Life at ISH Archives - International Student House Washington DC

ISH at EU Embassy Open Houses

May 14, 2019 by Krystin Sinclair

May in DC is filled with fantastic cultural opportunities. Passport DC is a month long event that highlights the international community of the city, and is hosted by Cultural Tourism DC, a non profit organization that strives to showcase the possibilities within DC. Some of the very best events that DC has to offer are part of Passport DC.

On Saturday the 11th, I along with other ISH residents attended the EU Open House. This event encompasses embassies opening their doors to the public and really putting on a show. There are giveaways, food and drinks, traditional costumes, music, dance, freebies, historical lectures, videos, and demonstrations of what it means to be from that country. This is a must see for anyone with the opportunity to attend.

This event is marketed as a way to tour the EU. They even hand out passports and each embassy will give you a stamp. I visited quite a few embassies and got to speak with other residents about the different embassies that they visited and of course all of the EU residents about how they want their country to be seen and to show itself.

The EU embassy that is located nearest to ISH - DC is Portugal. This embassy had a long line, which was well worth the wait. The ambassador to Portugal personally welcomed every visitor at the front door. After the warm welcome, I got a passport stamp and spoke to a Portuguese furniture company that was handing out measuring tape and watched a video that highlighted tourism in Portugal. The embassy also had many different Portuguese businesses present. We spoke to consultant firms, fitness experts, vineyard owners and fragrance companies about their start in Portugal and their experience working in the USA. They also had both food and wine to try. We also got the lovely tote bags displayed in the photo, along with the chance to take photos in front of the fun Portuguese backdrops and even a chance to enter a raffle to win a flight to Lisbon.

Another Embassy with a long wait due to its popularity was Ireland. The Irish embassy had a full band and step dancers on their front lawn, as well as a rugby team (see picture). This embassy brought in members of the DC community that knew Irish step dancing to provide information as well as members that were involved with Gaelic sports. They also had a very informative guide for the embassy tour who provided information regarding the status of the house and the ambassador as well as how to bring parts of Irish culture to our everyday lives in DC.

The Greek Embassy had a line that went down the block and wrapped around the corner. This embassy really showcased its culture and even had full crew outside the embassy to provide question & answers, information and photo opportunities. They had very colorful traditional dress. This really drew the eye of all who passed by. The food and drink that they had looked especially appetizing. Greece wasn’t the only country to have members in full dress awaiting visitors in front of their doors. Croatia also had this and a full band. All of the guests leaving the Croatian embassy had smiles on their faces. Croatian wasn’t the only embassy that accomplished this. Denmark really stood out from the crowd. They sent vikings to stand on the corner, hand out cookies and direct people to their open house. Denmark wasn’t the only embassy to grab visitors attention as they were walking down the block. Latvia had a huge sign so that nobody could miss them. You could tell from the outside that Latvia would explain its culture through literature and art.

The Italian embassy also provided quite a bit to write home about. They had tons of booths. There was gelato, pizza, coffee, quizzes, scavenger hunts, soccer, ducattis, a military history exhibit and even a cut out of the coliseum.

All of these embassies were very exciting to visit. My favorite memories of this day was from visiting embassies of countries that I have been to. As the embassy visit brought back the memories of the trip, I found myself reminiscing fondly of my previous experience in that country. The custard tart at the Portuguese Embassy reminded me of my trip to Lisbon and viewing the beautiful mosaic tile sidewalks, and climbing the Belem Tower. Catching a Rugby ball at the Irish embassy reminded me of walking along the cliffs of Moher and enjoying the amazing natural landscape that the Irish coast has. I hope to visit the countries from the other embassies that I had the chance to see. Maybe, when I do I will be reminded of the EU open house and the amazing friends that I have made at ISH.

For more information and to see the other opportunities from Cultural Tourism DC that showcase what DC has to offer. Please visit https://www.culturaltourismdc.org/portal/passport-dc1.

