Laughs, Blossoms, and Libyans!

The closer this summer gets, the more and more excited I am to be so close to going to the Middle East. I've started reading travel websites liberally to get as much information as I can on Cairo, Herzliya, and Qatar- don't know how much "touristy" stuff they'll be giving us time for but it's still exciting to see. I should have at least a little time (likely in Israel) in the 4 or so days in between the two programs, assuming I find a way to stay in the region. We got our first email regarding the Israel trip today; sadly, I won't be able to make the informational "get to know each other" meetings back in Cuse, but we did find out about our hotel- looks pretty sweet, I've always said the complex Palestinian-Israeli situation is best discussed from a hotel pool. Well, not really- but it can't hurt, right?

Fun day for class last Thursday- we went to the National Defense University to participate in the strategic game, "Pandemic Fury." Basically, we did some roleplaying as policymakers in a fictional situation where a human-to-human strain of bird flu breaks out in south Asia and eventually spreads through shipping lines to America. My job as press secretary for the Homeland Security Dept. was to calm down America by downplaying the problem and framing our message- a little unethical by my journalism standards, but pretty fun to play on the other side of things for once. We definitely gained a better respect for everyone trying to solve these problems- you never realize how hard it is to protect people AND leave their rights intact until you try to do it.

Fun weekend here, at least Saturday, which featured the Cherry Blossom festival and the Capitol Steps. The blossoms were beautiful, and it was sweet seeing the hundreds (if not thousands) of kites flying above the Mall (one was big enough that it literally looked like I could have ridden on it). I got some good pics of the blossoms, they'll be up on Facebook eventually. That night though, was the highlight- Capitol Steps was an amazingly hilarious performance (check out the site for musical samples, especially "Lirty Dies"). They did music parodies like "Huckabee" ("Let it Be" by the Beatles) or, pictured above, Larry Craig singing "Tap Three Times." I definitely am going to see them again sometime.

A little disappointment this morning as MEI's Libya Conference was unable to work out the videoconference with Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi- still an interesting time, though; I met a very nice Libyan man named Mr. Bagdadi who spoke with me for a while how journalists and waiters are alike, as he'd been both. And naturally, I enjoyed the free food (especially the amazing desert, which featured edible gold foil flecks on each dish).

Rough opening night for the Braves last night, it always sucks to lose on a walk-off...but its heartening to see the team as ESPN's favorite for World Series Champions. Go Atlanta!

Well, it's off to career night tonight, a networking event set up by Dr. Schneider (complete with free pizza- it's always nice to go through a day without paying for food!) I'll leave you with a sample of the Capitol Steps' work- if you're ever in DC, you have to see them- they're well worth the price. Ma'a Salaama!