Update from DC....

I can't believe it is already Monday and I am leaving in 2 days! My time here in DC has been flying by and it is showing no signs of slowing down. The past few days have been relaxing, and haven't done too much sight seeing, which is nice. I have pretty much just hung out with my brother and his wife, and my new niece. She is almost nine weeks old now and is totally cute. All she does is sleep and eat, but she is totally content with whatever we do. She is definitely not fussy.

So I arrived in DC on Friday and just napped and hung out with my brother most of the day. That night though I found myself in Heaven, as my brother and I discovered the most amazing Asian Market ever!! This place is insanely huge and has everything my heart could ever desire. I'm talking Dim Sum, fried pork, duck, pot stickers, baked goods, Asian candy, etc.... You name it they got it. The first visit only lasted about 20 minutes or so, but we definitely returned there on Sunday and bought plenty of fixing for a dinner we are going to cook on Tuesday. Some might call it a farewell dinner of sorts, I just call it good food, I hope :)

On Saturday we took a trip to Tyson's Corner, which has one of the biggest malls I have ever seen. My brother bought me a great travel backpack from L.L. Bean, which should make all my intra-European travel pretty easy. I also went into a Hollister store for the first time b/c my host family had a special request for a Tote bag. I cannot believe how crazy the Hollister store was. First of all, the actually town of Hollister is pretty sad looking, but somehow it has become the poster child for all things Hip and Cool from California. If only they really knew the truth about Hollister...... Oh well, they have great marketing none the less. That night we made burritos and I introduced my brother to Campari and orange juice. I think he is as hooked as I am now. Thanks Jonas!

On Sunday we had a lazy morning and went to target in the early afternoon. I bought the usual Target necessities for travel and after we got home we decided to go the pool. We thought we might put Camden's (my niece) feet in the water for the first time, but it was just too cold.

After the pool my brother and I had our second Asian Market excursion which lasted almost an hour. Again, the store was heaven and we bought all the fixings for our dinner on Tuesday. For appetizers we are going to fry up some octopus and make some Bao (BBQed pork buns) and pot stickers. Dinner will likely consist of some coconut milk chicken and of course, dessert will involve red bean paste in some form. What would any meal or day be without red bean paste??? I certainly cannot image one.

So today I have been working on my Thesis. I had a slight disaster this morning as End Note and Word decided to completely reformat my entire thesis without any warning. I still have no idea what happened, but I believe I have managed to reformat everything after a few solid hours of work. No fun at all! I am now hanging out at Barnes and Nobel by the Federal Triangle waiting for my brother to get off work. After he gets here we will head to a local brewery for happy hour. I hear they have good micro brews and cheap appetizers. That is my kind of place!!

I also forgot to say that I did break down and buy Harry Potter 7. I think I might have already mentioned that, but there it is again. So far so good. I hope everything else is reading it and enjoying it. I think I will continue reading it now.

Bis dann....