After a long week of preparation, my mother, sister, brother, and I pulled out of our driveway. It was 9 PM.
The whole family takes an annual trip to Cape Ann in Massachusetts to visit my father’s family and participate in hometown traditions. DC is on the way, and I had not yet applied for my Spanish visa, so my family dropped me off at my friend Alex‘s house just outside the capital before continuing north. The Spanish consulate is not open on weekends, leaving me with a few days to relax and explore with an old friend.
The clock had just struck 2:00 AM when Alex greeted me in her apartment lobby. She and I stayed downstairs to catch up for a few minutes before heading up to her apartment. We met a few residents of her building, most returning in from their respective nights out.
Alex’s apartment is bright, open, and conveniently located, but what I will probably remember most about it is the sheer number of available outlets. Every time I turned around, it seemed, I was greeted with another 120 volts of electricity. Still, somehow I managed to leave town without fully charged devices. You can lead a horse to water, am I right?
Alex had plans most of Saturday, so after brunch I set out to explore what events I could find in the area. I saw on Instagram that a few of my friends from back home were also in town for the day – what a coincidence! We met up at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival on that National Mall and very quickly decided that we would rather spend time in one of the many air-conditioned museums at our disposal.
The Smithsonian American Art Museum presented us with innumerable beautiful works by a wide variety of artists – my favorites of the day included Hughie Lee-Smith and Albert Bierstadt.
No images in the galleryI headed back to meet Alex after we had eaten and picked up some drinks for a night out. Once changed and refreshed, I met back up with my friends to go out.
Town Dancebotique is the largest gay nightclub in Washington DC, and coincidentally, Saturday marked its last night in business. My friends and I were not going to miss the opportunity to experience its final evening! Full of anticipation and budget liquor, we waited in line for an hour or so before arriving at the gate.
What a night it was! Jorge and I only stopped dancing to get more drinks, and even then it was difficult to choose which pop diva anthem to forego (Sorry Cher, I’ll catch the Believe Dance Club Remix next time). Once we were sufficiently exhausted we ordered a cab to the only place open at 3:30 AM – the Chinatown McDonald’s. Our cab driver was having a pretty rough night– we were rear-ended mid trip.
In true DC fashion, Alex and I spent our Sunday consuming boozy bottomless brunch and watching the World Cup at Dacha Beer Garden. We found a beautiful set of four garage doors on our walk, each painted to spell “L O V E” in rainbow stripes. I retired early to finish some assignments and triple-check the substantially thick stack of papers required to apply for a visa. I also watched more episodes of Queer Eye than I’d like to admit – even so, I’m only a few episodes into season 2.
No images in the gallerySomehow I woke up in time to be one of the first in line at the Spanish consulate this morning. Interestingly I was surrounded in line by fellow North Carolina residents, both applying for student visas as well. The visa window reminded me of the receptionist’s desk at a doctor’s office before the Internet gobbled up the health data industry– The wall behind the consulate officer was full of folders a files, color-coded and arranged perfectly. The process went much more smoothly than I anticipated. It pays to prepare!
No images in the galleryNow the waiting game begins – I cannot wait to receive my visa. This is all finally coming together!
