My second day in the Washington D.C. was very busy with many visits to different places that literally taught me a lot as I shivered out of the cold weather that NC didn't prepare me for that well. We started our day by going to the Newseum which is a six stories tall museum that deals with the history of the news. We began our visit with a very interesting presentation about Religious Liberty in the United States, and I was very impressed by the speaker. Because everything he spoke about made me remember several events that I've been through during this year as a Muslim. It certainly was interesting to hear the opinion of a highly knowledgeable man about Religious Liberty in the country of liberty and freedom. Respect, again, was the source of the success of the presentation. We were 100 students, from different countries and religions, yet we all knew that we came here to understand more about each other, and eventually succeed in making the world a better place by having the sense of respect that we had between each other today.
After spending around five hours in Newseum, we went to the Capitol Hill, and we had to discover the main buildings of it to prepare ourselves for our upcoming meetings in there soon. The weather was cold, and the white gloomy color of the winter undertook the whole atmosphere as the temperature was 27 and the windshield was 16. The instructors of the program advised us multiple times to wear layers, and I did that, I really did. I wore a t-shirt, a sweater, a cardigan, leggings, pants, Ugg boots, and a coat. But, I was freezing and couldn't feel my face most of the tour. Other than that, it was very inspirational to know that the country's most important decisions are made on that hill. We were walking on a sacred place of knowledge, freedom, justice, and liberty. We were literally following the footsteps of the great American leaders who shall never be forgotten for their acts and legacies. Their buildings, offices, and that hill. Everything, every corner and building was filled with resemblance of the American culture. Fighting for freedom using wisdom as the world was being born again in a time that knew nothing but having power is the reason why a generation after a generation is being inspired.
We toured the hill for almost three hours in the cold, and by that time I couldn't feel neither my face nor my hands, but the motivation and inspiration that I gained from the different buildings and memorials that we went to made my whole body warm because feeling cold wasn't the end of my world, but missing on this great chance was.
We finished our great and long day by a trip to have dinner at a mall, and after that we came back to the hotel after thirteen historic hours of leaving it. Learning about the history of the US pushes me forward to know more, and knowing more makes me wonder about the future. We are very lucky to be here, because every information that has been given to us in only our second day will help us to become better people. The mistakes and successes of people in the past made the present a good place. Their heritage defines a nation, and a nation's acts spring in developing a world of peace and justice.
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