My
first day at the World Leadership Forum! I was a little anxious when I arrived a
the Double Tree Hotel. A big banner welcoming the People to People delegation
was hanging in the lobby. I made my way to the banquet hall and
registered. The people at the registration table were very nice. I got my
lanyard stamped, which identified me as being in Ms. Katrina's leadership group.
After grabbing a quick bite to eat at the dining hall, another moderator gave me
my room key and informed me about what the procedures were. I went up to my
assigned room and started to get settled... this will be my home for a week!
There were three beds in the room and I did not see
any
luggage ... "I guess my two roommates aren't here yet," I thought. So, I "shotgunned"
the bed in the middle and hoped this would be ok with my roommates. I went back
downstairs to participate in the welcome activities. Looking at the list of
things I could do, I decided to watch a movie first. However, it was "Finding
Nemo," and I had already seen that movie over 15 times! So I went back to the
banquet hall and I asked if I could join a group of kids playing cards. They
were very friendly and we hit it off. Soon enough, it was 6:00 pm and time to
get ready for dinner. As I inserted my room key, I noticed someone waiting
behind me. it was my roommate, Victor from Michigan. As we got acquainted, our
third roommate, Baron entered the room. Baron is from Arkansas and has a very
outgoing personality. We then heard knocking from the connecting door - the room
next to us. We opened the door and met our other roommates (sort of.) Two of
them I had already met playing cards, Thomas and Michael. After dinner, we had
the first of our leadership meetings. Ms. Katrina, our group moderator
started the introductions and everyone else followed suit: Riley, Faith, Jenny,
Jess, Moran, Tiara, Stasi, Eric, Colin, Taylor, Alyssa, and me. Tanner, whose
flight was delayed, joined us shortly . We had a nice ice-breaker to get to know
one another and an interesting discussion about leadership... then we got ready
to wrap up day 1 at the Forum. An interesting and activity packed day...
got to call my mom and dad, they are waiting for my scoop...Hope I wake up in
time tomorrow!
Day 2:
Today I managed to wake up at 6:00 am with the aid of an alarm clock! I was so
tired,
I really wanted to go back to sleep. But knowing that this whole week, I was
responsible for myself, I got up, grabbed my change of clothes and took a
shower. By 6:30 I was ready and I watched TV as I waited for Baron and
Victor to finish. Our delegation picture in front of Capitol Hill was scheduled for today,
but it was raining and cold, so that was moved to Friday. Instead, we took a tour around the city
and visited various Memorials, the Korean War Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial,
the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and the FDR
Memorial. My favorite
came to be the FDR Memorial, because walking through the grounds and looking at
the waterfalls gave me a peaceful and
tranquil feeling. After the memorials, we departed for the International Spy Museum. On the way, we watched a neat video
about espionage on the bus. The Spy Museum was really cool, but they didn't allow
picture taking inside.
We always need to have a buddy so Tanner and I buddied up. We checked out the
many activities and spy memorabilia inside the museum. There was a neat computer which uses
a satellite to locate your house. I saw little dots that were probably my friends
in my neighbor's yard!
Lunch was at Union
Station. After lunch we
left for Capitol Hill where we listened and learned from various presentations from a Senator,
a police officer running for Senator, and a Secret Service Agent. It was a very
informative and exciting day, just please let it stop raining so much! Hope the
sun shines tomorrow...
Day 3:
Today we traveled
to the Jamestown Settlement Living Museum in Virginia. Thank goodness the sun
was shining today! We visited all the Native
American exhibits and
then we saw all the Settler exhibits. It was a fun place,
very hands on. We boarded life-size replicas of the three
ships used to get to Jamestown. Lunch was at a nice cafe within the museum
grounds. The Colonial Williamsburg Museum was our next stop. It really felt like
it was still a functioning town
because all the buildings were still intact, and people were actually doing their
jobs the way it was done back then. There was a government office, church, jail, shops,
etc. We visited all the homes on Main Street and had a blast because the
presentations were mostly interactive. The end of Main Street is where the
campus of The College of William and Mary is, the first college established in
the country. We were given two hours to shop around the campus mall in pairs and
also hang out with each other. The last and final stop of this day was the JFK
Center for the Performing Arts. To save time, we had our leadership meetings on
site. It was a fun and sunny day!
Day 4:
Today we had a
really early wake up call! I got up at 5:00 am and prepared for the day. My
roommates were totally knocked out, so I had to turn on the lights, and the TV
to wake them up. At 6:00 we had breakfast and by 7:00 everyone boarded the buses for
the two hour drive to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
I brought a pillow in the bus so I could get some sleep while on the road. At Gettysburg, we
toured the museum, the
cemetery, and the Gettysburg Address Memorial. Then we boarded the bus and toured the battlefield and town of Gettysburg. You
can not help but be patriotic when visiting landmarks like these. People have
sacrificed their lives on these grounds for our freedom. Lunch was at a very
interesting restaurant. It was originally a home that hid
African American slaves on the underground railroad. Next stop was the Eisenhower Farm.
