Happy Inauguration!

It feels like today was a holiday! I could hardly sleep last night, and I actually felt wide awake and full of energy at 2:00am. I headed over to 7th street with a friend and made it to the front of the line at 3:00am. It was amazing to see how many people were there so early, and it was even more amazing to see everyone at the Mall. The crowds were unbelievable, and the inauguration lifted the spirits of everyone there. Every time President Obama's face showed up on the big screen, the entire Mall was filled with noise and people chanting his name. I was pretty far from the main event and had to see it on a big screen, but all cared was that I stood at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. when President Obama, the first African American President of the United States, took his oath. With crowds being in the millions, I and a friend decided to warm up in (guess where...) the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History (my third time and I still didn't get to see even half of the stuff there). I then headed to the Smithsonian's Museum of American History to view our original Star Spangled Banner (the flag which inspired the poem, which was then turned to a song) and it truly is an inspiring piece of american history (sorry, no pictures were allowed). The day ended today with the Black Tie Inaugural Gala at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum. While the attendees were limited to the people in the program and didn't include any officials from Washington, it was still enjoyable because the entire museum was open after hours for us, while we were entertained by a live band.

Well, I'm finally going home tomorrow after a tiring and exciting 4 days.

See you on campus,

-Hugo