from our nation's capital

I'm in Washington, D.C. for three days of meetings that are meant to prepare us for our exchange. I arrived a day early so I could visit one of my college roommates, Michelle, and meet her new baby, Gabriella. We had a quiet evening at home, and it was good to catch up. When I checked my e-mail last night, there was a message from the Consulate in Houston; while they had in fact received the files from the ANAEM last week, my paperwork was not included. Yikes! I printed the e-mail and handed to my Fulbright contact when I checked in at the hotel this morning. I hope they will call France and get this straightened out!!

On the Metro back to Reagan this morning (so I could catch the shuttle to the hotel), I sat next to a college student who was quietly working her way through a stack of homemade flashcards of French vocabulary. She was studying a unit on going out; vocabulary included things about the movies and phrases like "à quelle heure est le film?" (what time is the film?) and "c'est un navet" (It's a flop). Watching her focus so intently on the new words transported me back to high school when I relied heavily on the use of flashcards. I can still remember falling asleep while studying for my first round of finals, and seeing my flashcards for the verb être floating in my dream. I'll have to develop something a little more sophisticated than my bits of scrap paper that get stuffed in my pockets or find their way to the bottom of my purse, because I'm sure I will be learning many more new words as the year progresses.

"Fulbright Central" is at the Crown Plaza. The level of energy and nervousness can really be felt. On my walk to my hotel a few blocks away, I passed individuals and families wearing their name tags - I can only imagine where they're from and where they're headed, but it's exciting to see so many people who are interested in international exchanges.

I'm sitting in my hotel room at the Holiday Inn in Alexandria. Nathalie and I are rooming together this week! Her suitcases are here, but she must be in a meeting. It's strange to see my home address on her luggage tags. We should have exchanged photographs so we don't pass each other by in the hotel lobby. (I have an eerie feeling we did that when I was checking in at the Fulbright registration at the Crown Plaza).

This morning, I have a meeting on how to use my Fulbright e-mail account, which is based in Switzerland. Alas, it's not a Swiss bank account... There is also a Blackboard that the participants and administrators will use to communicate throughout the year. After lunch, we will take a bus tour of D.C. Although I've done that before, it was back in high school with Close-Up, and it will be a nice way to get to know some of the other Fulbright teachers.