I "bearly" missed it

So one fateful day before school began, I made my trek to the local scout office to continue my delightful hobby of collecting BSA patches (they have so many!!! *excited squeal*). Anyway...the metro station is about 1/2 a mile away from the scout office and so I walked along a delightful path with some nice trees on one side and then across the busy stretch of road is Walter Reed Hospital. So I'm not out in the wilderness by any means.

When I ascended to the top of the surface after getting off the train, I noticed a few cop cars and some officers out and standing in a group talking. I really gave it no thought because A) There are cops everywhere here and B) there are always a couple cops around the metro stations and C) they were right next to a hospital.

After spending about twenty minutes coveting the patches, I made my purchases and proceeded to leave. As I walked back toward the metro, I heard several sirens and saw up ahead several fire trucks. There was some road construction and I was worried that someone had been hurt. I continued to walk toward the metro and was surprised to see some firemen coming up from it, carrying heavy fire hoses and talking to each other.

At first I thought maybe there had been a fire in the metro (it does happen) but there was no one official standing by the entrance saying anything so I went down...wondering why there were so many officers and firefighters staring at the surrounding trees.

Then the next day I grab a copy of the free newspaper they have the metro stations and here is what I found:

Bear at NIH has been scared out of tree, tranquilizedBY JULIE ZAUZMER June 19  
The bear has two Twitter accounts of its own. It gripped the attention of bystanders for hours while Department of Natural Resources police attempted to scare it out of the tree it had climbed. And now, like our president, it is very close to being a bear on the loose.After a young male bear was spotted in a tree on the National Institutes of Health campus, near the Medical Center Metro station, it drew a large crowd and an enthusiastic Twitter following.More than three hours after the ordeal began, police managed to scare the bear out of the tree by firing noisemakers over its head, then to shoot it with a tranquilizer. It will now be released at McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area in western Montgomery County, according to Department of Natural Resources biologist Patricia Handy.The first bear sighting of the morning was near Rockville Town Square. It may or may not be the same bear seen a few hours later at NIH.Rockville Police Maj. Bob Rappoport said that the first bear, which he saw lumbering across a parking lot this morning, is the first he has heard about in Rockville in his 26 years on the force. Black bears are common in Frederick, though, and have been known to venture as far south as Gaithersburg regularly, Rappoport said.He said that this bear was small — about 150 pounds, compared to the 350- to 400-pound adults he has seen in the wild — and that juvenile bears are sometimes sent away from their families to fend for themselves. This cub might have gone astray. “It’s not unusual for them, after they have babies and stuff, that the juvenile bears kind of get pushed away to live on their own,” Rappoport said. “Usually they stay where it’s not so populated, in the more rural areas.”The Rockville bear was first seen shortly before 8 a.m. by a resident who called police to report that the animal was on Williams Street, about half a mile from Rockville Town Square. Then the phone calls started coming in from residents closer and closer to the town center, as the bear made its way toward the populated shopping district, Rappoport said.Police officers used their cars to create barriers to keep the bear out of the town center. Once they saw that the animal was headed back into the woods where it came from, they were satisfied that it was gone. “Our primary concern in this area was to try to prevent the bear from going into the more populated area,” Rappoport said. “There’s not much we can do in terms of catching it and releasing it into the wild.” Shortly before noon, NIH Police announced that a bear had been spotted there as well. Montgomery County Fire Department spokesman Peter Piringer pointed out that the two sightings are about eight miles apart, with some major highways in between, so it may not be the same bear. NIH security cameras have recorded bears before, Piringer said.While police surrounded the lofty bear, which was perched about 65 feet off the ground, humorists created two Twitter accounts for it. The bear tweeted jokes like: Kidding aside, Rappoport advised residents to take the danger of a bear on the loose seriously. Don’t leave food out for the bear or leave trash where a bear could get into it, he said. If you see it, don’t approach it or antagonize it. Don’t try to climb a tree to evade it, because it’s surely a better climber than you are.And if you do manage to make a bear angry? You’ll see it start pawing the ground and hear it snort, Rappoport said. “At that point, you really just want to be as big and noisy as you can. Raise your hands above your head and wave them around.”