The Life of an Introvert at ISH

May 6, 2019 by Yuan-Bing Mock

Today, April 27, is Freedom Day in South Africa, marking the first time free and fair elections were held. I know this, because one of my closest friends in the house has just shared this over our breakfast of waffles and omelets. To mark the day, she has proposed that we watch a movie called “Sarafina!” this evening. Elsewhere in the house, a resident is apparently leading a morning yoga session in the Great Hall.

Learning how to live in a house with 90 other people was one of my biggest concerns. Over time though, I’ve found that it isn’t so difficult to adapt. ISH has permeated so much of my life that I’ve actually been meeting ISH residents even at work. During the World Bank’s annual Spring Meetings, I got to bring around some of my friends from the house who were attending.

As an introvert, I think one of the best methods to cope is to be adopted by an extrovert. You get a new forever-friend and you get to meet all of your forever-friend’s friends. They can also run interference when you don’t know what to say. But to be adopted, they kind of have to know that you’re up for adoption first. The most straightforward and effective way to do so is to just be present. I’ve enjoyed lounging around under the sun in the ISH gardens, and it’s where I’ve had some of the most interesting conversations with other residents. Like me, most of them come out on sunny weekday afternoons, seeking respite from life.

Sometimes, being present can also mean attending ISH activities. For example, we’re lucky enough to get group tickets to the African American History Museum from a kind sponsor. There is something remarkably unifying about learning about such a significant part of history together. The exhibition itself was stuffed to the brim with information. It was a remarkably emotional experience as well; it gave me the impression of many years of repressed feelings, carefully curated and waiting to be discovered.

Another tip for socializing that someone has given me is to always ask open-ended questions. Or, if you ask yes or no questions, to follow up with an open-ended question. For example, thanks to weekly Game of Thrones (GOT) screenings in the Great Hall, I’ve had the following conversation about ten times:

“Hey, are you going to the GOT thing?”

“No.”

“Oh, why not?”

“I don’t watch the show. I’ve read the books though.”

“Why not the show?”

“Um, because while I’m fine with reading about violence, watching it is a bit too much for me.”

“Wait…what?”

See? Open-ended questions build conversation (I’ll leave you to guess which one I am in that conversation.) For the people who did actually watch GOT though, the Hall was set up wonderfully with a large projection screen, free soda and popcorn. Residents have also started a game involving predicting which characters will die and which characters will survive.

But relatedly, I’ve found that finding common interests is another way to connect across cultures. For me, this involves anything to do with dancing. At the recent Africa Night, for instance, I loved learning about the different dances from each country from our own residents. (Dancing is just not traditional in my culture.) I’ve also found music to be very therapeutic; Friday night saw some of us jamming in the Great Hall. Making music in the Hall has been something of a staple of my life in ISH. These sessions are seldom planned, their participants constantly changing, but the fun remains.

Figure 1: Africa Night in full swing

Figure 2: Africa Night table display

Today is another sunny day. When I finish writing this, I’ll probably head in from the gardens to the dining hall to do some work. Later, some residents are planning to drop by a French Market event in Georgetown. Even later, I suppose I’ll watch the movie with the others. Just another day at ISH.

Cherry Blossoms in the Spring

April 22, 2019 by Krystin Sinclair

Spring has sprung in DC and ISH residents have enjoyed the sun, the warmth and the Cherry Blossoms.

The National Cherry Blossom festival is an annual event in DC that drives many tourists to visit the city. This year the festival was from March 20th until April 14th, with different events happening all over the city. If you are ever DC during the festival, you have to check out the Cherry Blossoms, as it should be on the top of every DC tourist bucket list. I have had the great fortune of attending two events this year -I went to the Kite Festival on Saturday March 30th and PetalPalooza on Saturday April 6th.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival is an annual event put on each year by a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the beauty of nature and international friendship. This organization’s programs and events are educational, environmentally friendly, showcase art and culture, and build community spirit. There is no wonder why over a million people come to this festival. This festival is primarily a commemoration of the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to the city of Washington DC. Another fun fact about the history of this festival is that on March 27th 1912 First Lady Helen Taft and Viscountess Chinda, the wife to the Japanese Ambassador, planted the first two trees in the Tidal Basin. Since then, many first ladies have continued this tradition and have been involved in the planning and activities of the festival.