The Park Rangers gave us a very informative speech about President Eisenhower and the Cold War.
We toured President Eisenhower's home where the gifts he was given by people
from all over the world were displayed in the living room. What struck me the
most was the room where President Eisenhower's unfinished painting is
displayed...it was kept just as he had left it. Dinner was at a buffet
restaurant in Gettysburg. Since time was running out, we had our leadership meetings on the bus.
We did a lot of traveling today and I am pooped!
Day 5:
Today I got
dressed in khakis and a white shirt as this is the scheduled day for our group
shot on the steps of the Capitol. We headed to Arlington National Cemetery
first. Everyone paid their respects to the American soldiers who gave their
lives to keep our country safe. We stayed long enough to watch the Changing of
the Guard. The next stop was the Czech Republic Embassy. It was an experience
for me to meet the Czech Ambassador who told us about his country, his people
and and his country's ties to the United States. It was really cool since I'd
never been in an Embassy before. Then off we went to Capitol Hill to take our
group picture. We formed a giant line by height and waited for the photographer
to arrange us. I was next to Felicia, a girl from Hawaii, and we had a nice chat
about what life was like where we both live. The photographer took about 8 group
shots. When I get that picture, I will hang it in my room. We got to our hotel earlier than usual, 4:30. We
used this time to finish our community service projects: we could either
write a letter to a soldier in Iraq or write a letter to leave at the Vietnam
Wall. I chose to write a letter to an American soldier as I was inspired by the
trips to Arlington and Gettysburg. I had some time at the end of the day to
spend at the pool and hang out with my friends.
Day 6:
My last full day
at the Forum...The morning was spent touring the Vietnam Wall. Sister Jeanette,
a teacher in our school, had a nephew who
died in the Vietnam War. I thought of looking for her nephew's name on the
Wall and give her the rubbing/sketch of it. Ms.
Katrina was looking for a name as well, so together we went searching for our
names. We found the name she was looking for first, and then we found Sister
Jeanette's nephew's name. I was so happy! I successfully got the rubbings of the
name, I could not wait to give it to Sister. We got a chance to walk around the
area and we stopped at The Einstein Memorial and everyone took group shots
sitting on Mr.
Einstein's lap or head! We then
toured a barrage of museums: National Building Museum, National American
History Museum, National Air & Space Museum, and then finally the Holocaust
Museum. We returned to our hotel around 5:00 pm. Everyone was so excited about the
farewell event of the World Leadership Forum, the final dance! Everyone was in a
fun and festive mood and when the DJ turned on the music, the partying started!
It was a great way to end my experience at the Forum. I won't forget all the new friends I made and
the many new experiences I had. The night ended with people exchanging contact
information, emails and screen names...It was close to midnight when we got back
to the hotel...
Day 7:
I woke up early to
finish my packing. My parents and my sister were to pick me up and I am sure
they are waiting to hear my stories! Victor was being picked up by his parents
too. Baron needed to have an earlier wake up call so he could catch his flight.
I went down, had a quick breakfast, and said my last goodbyes to my delegation
leaders and friends as
each one departed for their homes in various parts of the country. It seems like
I had known them forever. I will miss
them and I will always think of my week at the World Leadership Forum with much
fondness, great memories, and a time when I gained a new perspective of our
great nation's capital.
any
luggage ... "I guess my two roommates aren't here yet," I thought. So, I "shotgunned"
the bed in the middle and hoped this would be ok with my roommates. I went back
downstairs to participate in the welcome activities. Looking at the list of
things I could do, I decided to watch a movie first. However, it was "Finding
Nemo," and I had already seen that movie over 15 times! So I went back to the
banquet hall and I asked if I could join a group of kids playing cards. They
were very friendly and we hit it off. Soon enough, it was 6:00 pm and time to
get ready for dinner. As I inserted my room key, I noticed someone waiting
behind me. it was my roommate, Victor from Michigan. As we got acquainted, our
third roommate, Baron entered the room. Baron is from Arkansas and has a very
outgoing personality. We then heard knocking from the connecting door - the room
next to us. We opened the door and met our other roommates (sort of.) Two of
them I had already met playing cards, Thomas and Michael. After dinner, we had
the first of our leadership meetings. Ms. Katrina, our group moderator
started the introductions and everyone else followed suit: Riley, Faith, Jenny,
Jess, Moran, Tiara, Stasi, Eric, Colin, Taylor, Alyssa, and me. Tanner, whose
flight was delayed, joined us shortly . We had a nice ice-breaker to get to know
one another and an interesting discussion about leadership... then we got ready
to wrap up day 1 at the Forum. An interesting and activity packed day...
got to call my mom and dad, they are waiting for my scoop...Hope I wake up in
time tomorrow!