I had walked by this and had no idea...when I left Utah...I thought I would be leaving certain dangers behind...and bears were high on the list. For those of you who may be unaware, I am terrified of bears. I hate them. I think the world would be a happier place without them. (Yeah, yeah I know...it would ruin the ecosystem). But honestly, hate bears. My fear brought great delight to fellow staff members at camp.

I appreciate the whole irony of the situation. Did not encounter a single bear once in my entire time at Maple Dell, and within my second week in DC I walk right past one on my way to the scout office.

Oh life.

Culture Shock 101

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

As far as I can tell....it was a drug bust that turned into a car chase which ended in front of my apartment when an officer crashed into the perp's car and stopped it from going anywhere else. I must say, I am quite impressed with the speed that police respond to things. That is comforting at least. 

What is this water falling from the sky?

Rain.

I thought I knew what this was when I lived in Utah.

Clearly...I was misinformed. 

Maryland and DC get a lot of rain...to illustrate my point, I have yet to see sprinklers anywhere. And these are just little sprinkle storms either. Instead, it's like "DO YOU HAVE THE ARK READY?!?!?!" kind of storms.

At least that is what it has felt like at times.

The above picture was taken on a day that I went to the store. There was rain in the forecast but it was just cloudy when I left. By the time I got to the store, this was happening. There were huge puddles of water and in the 20 seconds it took me to run from the car to the entrance, I was drenched, my shoes were soaked, and I looked like I had just finished my tryouts for the 2016 USA Olympic Swim team.

It is strange to be in a place that is so wet. It's a nice change but it does come on rather unexpectedly. For example, one afternoon I was walking around the National Mall and I could see some fluffy white clouds moving towards DC. Within 20 minutes, a huge rainstorm was bursting over DC. It rained for a good 20 minutes, stopped briefly and then down poured for about two hours.

At first I just waited out the storm...but then I decided I already looked like a drowned rat...what's a little more water going to do? So I had fun walking under my umbrella and taking in some of the sights. It was slightly cooler due to the rain but the humidity shot up.

I had taken refuge in the Lincoln Memorial at the beginning of the storm. Tourists ran for it as soon as the storm started. 

During the worst part of the first part...

The Canadian Geese were loving the wet weather.

And I met this little guy during my wanderings...he seemed to be enjoying himself.

The weather here has been a fun adjustment...and slowly I am coming to accept humidity...I shall certainly never be an advocate of it, but at least I don't feel like my body is being drained of all liquid due to the sweating...then again, it is still only the start of summer. 

My Shadow Misses Me

This is Lucy.

The dog is Lucy. The dozing man cuddled up with the dog is my brother Matt. Here is a better picture of Lucy. 

I met her last summer at scout camp. She is the camp director's dog...but somehow she became mine as well. She was my shadow. Anywhere I went she came along too. We did everything together that summer: hiking, swimming, eating, walking around, napping. There were many nights that she ended up in my tent to sleep at the foot of my bed. I love Lucy and was really sad to leave her in Utah. 

During my first official week in DC, I got an email from Dave, Lucy's owner. Now before I came out east, I went up to camp for a day and Lucy was the first thing I saw. She was delighted to see me and followed me around the rest of the day. I had many of my friends tell me that she had spent the previous weekend looking for me as the staff got things ready for camp. Anyway...So I got an email from Dave and here is what it said: 

"Katy,

 

Matt Davis was lying on the floor a few feet away from Lucy and kept calling Lucy to come to him. Lucy was lying at Adam Brown’s feet and only opened her eyes long enough to look at Matt, and then she closed them again. Matt said, “If I were Katy Lemley she’d come to me.”  At the mention of your name Lucy got up and walked over to Matt and laid down so he could pat her.  She misses you.  So do the rest of us.