The Kite festival was amazing, with professional kite flyers doing demonstrations, and they had choreographed routines to music. They also had stands selling kites, booths where you could make your own kite, and the entire national mall surrounding the monument was filled with locals and tourists flying their kites. Anything and everything that you want to know about kite flying, you can find out at this event. There were also national cherry blossom festival booths at the tidal basin. The tidal basin includes the Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King Jr, George Mason, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorials. This space looks beautiful when the Cherry Blossom are in full bloom.

Photo: Jefferson Memorial surrounded by Blooming Cherry Blossoms and festival goers in pedal boats.

PetalPalooza was an equally spectacular event, which took place at the Wharf. This event had live music, giveaways, swings, and everything else to make it a real palooza. This was a day filled with food and drink, as well as activities for the whole family, including the pets -there were specific areas for pet care and comfort. There were also art installations and boat cruises. The weather was perfect for these activities. In addition, the cherry blossoms were in peak bloom during the event making the day that much better. The day ended with a fireworks display.

Photo: Art Installation at PetalPalooza

Photo: Main Stage at PetalPalooza

Photo: View from the Wharf of the docks and the boat display

There a few tips and tricks to making sure you have the best time at these events.

The sun is strong, so make sure you have a hat, sunglasses, and plenty of sunscreen to keep your skin from being damaged. I hope you take my word for it, because I learned this the hard way.
It will be crowded. Take the metro instead of car. The traffic is crazy.
Plan ahead. Many of the activities are only at specific times. If there is something you want to see, make sure you get there early. It will take a while to make your way through the crowds.

For more information about the National Cherry Blossom Festival and complete schedule of events, please visit nationalcherryblossomfestival.org

March Musings

April 1, 2019 by Yuan-Bing Mock

Another month; another cultural exploration. This time, ISH residents congregated in the Great Hall to celebrate Japan Night, courtesy of our own Japanese residents. The Hall was impressively decked out – of particular note was an impressive floral arrangement artfully arranged around the chandelier in the center of the room; a wonderful nod to the arrival of cherry blossom season in DC. With residents in colorful yukatas and a variety of colorful games and masks displayed, the Hall was transformed into a vibrant wonderland for a few hours, a delightful reflection of the dynamism of modern-day Japan.

No ISH party would be complete without food or drink and a good array of Japanese snacks and drinks were set out for residents. I watched as ISH resident Yudai attempted to explain what daifukumochi was to some residents before they, smartly, decided to try some for themselves. (According to Wikipedia: “Daifukumochi, or Daifuku, is a Japanese confection consisting of a small round mochi stuffed with sweet filling, most commonly anko, sweetened red bean paste made from azuki beans: But honestly, you should probably just try it for yourself.) You’ve maybe tried a Kit Kat before, but probably not in the flavours on display at Japan Night. There were also different flavours of Pocky sticks (long biscuit sticks covered in chocolate coating), and my personal favourite, Chocopies.

The party began proper when ISH resident Yukiko presented a very exciting video introducing Japan, giving us a taste of everything from tradition to its modern day progress. Then, with a deftness belying years of practice, new resident Mao demonstrated a traditional Japanese dance. While I don’t have the proper words to properly convey the skill she demonstrated in her dance, her movements were impressively grounded while still conveying a remarkable lightness.

If Mao’s performance brought a certain gravitas to the occasion, the next performance took all of us back to our childhoods. ISH was lucky enough to be graced by an adorably bubbly and bouncy Pikachu! (With many, many, many thanks to ISH resident Maki). (insert gif)

After pleasing the many ISH Pokemon fans with photos, Pickachu stuck around and helped to host a rousing game of trivia about Japan. Spoiler alert: putting your hands together in a prayer like position and bowing is not a Japanese greeting. I don’t know who actually won the game, but I’m pretty sure we all learnt quite a bit. The end of the game was actually unclear because the last question revealed that quite a few of our fellow residents had birthdays close to that evening! The Japanese residents of ISH had very kindly arranged for cake (not one, but two!!) to be brought out in celebration of the occasion. It’s these moments of warmth and connection that make me grateful to live at ISH.

