Category Archives: Posts From Washington DC

Welcome Spring!

Posted on by under My life, Posts From Washington DC

So, I got back to DC yesterday evening and everything is more or less the same as when I left except one important aspect: spring is here! When I left, Washington’s famous cherry trees were not yet blooming, and now the pink blossoms are almost gone. The trees around the city have turned green and there are tulips and other spring flowers in every corner. Today was sunny and warm, and my whole neighborhood seemed to be hanging out at the cafes on 17th Street. After skyping a bit in the morning, I headed over to Trio for my first American brunch in almost a month and was welcomed with “I will seat you at one of D’s (the waiter’s) tables. I loves you! He thinks you are so nice and he says you are very smart too!”. How could I ever do brunch at another place?? While enjoying my brunch in the sun, giggling guys dressed up as Easter bunnies or with decorative hats passed by in the street, and at the table next to me, a group of people were discussing the Republican primaries and the forthcoming election. In other words, a typical DC Sunday. And yet a million times better than before I left, with the sun and the flowers! A warm welcome to spring; I will truly enjoy this season over the next month, before I cross the Atlantic again.

Witches, a Swedish Easter tradition and, as always, not entirely linked to the Christian holiday. I guess Scandinavia was a little too far from Rome to really get all the details… 

Climate Change, Nutrition, and Some Cheap Energy to Boost Productivity

Posted on by under My life, Posts From Washington DC

As I wrote in my previous post, I am in an insane period right now in terms of work and studies, and hence the poor updating of the blog. Except for an AW at the Lost Society on Friday (my friend made a typo in the text he sent me and wrote losr society, which I assumed was short for Loser Society and found surprisingly self-ironic for a bar in DC – but no, this city is not there yet!), I haven’t done much else this weekend than working and skyping with friends. I have a couple of deadlines these weeks, and right now I am sitting with something that is due tomorrow. In setting the right environment for the weekend’s tasks, I piled up with M&Ms and Oreos – super unhealthy but oh so efficient when I need energy and focus. Luckily, I am working on Climate Change and Agriculture right now and thus mostly focusing on irrigation investments and resilient crop varieties and livestock breeds. Think I have to move over to Le Pain Quotidien or some other organic cafe in about an hour when I am turning to my nutrition policy studies!

Smile More!

Posted on by under On Books, Movies, Education, and Conferences, Our World, Posts From Washington DC

At least in Europe, Americans have the reputation of being very nice and friendly when you meet them, in stores, or at restaurants etc. Whenever a European has been on vacation in the U.S., he or she always comes back amazed over how nice people were and how good service they got in various establishments. It is probably true more often than not (and it certainly was my experience in California), but not in Washington DC. There are obviously exceptions, but many times, people can’t even bother to say hello when I am  in a store or a cafe, not to mention smile a little. (And yes, I always say hi of course.) And when I first arrived here, I often felt degraded by the the fact that people looked at me like I was the biggest idiot in the city when asking them something. I am not really sure why this is, because while I have now only referred to people that I meet in their professional roles, it is more or less the same when I meet new people in private, at my dance studio, or at a bar, etc. In fact, few of my neighbors say hello to me before I do when I meet them, and they normally try to avoid eye contact. I have of course met a lot of very nice people here too, but there is a notable difference from other places where I have lived. Only tonight, I got quite a nasty reply from a lady who worked in the metro, when I asked if there was a time table for the trains (given that I had to wait for 20 min last week). When I came back down in the metro again after my dance class, I heard her telling off her colleague who was sweeping the floors in the metro entrance. Not exactly spreading the love!

Right now, I am reading The Power of Kindness by Piero Ferrucci and thought it might not be the most well written book, I think it is an important topic. Kindness is too often an undervalued quality in a person. Yet, who is more pleasant to be with: someone kind and considerate, or someone arrogant and self absorbed? I also believe in spreading happiness through kindness. If someone gives me a smile and some kind words in the morning, I get in a good mood and tend to smile and say something nice to the next person that I meet.  So my next mission is to try to convert DC into a more smiling and friendly city. Wish me luck!