 

Thanks,

 

--Dave"

That email made me tear up. It is hard being away from the people and yes, animals, that I love. But it is good to know that I am missed and not forgotten. And hopefully when I come back for Christmas, Lucy and I can spend some quality time together.

The Metro

Traveling via metro is always an adventure...or at least that is how I am choosing to look at it.

An expensive adventure.

Before moving out here, I did a bit o'research and thought that there was a discount for students when it came to the metro...apparently it is for students under the age of 18.

Nuts.

However, since I educate children 18 and younger, shouldn't it apply to me?

Inside a metro station

Didn't think so.

Ah well. You live and you learn. And make mistakes, oh so many mistakes...but that is a post for another day.

Anyway, traveling by metro and bus is nothing new to me. For most of my high school years I took the bus to get to school and out of all my family, I have probably rode trax more than all of them combined. So I was confident when I moved here that there would at least be one thing I was able to do.

And overall, it has gone fairly well. I have learned that the cars can get extraordinarily  crowded at certain times. I am sure it is worse in the summer due to the flow of tourism. But so far, it's been good.

Of course, there are always unique and special people on can encounter on public transportation. But that is what makes it an adventure. I can get pretty much anywhere I want in DC using the metro and then walking. I expect to have calves of steel by the end of my time here!

All the metro stations have handy-dandy signs telling you where you are...which actually mean nothing if you don't know the area...thank heavens for maps. 

That's what my hair looks like on a good day. As soon as I even remotely hint at sweating, it gets so wavy and curly...I'm trying to embrace it.

A very empty car.

The reflection from the window. 

I think the trick to enjoying riding the metro is to find the beauty around you. 

I think I am succeeding so far.

The Anatomy of a Bed

1: Gather lots of Boxes

2: Arrange them neatly to make a large rectangle

3: Cover Boxes with a bed skirt 

4. Place mattress on top of boxes

5. Make Bed

And that it is how a graduate student makes their bed 

Homesickness

“Settle down it will all be clear… The troubles they might drag you down. If you get lost you can always be found. Just know you’re not alone…” Philip Philips, Home

I am a homebody. If I didn’t have my religious knowledge to know that I was sent here for this specific time, I would have sworn that I was supposed to be born in the 1950s. I love being at home. I love being with my family, near my family, able to do whatever I want with my family.

Then why, pray tell, you may ask am I several thousand miles away from them?

I can honestly say, I don’t know.

The homesickness has been the worst part so far. For the first three days here, it would hit like a crippling illness. I would feel sick, nauseous, and be on the verge of tears.

And just to be clear, I have lived away from home before. I went to Snow College for two years, lived near BYU for a couple years, spent 5+ summers in the mountains away from my family…

But this felt so…definite.

And Final.

Homesickness is not something rational either. Not at least the kind I get. It pecks at the fear that something will happen to my family and I won’t be there to help them. Or that they’ll forget me (yeah right…like they could forget my sparkling personality!). But that fear was real to me, especially for my nieces and nephews.

When I was getting ready to leave, I wouldn’t let myself think about the things I would be missing. But once I got here, it was all I could think about.

And I cried.

Now, I am not a crier…unless a man is crying or I’m watching Saints and Soldiers. But there were several times each day that I burst into tears, and just ached to be home…and I hadn’t even been gone for a week! But it was all I could do to repack the boxes, drop out of school, and run back home (ok to the airport).

But there was a small voice inside of me saying “hang in there, it will get better”.

And then my amazing family and friends stepped up. I don’t think they will ever truly appreciate how much their texts or quick phone calls, or posts to Facebook have helped me. I needed those so much and they were there for me no matter what.

It’s been officially a week since I arrived in DC and the homesickness is not over by any means. But it is getting better. It is lessening its grip on my emotions, although there are still times when I wonder what am I doing out here. But it is getting better.  

The mornings are usually the hardest, but singing a hymn, reading a Conference Talk, or praying helps. And then waiting until it’s an acceptable time in Utah to call homeJ.