After that, the night turned into a karaoke party, beginning with a rousing rendition of the very viral “Pen Pineapple Apply Pen” song.

Somewhat ironically, or perhaps fittingly, the weekend also marked the departure of two of ISH’s Japanese residents, who returned to Japan to pursue jobs and school. Both were extremely dear friends of mine, and mine was a pain that every ISH residents comes to know at some point. When you live together, your friends see you not just in your no-makeup state, but also in pajamas-and-bedhead-fresh-out-of-bed-disaster condition, in all your horrid-day-at-work-and-therefore-done-with-life glory, in your stressed-out-and-in-need-of-shoulder moods… and the list goes on. So having two of them suddenly not around is unsettling, to say the least. I keep thinking one of them is going to be coming down the stairs, or that I’ll find them playing piano in the Great Hall, or playing Catan in the Dining Room.

I remember in particular one conversation over dinner, when we were talking about jazz bars.

“When you come to Japan, we’ll go.”

“‘When’? Not, ‘if’?” I asked, amused. As far as I’d known, I’d had no immediate plans to do so.

“Yes, when”, my friend replied.

So I suppose, even if seeing your friends leave is awful, having these friendships that you can be so certain about and confident in makes it all more than worth it in the first place.

A Trip to Annapolis

March 11, 2019 by Aakriti Thapar

Another weekend, another getaway. This time Raghu, Max, Kalika, Rashi, Kalina, Kristin, Rike, Susi, Erpeng, Wanny, Wansoo and I (ISH residents from different corners of the world) decided to explore a city on the Chesapeake Bay - Maryland's capital city, Annapolis. After a short 45-minute drive from ISH, we were in Annapolis' historic downtown, surrounded by 18th-century brick houses, and famous inns and delis. And so our adventure began.

Our first stop was the United States Naval Academy. In a 90-minute walking tour, we saw the academy's training facilities, and learnt about its history and how it has evolved over the years (but with its core traditions and values intact).

Everyday motivation? "Don't give up this ship" was the dying command of James Lawerence in 1813.

A model ship in the US Naval Academy Museum.

A photograph of what used to be an armory.

A look inside the armory.

Inside Bancroft Hall. Fact: Only those with permission can enter through the main door. Everyone else has to use the two side entrances.

After a greatly informative tour, it was time to rest and refuel. We ate at "Chick and Ruth's delly" an Annapolis landmark.
Where's our food? We're hungry!

How can you leave Annapolis without trying their famous crab cakes?

Crab omelette.

Anyone for traditional fish and chips?

A walking tour of our own - Next, we pulled out a map of Annapolis (more like Google and Trip Advisor) and walked to each site.

A street in Annapolis.

Annapolis waterfront.

Brick homes and cobbled streets.

Annapolis, the capitol of Maryland.

Still walking!

The Old Treasury Building in Annapolis.

The Governor's residence.

Maryland State House. Trivia: It's the oldest US state capitol in use and it has the largest wooden dome in the US, constructed without nails.

Hello from our explorer (Raghu)!!

Abstract & Art in Annapolis:

A florist outside a cathedral.

Treasure: garden pebble.

Annapolis at night. We stayed to see Annapolis through a different lens (night vision).

A private club for members only.

Back to where we began.

ISH Tip: Never eat/drink at a chain or known restaurant when you're traveling to a new city. Skip the Starbucks and find a local cafe. So much so, that we even drank our goodbye coffee, tea and hot chocolate at a bar!

Annapolis is definitely on the ISH list of MUST VISITS. This half/full day trip takes you away from the DC work life and is a trip good for the heart, mind and pocket. A mind full of information and a heart filled with memories, we're on to the next adventure!