Class Time and Art Appreciation

I guess I'm getting into the habit of blogging on Saturday or Sunday nights.  It just works out that way, as that's when I have the most down time.  So last Sunday, I went to Eastern Market again with some of my roomies, and we had some delicious crepes for brunch!  I got one with bananas, cinnamon sugar, and pecans.  It was so tasty.

The main news from this week is that we started our classes.  On Tuesday nights, we have a debating contemporary washington issues class.  That one will definitely be interesting as there will probably be a lot of intense political discussions, and our house is so diverse in our beliefs.  Hopefully they will be fun discussions, and it won't get too personal.  It is always interesting to hear different perspectives though, and we are all intelligent so we have good explanations for our opinions.  I already feel as though I've had some smart talks about political issues with my roommates and come out of it with a better understanding of the other side.  For our first assignment, we had to watch the State of the Union and write a paper on one of the issues.  It was very exciting to be in DC that day.  When I walked home from work, Capitol Hill was just buzzing with excitement and lots of people were around.  I would have given anything to be there, but only a select few get to go.  I thought the speech was really pretty riveting for a SOTU.  As always, I admire Obama for his skills in oration, since that is my passion.

Night of the SOTU!

On Thursday nights, we have our theatre class.  I think that will be a really interesting time.  We are going to see Hairspray, Time Stands Still, The Interrogation of Espinoza, Red, 1776, and Taming of the Shrew.  Hairspray is our first one, which is this Thursday.  I'm sure it is going to be so fun.  I've heard 1776 is a neat historical musical, and we are seeing that one in Ford's Theater, which is such a historic place.  Taming of the Shrew is a classic.  I don't know much about the others, but I'm sure they will be enjoyable.  Then, on five different Wednesday's over the course of the semester, we have a leadership class.  We won't see what that's all about until next week.

Yesterday, I decided to spend the day at the National Gallery of Art.  I think I'm going to dedicate every Saturday (and hopefully some Sunday's, too) to a different museum I want to go to.  When it gets warmer in the springtime, I will probably do more outdoorsy things and there will be a lot of other things to do.  So now is a good time to dedicate to museums when it is still fairly cold out on weekends.  I think I had only been to two of the Smithsonian's before I moved here, so I have a lot I want to see.  The National Gallery of Art was really great, and I picked a wonderful day to go.

National Gallery of Art

They just reopened the 19th century French galleries and were having concerts there this weekend in honor of that.  When I first heard the organ music playing as I walked around that gallery, I thought it was maybe just being played off of a speaker to set the tone, but I realized as I walked closer to it there was actually a concert going on.  It was so nice to have that background music while looking at the art.  I like that better than how silent and stuffy art museums typically are.  I eventually found my way into the beautiful concert room, and I sat down for a while to listen.  It was so beautiful.  It really moved me, and I actually got a little emotional.  I closed my eyes for a while and just took it in.  I felt it, and I haven't felt that way in a while.  It made me want to find the nearest piano and just start practicing away.  I love that music has the power to really get to you like that, and that is what makes me want to play more.  I really slack on my piano playing, and moments like this make me regret every time I put watching TV, browsing the internet, or anything else higher on my priority list than practicing.  There were some gorgeous Monet paintings there, which were a favorite of mine.

gorgeous fountain in the concert room

Organ player

Me and my favorite Monet there

This museum is actually two buildings.  So then I went over to the East building, which has more modern art. I love modern art in a totally different way than the older paintings.  It's so interesting and unexpected at times.  I really enjoyed that part of the experience as well.

Inside the East building

Andy Warhol of Marilyn Monroe

Today has been pretty chill as usual for a Sunday.  I just went grocery shopping with some of my roommates and have been catching up on my favorite TV shows.  So that's all I've got for now.  Talk to you all next week with hopefully some exciting stories and pictures from another Saturday museum adventure!