saturday we held a Cultural Festival at MCS! Visitors could listen to live entertainment, take yoga classes, get a henna tattoo, learn how to fold origami, create a dream catcher, munch on homemade food from around the world, learn about our activism project involving the DREAM Act, and much more. As I walked throughout the first and second floors, I saw people enjoying themselves. There was a feel on camaraderie in each person who smiled as they bought tickets to take part in the activities and made donations to help my class! It was amazing to me how our community could pull together to help two grades go on an activism trip to Washington D.C.. I believe that is one of the best parts of MCS; our community is always willing to help others to achieve their goals. 

Emma shows off her "Let's DREAM" cupcakes

African Drumming

Gabriella Callender of Mahina Movement

Kids made dream catchers and African masks at the crafts table

Henna

The day closed with a ceremony by Danza, an Aztec group