I really wanted to go back to sleep. But knowing that this whole week, I was
responsible for myself, I got up, grabbed my change of clothes and took a
shower. By 6:30 I was ready and I watched TV as I waited for Baron and
Victor to finish. Our delegation picture in front of Capitol Hill was scheduled for today,
but it was raining and cold, so that was moved to Friday. Instead, we took a tour around the city
and visited various Memorials, the Korean War Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial,
the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and the FDR
Memorial. My favorite
came to be the FDR Memorial, because walking through the grounds and looking at
the waterfalls gave me a peaceful and
tranquil feeling. After the memorials, we departed for the International Spy Museum. On the way, we watched a neat video
about espionage on the bus. The Spy Museum was really cool, but they didn't allow
picture taking inside.
We always need to have a buddy so Tanner and I buddied up. We checked out the
many activities and spy memorabilia inside the museum. There was a neat computer which uses
a satellite to locate your house. I saw little dots that were probably my friends
in my neighbor's yard!
Lunch was at Union
Station. After lunch we
left for Capitol Hill where we listened and learned from various presentations from a Senator,
a police officer running for Senator, and a Secret Service Agent. It was a very
informative and exciting day, just please let it stop raining so much! Hope the
sun shines tomorrow...
then we saw all the Settler exhibits. It was a fun place,
very hands on. We boarded life-size replicas of the three
ships used to get to Jamestown. Lunch was at a nice cafe within the museum
grounds. The Colonial Williamsburg Museum was our next stop. It really felt like
it was still a functioning town
because all the buildings were still intact, and people were actually doing their
jobs the way it was done back then. There was a government office, church, jail, shops,
etc. We visited all the homes on Main Street and had a blast because the
presentations were mostly interactive. The end of Main Street is where the
campus of The College of William and Mary is, the first college established in
the country. We were given two hours to shop around the campus mall in pairs and
also hang out with each other. The last and final stop of this day was the JFK
Center for the Performing Arts. To save time, we had our leadership meetings on
site. It was a fun and sunny day!
Today we had a
really early wake up call! I got up at 5:00 am and prepared for the day. My
roommates were totally knocked out, so I had to turn on the lights, and the TV
to wake them up. At 6:00 we had breakfast and by 7:00 everyone boarded the buses for
the two hour drive to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
I brought a pillow in the bus so I could get some sleep while on the road. At Gettysburg, we
toured the museum, the
cemetery, and the Gettysburg Address Memorial. Then we boarded the bus and toured the battlefield and town of Gettysburg. You
can not help but be patriotic when visiting landmarks like these. People have
sacrificed their lives on these grounds for our freedom. Lunch was at a very
interesting restaurant. It was originally a home that hid
African American slaves on the underground railroad. Next stop was the Eisenhower Farm.
The Park Rangers gave us a very informative speech about President Eisenhower and the Cold War.
We toured President Eisenhower's home where the gifts he was given by people
from all over the world were displayed in the living room. What struck me the
most was the room where President Eisenhower's unfinished painting is
displayed...it was kept just as he had left it. Dinner was at a buffet
restaurant in Gettysburg. Since time was running out, we had our leadership meetings on the bus.
We did a lot of traveling today and I am pooped! 
been in an Embassy before. Then off we went to Capitol Hill to take our
group picture. We formed a giant line by height and waited for the photographer
to arrange us. I was next to Felicia, a girl from Hawaii, and we had a nice chat
about what life was like where we both live. The photographer took about 8 group
shots. When I get that picture, I will hang it in my room. We got to our hotel earlier than usual, 4:30. We
used this time to finish our community service projects: we could either
write a letter to a soldier in Iraq or write a letter to leave at the Vietnam
Wall. I chose to write a letter to an American soldier as I was inspired by the
trips to Arlington and Gettysburg. I had some time at the end of the day to
spend at the pool and hang out with my friends. 
looking for her nephew's name on the
Wall and give her the rubbing/sketch of it. Ms.
Katrina was looking for a name as well, so together we went searching for our
names. We found the name she was looking for first, and then we found Sister
Jeanette's nephew's name. I was so happy! I successfully got the rubbings of the
name, I could not wait to give it to Sister. We got a chance to walk around the
area and we stopped at The Einstein Memorial and everyone took group shots
sitting on Mr.
Einstein's lap or head! We then
toured a barrage of museums: National Building Museum, National American
History Museum, National Air & Space Museum, and then finally the Holocaust
Museum. We returned to our hotel around 5:00 pm. Everyone was so excited about the
farewell event of the World Leadership Forum, the final dance! Everyone was in a
fun and festive mood and when the DJ turned on the music, the partying started!
It was a great way to end my experience at the Forum. I won't forget all the new friends I made and
the many new experiences I had. The night ended with people exchanging contact
information, emails and screen names...It was close to midnight when we got back
to the hotel...