A Busy (and good) Week

By Yohana de Andrade

On Saturday 7^th, I went with my roommates to Chinatown. We just walked trough the neighborhood and, for the first time, I tried Chinese food – a real Chinese food. Not that bad, actually.

This week had a wonderful beginning. I met a journalist at the Busboys and Poets, a mix of bookstore and restaurant, on Tuesday. Garry Leech, the journalist, wrote a book called Beyond Bogotá, which he tells about the war drug and the US politics in Colombia. For almost two hours, he told everybody about his experience, and it was very good for me – I want to be an international journalist too.

Wall of the Busboys and Poets

The forum with this journalist was organized by an institution called TransAfrica, the same that I have plans to my civic engagement. On Monday, in the fairy, I asked how a Brazilian girl, temporarily living in Washington DC, could help the organization with issues related to Africa. And, good for me! – They have activities that I can do. So, this week, I will go there.

In my internship, I made more translations and recorded news in radio studio. Fortunately, everyday I learn something new about Africa. Now, this huge continent is becoming clearer for me, and I can see differences between the countries.

On Saturday, I spent my first Valentine’s Day with my roommates. I tried a real American breakfast, with pancakes, eggs and potatoes; then, we went to the movie theater watch Not That Into You (really good) and, at night, in a party, I met a Portuguese girl – finally someone that speaks the same language that I do, I thought. However, she can’t understand the Brazilian accent, so we just talked in English – much easier, after all.

Today, we went to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. It isn’t something that I can say “awesome”, but it’s a really good museum. Everything’s very sad. The history, the clothes, the shoes…. I don’t have words to describe how many horrible things the human being could do. For me, the worst part was when I was in the wagon of the train, where the Jews were transported. I left the place crying, like everyone else.

Gates of Auschwitz: "Work Brings Freedom"

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Meu terceiro “journal”.