Seven Scranton High School students are in Washington, D.C., where they are visiting monuments, touring museums and preparing to witness Monday's inauguration of President Barack Obama.
While in the nation's capital, they are writing about their experiences for The Times-Tribune. You can also follow their travels on Twitter using the hashtag #NEPAinDC.
New roommates
After arriving in Washington, D.C., for our very first time, anxious and excited, we patiently awaited the arrival of our roommates. They could have been from anywhere within the United States. After waiting several hours, we finally heard a knock on the door. We were both nervous but eager at the same time. We were very thrilled to see that our roommates came all the way from Puerto Rico to Washington, D.C. We soon learned they did not speak much English. Luckily, we have taken Spanish throughout high school, and we were able to understand what they were saying and communicate with them. It has been fascinating over the last day and a half to learn about their culture, hobbies and everyday life. We look forward to the rest of our stay with them. We are pleased to share this once-in-a-lifetime experience with two sweet, unique girls.
Exploring D.C.
We had the opportunity and privilege to separate from our America Civics Center group and go explore the Library of Congress on Friday afternoon. A staff instructor from our group, Gary Regan, who is a University of Scranton alumnus, was courteous enough to show us around where he was once employed. He took us to places that even our teachers, who consider Washington their second home, had never experienced. He explained the amazing architecture and the symbolism everywhere we looked.
We toured a room filled with many different books, but not just any books. These one-of-a-kind pieces of history were Thomas Jefferson's personal collection. They were the building blocks of what is known as today's biggest library in the world. Standing there and admiring these masterpieces was breathtaking and something we will never forget.
Sept. 11 memorial
We did so much on our first full day in D.C. My favorite part was the Newseum. I thought the Newseum was just about the news, but then I heard that there was a memorial to Sept. 11 in it. I knew at that moment that I was going to enjoy this stop a lot more. I had a cousin in the first plane that hit the towers. The main focus of the memorial was the radio antenna from the top of one of the towers. It was twisted and bent in all directions. There was a wall filled with the front pages of newspapers from around the world the day after the attack. There also was a piece of the Pentagon from where the plane flew into the building. Finally, a movie was playing that showed different stories of reporters who were covering the attack. We were all just in awe of the different pictures, video, and firsthand accounts of the reporters - footage that we had never seen. It was really moving.
At the memorial, I talked to so many different people who were somehow directly affected by the attack. It was amazing how that one moment brought everyone, even complete strangers together, years later. Today was a great day, and I can't wait to see what we will be doing Saturday.