On the positive side…only 172 days until Christmas break. 

There's a Lesson to be Learned Somewhere in all of this...

I think I have the greatest moving in story…ever. Not because it was smooth and easy…but because everything that went wrong, did go wrong. It was amazing.

Saturday Morning, I got up and headed out to my apartment complex (with David’s help…). Upon arriving, I felt like a fish out of water. At the risk of sounding…insensitive?...naive?...I was surprised by the amount of African Americans around. Not that there is anything wrong with that. But again, coming from Utah, I am use to Hispanics and Tongans, and Samoans, etc. I went in and signed the paperwork and was told that the door security system wasn’t working so I would have to be buzzed in. But I was told that someone would be there to let me in.

I entered my apartment and was blown away by how much space I had. It is huge! I ran a quick errand to grab some stuff that I figured I would need to hold me over until Monday and then went back.

Where I tried to get in…

…Several times…

 No one was answering the apartment that I was buzzing. Finally, a kind resident let me in and I went to grab my luggage…and spent 15 minutes waiting for someone to let me in. The office had closed by now and I didn’t have a number to call anyone. I finally snuck in behind another resident and decided that it wasn’t worth trying to get in all night. So I went to another hotel and spent the night in a place where I knew that I could at least get in and out of my room.

The next day was Sunday, and so after carefully writing out directions to Church, I checked out and headed out…only to discover that the one highway the directions had given me was closed for a stupid bike marathon!!!!

By now the homesickness had set in and I desperately needed to go to Church. I was praying to go to Church. As I drove down another highway, leading away from DC and where I needed to go, I prayed urgently that Heavenly Father would let me go to Church. As I drove, I felt like I should take a certain exit onto another highway. Suddenly I found myself on the exact road that I needed to be on and heading towards Washington DC! It was nothing short of a miracle, a tender mercy. From there I was able to get to Church and attend the ward that I will be a part of for the next while.

It was a great relief.

Then I headed back to the apartment to talk to the housing office about not being able to get in. The lady was extremely patient and helped me out. Then another manager came and gave me her building key which actually allowed me to get in.

Hallelujah.

So I spent my first night in the apartment…and woke in a panic. I didn’t know what I was thinking. Why was I here? What was I doing?

I was “kind of” having a panic attack. I thought that I needed to get out and the faster the better. And so I tried to…but nothing worked out.

Now that I’ve had time to reflect on it, it was sheer panic. It undoubtedly stemmed from the stress and fear of being in a new environment and not believing in myself…and incredible amounts of homesickness…

But either way, I was able to get it all worked out and talked with the management at my apartment. Apparently the cleaning crew that was supposed to clean the apartment beforehand did not do the job they were supposed to and the management worked really hard to get it all cleared up and taken care of, which I really appreciated. It was nice to know that they listened to my concerns and took care of them.

So now it is time to get settled in…

Which Way is North? Or First Impressions

Oh the trees.

How can there be so many trees?

Growing up in the desert area all my life, I am use to certain kinds of trees. Particularly pines…how I miss my pine trees. Walking out of Union Station, I was blown away by several things.

1. The Capitol Building was right there!!!!!

2.  Oh jeez! The humidity! It’s like someone put a wool sweater on and sent me to stand in the sun!

3. The green. There are trees everywhere.

Of course I knew that from when I had come ten years before, but still.

After Enterprise came and picked me up and I got the car, and then headed back to the station to get the rest of my luggage. I quickly learned that Utah drivers are some of the most polite, well mannered, individuals…the vast majority of folks out here don’t seem to realize the point of a blinker…which makes driving feel like a real-life version of Mario Cart.

Living up in Utah has spoiled me when it comes to directions I always know which way I am facing. I find great comfort in knowing where I am and where I am headed, direction-wise.

However here…I am totally lost. My brother David can attest to that. My first two hours in DC were spent on the phone with him, trying to figure out where I was. They don’t have “freeways” out here. They have “parkways” and “beltways” and “highways” that run through residential areas…so different. And the roads go literally anywhere and everywhere!

