Bethesda

I've been staying with TJ's parents in Bethesda, Maryland for a week now, so it's time for an update. Since New York, we haven't been quite so busy with touristy things as we've been working on applying for jobs and the like. However we've been into Washington D.C. a few times.

The first time was to visit the Spy Museum, which was cool. It was pretty interactive giving us tests and missions as well as learning about the history of spies and their practices. We went into D.C. on Sunday with TJ's dad to look at President Roosevelt and Thomas Jefferson’s Presidential Monuments. They were, um – pretty monumental I guess. Not knowing much American history, it did give me an insight into what sort of guys these were and what they brought to the country. Yesterday we saw an Imax film in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum about Red Flag. This is a training exercise for fighter jet pilots, similar to, but larger in scope than, Top Gun. And also real. After that we spent a couple of hours looking around the museum at air and space history. I’ll probably go backto explore more and order some personalized ‘dog tags’.

The good thing about D.C. is that there are so many museums to cover many tastes and they’re all free. It’s the home of the Smithsonian Museums which I’m sure you’ve all heard about.

So far I’m liking the Maryland/DC area. It’s not at exciting and busy as NYC, but definitely an easier place to live. There are beggars on the street in DC and more racial diversity than I was expecting. I guess I always thought DC would all be white collar govt workers, but it’s not the case. You have to pretty much drive everywhere – there’s not even any sidewalks in TJ’s neighbourhood! And, yes there does seem to be a McDonalds or Starbucks on every corner. It has been hard finding a decent coffee, but I will never, ever set foot inside a Starbucks!

Other American Weirdities:
* Light switches flip up for on
* The water level in the toilet is nearly at the top of the bowl
* There is no small sizes in anything. The smallest is always called medium, tall, or deluxe. Anything, but small.
* The price you see on a product is never the price you end up paying. Except stamps
* If I say I have a partner, I’m gay
* If I want a fag, I’m gay
* Not that there’s anything wrong with that

TJ and I are off on a road trip to North Carolina, Atlanta and Georgia tomorrow for a week or so. I’m looking forward to exploring the different states and meeting more of TJ’s friends and family. So far they have been very friendly and accommodating – and no lie detector tests yet!!