Sunday, January 27, 2008

The Contrast

I’ve spent a decent amount of time in the last few months thinking about if and when I would ever want to move back to DC. While that internal debate continues, I was struck by a variety of emotions and observations during a 3-day trip to our Nation’s capital last week.

Observation #1- DC is a small town. The lack of sky scrapers was even more noticeable to me last week that is has been on previous trips.

Observation #2- the clean subway system is invaluable!! There was no trash on the ground, no dark spots marking old chunks of gum, no pealing paint and no graffiti—beautiful!

Observation #3- fashion is very different in DC (or NYC, depending on your perspective.) Women wore conservative suits and I even saw a few headbands in their hair. Missing were the ueber-stylish people and the people who, in trying hard not to be trendy, are in fact quite hip. I paid homage to both cities and wore my DC pants and hip NYC hat (no worries, I was wearing a shirt too:-))

Observation #4- rush hour on the subway in DC is so much less crowded than in NYC. I was also pleased to see how many people were reading the Washington Post, Financial Times and Wall Street Journal…no tabloids in sight.

Big Thought- being in DC leaves me with the feeling that New York is but an interim stop on my way back from Berlin. Perhaps I’ll still be saying that 10 years, one husband and a couple kids from now, but that was a huge feeling that I got while being down there.

What does all that mean? Who the heck knows. It’s all just another element of my New York Adventure.

13 Comments:

Blogger Anuradha said...

Come back Erin, come back! We miss you!!!

11:06 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

So, you addressed DC and NY, but where do your years living back in middle America - in Tennessee - figure in?

6:00 PM  
Blogger Erin said...

I'll say the same thing to you that I say to Granny...find me an international affairs related governmental job and I'm there.

Maybe I could share an apartment with the Jugg Sisters:-)

6:53 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh. Nevermind, then.

10:27 AM  
Blogger Erin said...

Or maybe Charlotte needs a midwest nanny who speaks a bit of German and knows the MSU fight song;-)

10:35 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Don't leave until I can get closer to NYC!!! :)
Glad you had a fun and fulfilling trip!

11:12 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hallo from Bonn!! :-) Wow - things have changed since we were last here. Now there's a subway station beside the Beethoven statue near the post office... or was that always there??

That's really the only change I noticed, actually. Of course, it was dark at the time. Hopefully I'll get to see a bit more tomorrow afternoon.

I personally think you should try the West Coast before settling down in DC, just to get a bit of balance after spending time in NYC. I'm sure you could find an international gig in SF with no problem!

Of course, I'm not sure I'd still be there when you arrive, which would be a bummer. Bitte druecken Sie die Daumen and I'll explain more in a personal email later...

3:07 PM  
Blogger Erin said...

Wow JP, du bist in Bonn? Meine gute! Was machst du da? Ja, bitte schick eine Mail!

Viel Spass in Deutschland. Bitte geniess ein Falafel Sandwich fuer mich. Ahh Deutschland:-)

3:13 PM  
Blogger Erin said...

p.s. In die letzte zwei Wochen habe ich Information von Guidestar zweimal benutzt!

3:14 PM  
Blogger kelly said...

jp, you're in dland?! If you're headed down south send me an email-- you're welcome to stop by :-)

3:55 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i would like a jp update too!

2:07 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Middle America international affairs position? I'm sure we could find something at the border for you in the Soo! Yoopers are real fashion trend setters.
DT in TC

9:28 PM  
Blogger Erin said...

ooohh ja, the yoopers!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DT IN TC!

10:03 AM  

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