I would return to that bathroom

Just a precaution—my blogging quality probably won’t be the best today due to the heavy amount of walking that we did. Much like the previous day, our day began with a university campus visit. Our
second designated university was George Washington University, which had a totally different feel than Georgetown U. For one, it was an open campus. Personally, I find much greater interest in exploring closed campuses as walking the streets of open campuses doesn’t differ too much from walking the streets of the average urban intersection. Also, nearly all facilities were closed so we ended up having a field day in one of the school gardens. It was astoundingly beautiful—I’ll give it that. Similar to Georgetown U, George Washington University also lacks in the engineering department, which seems to be a common trend among schools in D.C. That makes sense—it is the political center of the United States after all. Another quick disclaimer—these blogs do not cover the entirety of our trip. I will often exclude certain parts of our trip that I do not find as fascinating. Sometime after our visit to the George Washington U campus, we made our way to two of the most famous museums in Washington D.C: the Holocaust museum and the Museum of Natural History. The highlight of the Holocaust museum is a physical, interactive exhibit that portrays the life of a Jewish child named Daniel in the Holocaust. I’ve learned plenty of the Holocaust in school, and I’ve done extensive readings of narratives of Holocaust survivors so the interest isn’t necessarily one of discovery. You never quite understand the realism, the actuality of traumatizing events like the Holocaust until you see it for yourself. Daniel’s exhibit was, for me the gateway to that sight. Unfortunately, the main exhibit of the Holocaust museum was closed, so our visit was short-served. After a bit of urging (by me) to go to the Museum of Natural History, we did. Honestly, the only reason I wanted to go so badly is because the museum is featured in Night of the Museum (no regrets). For some reason, I find great excitement in seeing famous sites used to film movies—perhaps it’s one of those things that allows your brain to hold movies with a bit of realism. I went expecting bones and fossils, but the agenda played out a bit differently. First, I headed over to the Hope Diamond which has an unbelievable amount of historic significance. However, I do believe that it is highly overrated. Competing with 50 surrounding tourists to snap a picture of a diamond the size of a tennis ball is not a pleasant experience. Right in the next room is an aquamarine much larger and much more lustrous than the Hope Diamond, yet it has much less foot traffic for some reason.
I ended up staying a disproportionate amount of time at the photography section, which is peculiar because I have little interest or experience with photography. It also turned out to be my favorite exhibit in the entire museum. What do you know—perhaps I do have an interest in photography. I’m going to avoid talking about food as much as I can, but we stopped by a place named Okibowl Ramen for dinner and I have to talk about it. The ramen here is probably the best I’ve ever had, but that’s not the important part. They have a poor excuse of a bathroom that one audacious yelp reviewer dubs as a “psychedelic technology junkyard,” which I can’t help but agree with. It is definitely the most dynamic bathroom I’ve ever been in, but is also a strong candidate for one of the most inefficient bathrooms. This may not be strikingly obvious, but it is a bit difficult to go when blue disco lights shine in your face. However, I would return to that bathroom in a heartbeat. Overall, a 10/10 experience and I would highly recommend if you’re a ramen fanatic like I am and stop by D.C.
-David Yi