by B. Stone

Created on: November 25, 2008   Last Updated: January 08, 2009

I've been living in Washington DC for more than ten years. It is truly a stimulating city in a league of its own. It has so much to offer beyond great restaurants and quaint neighborhoods. It is where laws are made and world leaders convene, the center of national politics and policy. But also, DC is a city rich in culture and history. There are endless groups represented in this small area of sixty-one square miles, and six hundred thousand residents, from religious groups, to policy think tanks, human rights organizations, to youth centers. There is a great vibrancy in the nation's capital that I am grateful to be a part of.

Visually, Washington is stunning, with history everywhere you look. On the National Mall alone you'll find a variety of architectural styles - neoclassical in the Capitol Building, modern in the Hirshhorn Art Museum, and the Neo-Egyptian Washington Monument. You can head into the city as well, where there are beautifully painted murals, relics to DC's musical past. It is certainly a treat to visit the district as a tourist, to take pictures of your kids climbing on the giant Einstein statue, to visit the Smithsonian museums, exploring the Botanical Gardens, or watching an IMAX film at the National History museum; but, it is a whole different experience altogether to have all the unique monuments of Washington at your fingertips. To stroll along the reflecting pool on a Saturday afternoon, or to jog along the trails of Roosevelt Island, to sit and read at the Khalil Gibran fountain surrounded by beautiful quotes etched into the stone circle surrounding you. It is an awe-inspiring experience to sit amongst the shadows of our nation's history as if they were in your own backyard.

Washington DC is also a city of extremes. Here you'll find lobbyists in thousand dollar suits rushing past the homeless, sitting indian style on street corners. The private schools in the district are amazing, and very international, but also are only for the very wealthy, while the public schools system is in dire need of even the basics, new text books, funding for art and music classes. Washington has both the highest personal income per capita, as well as a staggering 19% of the population below the poverty level. This is the highest rate anywhere in America aside from Mississippi. You can't help but be aware of extreme poverty as well as an affluence that many places in America never witness. This discrepancy alone makes you a little more interested in politics

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