Three Years as Washingtonienne

Posted on by under My life, Posts From Washington DC

Today it is exactly three years since I moved here to Washington DC. The day after I arrived at Dulles International Airport, I was settled in my new office and saw Obama win the historic 2008 election. A day or so later I was introduced to Mr. M, and a week and a half after that, I got the keys to my apartment. And after that, things have just kept moving. I sometimes think that my life is a little slow here, but when I think about all the things I have done since I moved here, how much I have learned, all the places I have seen, all the people I have gotten to know, and everyone that has come to visit me here, I realize that I have kept quite busy. (I am not going to do a recap because everything, or almost everything anyway, is in the blog archive.) I seriously considered leaving at one point, but in the end I decided to stay, and now the U.S. is by far the country where I have lived the longest. So for how long do I think I will stay here? Well, I have no plans at this point, at least not in this regard. Right now it feels best to just take things as they come!

On Capitol Hill

On Farmers Markets in the U.S.

Posted on by under On Agriculture and Food, On Books, Movies, Education, and Conferences, Posts From Washington DC

After days of agony, I finally decided on the topic for my next assignment in my Food Policy class on the Sociology and Culture of Food: I will write about the development of Farmers Markets in the U.S. It is really interesting to see how popular they have grown here over the past decades – we have several only around DC and the Metropolitan Area. It is great to be able to directly interact with the producers and it is interesting to see that consumers are willing to pay more for small-scale, locally produced food of lower visible standards (though often better tasting) than the often more conveniently available produce in stores. However, best of all is probably to get to know the rich variety of products that are produced in the Washington DC’s surroundings. Here are some pictures from today’s farmers market by Dupont Circle:

 

Can Life Be An Adventure Even in DC?

Posted on by under My life, Posts From Washington DC

I’m not sure… After a really intensive week with activities or late-night work every evening, I now have a highly uneventful weekend in front of me. The few people that I normally spend time with outside of work here in Washington are busy this weekend, and since I have a lot of studies to catch up on (and am frankly quite tired after this week), I haven’t made an effort to contact anyone else either. Definitely a change from last weekend in New York! I am also wondering if this is really the adventure that life could be? Probably not. Or maybe it just depends on how present we are in the moment and how much of the small and big things around us in our every-day life that we really see? Perhaps I should explore DC a little more at some point this weekend!? Or just enjoy my weekend brunch at Trio, a meal and a place that would be difficult to find in Sweden. Or maybe the closest I will get to an adventure is through reading the Sisi biography that I bought in Vienna a few weeks ago…. Regardless, I am glad the weekend is here!

At the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court here in Washington DC a sunny September day a couple of years ago (photographer: Carro)

IKEA – The Swedish Community Center in DC?

Posted on by under My life, Posts From Washington DC

On Tuesday is the solstice and as I have already written on this blog, it means that we Swedes celebrate Midsummer. In honor of this, IKEA arranged a smorgasbord (or smörgåsbord as it should be spelled) with traditional midsummer food such as herring and salmon, along with the at any Swedish celebrations abroad obligatory meatballs. (In Sweden, we traditionally don’t serve meatballs at midsummer.) And as usually, our song group was invited to sing. It is necessary to get tickets in advance for these events, and I am always surprised to see the variety of people who come; it is definitely not just the Swedish au-pair girls and Scandinavian descendants that might be expected. In fact, there are normally families there from all over the world, and judging by their knowledge of Swedish traditional dances, they’ve spent a significant amount of time in Sweden. While I am not so surprised that they’ve lived in Sweden, I am a bit curios why they left. Was it the unwelcoming labor market? Or was it simply too cold? Anyway, I ate too much as always, but the singing went well and the evening was very nice. I could also tell that I now have created a proper home here in Washington since I only walked out of the IKEA store with a dish brush and a package of napkins. I apparently have everything I need!

Kramerbooks & Afterwords

Posted on by under My life, Posts From Washington DC

I think I have taken everyone who has come to visit to this place: Kramerbooks & Afterwords. A lovely bookstore with a nice, casual restaurant that has the most amazing deserts. I know I’ve already posted a blog about this place but I thought it was worth repeating. It is really one of my favorite places here, and I have spent way too much time there this winter. Most recently with my Swedish friend Monika. After dinner, we ended up sharing a banana cake with layers of peanut butter and whipped cream. It was delicious, but whoever comes up with such a cake??

Happy St Patrick’s Day!!

Posted on by under Posts From Washington DC

It is St Patrick’s Day today and there are a lot of parades and celebrations going on all over the U.S. On my way to work, I saw that the water in the fountain in front of the White House had been colored green, and people in the streets were dressed in green. (Had I thought about it this morning, I would of course also have put on something color appropriate.) Ironically, this is my fourth St Patrick’s Day here in the U.S. and I have yet to go out to an Irish pub (or any pub for that matter) to celebrate this day. Well, maybe next year! And at least I got myself a St Patrick’s cupcake for desert this evening.