David was the best and helped me figure out how to get to my hotel for the night (despite my preparing by printing off directions and looking at maps…). Upon arriving, I took a blessedly long shower (no showers on trains) and settled in for the night. The next morning I would be moving into my apartment and wanted to be well rested. I also took the time to download a compass app on my tablet so know at least I know which direction I was going. 

I'm on a Train: Part 2

Oh my knee.

The train from Salt Lake to Chicago was about two hours behind schedule, and so I was not able to go exploring like I wanted to. Upon arriving in Chicago, I called home and checked in, excited to be in a new city no matter how brief. I wandered around a bit, bought some postcards and a mug and then got some dinner.

Afterwards, I went to wait in line for my train to Washington DC. Waiting in line were many interesting different people. A lot of Amish were there, some Tibetan Monks, and a whole bunch of different ethnicities and cultures. It was fun to watch them.

Then it was time to board. Since they thought that the train would be full (it never did fill up 100%), they assigned us seats. Fortunately I got a window seat but my traveling companion was a very tall man. Which meant neither of us could really sprawl out to sleep. I spent a rather uncomfortable night trying not to invade his space. When I woke up, my knee was killing me. So after I made sure my seat buddy was awake, I politely asked to get out and I went to the observation car and snagged a seat. I spent the train ride through Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Maryland in the observation car. There was some beautiful scenery! So many trees. It was lovely.

The morning passed fairly quickly and soon we reached the suburbs of DC. The anticipation and excitement continued to grow, as did the nervousness. And then, we pulled into Union Station. So many people rushing around, waiting for luggage, buying tickets, giant groups of children on field trips…it was a lot to take in.

I got my luggage and called Enterprise to come pick me up, and then I headed toward the exit, ready to begin my adventure. 

I'm on a Train: Part 1

The Journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”

Late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning, however you want to look at it, I embarked on my new adventure: moving to Washington DC to earn my master’s degree.

This is the first time someone from my immediate family has moved out-of-state to attend school. And not to toot my own horn, I’m the first sibling to be working on a master’s degree. In other words, I am sailing in uncharted waters.

Some moments I have felt like Marco Polo, confidently sailing forward, knowing what I encounter is for the best and that I will gain valuable knowledge.

Other times I have felt like the Titanic.

Stupid anxiety.

But either way, I am here, on a train, moving across the country.

The train has actually been pretty fun, although I still haven’t found the “lounge” cart. Eh…maybe tomorrow.

Anyway, so Wednesday morning at 1am, we left my home in Utah, traveled up to Salt Lake City and to the Amtrak Shack. I kid you not; this is not the train stations of olden days.

I got checked in and we waited for about 45 minutes. Then my train came. I hugged my family goodbye and got on the train. It was a very bitter-sweet moment. Walking away from my family was so very hard. I didn’t want to look back because I knew that I would start crying. But I had to look back at least once so David could take a picture.

Then I got on the train, found a seat, and got settled in. I stayed awake until we passed Provo and then fell asleep before we had even reached Spanish Fork. I woke up just as we crossed the Utah-Colorado border.

The sights were beautiful! For most of the day, the train traveled right next to the Colorado River. Between that and the mountains, it was awesome! And I discovered that traveling through the tunnels was amazing. You enter the tunnel and it’s pitch black but then you come out of it and there is an amazing view of the canyons, mountains, and valleys. I loved it.

People watching has been fun as well. There are some unique characters out in the world…and ever since we entered Colorado, there have been interesting smells. I let you use your imagination on that one ;)

But riding on the train has been very relaxing. I’ve slept a lot, done a bit of homework, watched some movies, and read. Way more relaxing if I was driving or taking the plane.

Tonight the train will travel through the rest of Colorado and up into Nebraska (my favoritist place ever!...not). Then in the morning I will go through Iowa and into Illinois and will be in Chicago. I am looking forward to that experience!