Hills Clothed in Gladness: Review of Psalm 65

[Image Deleted: see http://peregrinatorphoto.blogspot.com/]

Sunset over Salerno, Italy.

October 2007.

I've read through Psalm a couple of times. Generally, when reading through the poetry, I'll read one psalm a day until I'm finished with the book. The problem is that I end up speed reading through all the passages without actually sitting down and meditating upon what the psalmist is trying to say. It's easy to skip over the powerful metaphors and sincere emotions. Each work is usually shorter than a single column in my Bible, so skimming over one just before bed has become routine. The psalms also tend to say the same thing over and over again unless I take my time with them, so it can get a bit boring, at least for me. Therefore, I decided to change my routine and pick one psalm to sink into. I chose Psalm 65. I treated it like a prayer I would repeat over and over when I'm in turmoil. I first read the psalm in its entirety. Then, each night I would read one verse at a time and meditate heavily upon that verse. Whereas normally I would have breezed through this psalm in one night, I have spent a little more than a week on the passage.

I figured I'd share some of my notes and thoughts on Psalm 65 here. I mean, why not? It's not like I have a job to go to or anything like that. I also picked one of my old photos that reminded me of the passage because, well, that's just how I roll.

Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion;

To you our vows will be fulfilled.

O you who hear prayer, to you all men will come.

When we were overwhelmed by sins,

You forgave our transgressions.

Blessed are those you choose

And bring near to live in your courts!

We are filled with the good things of your house,

Of your holy temple.

You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness,

O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth

And of the farthest seas,

Who formed the mountains by your power,

Having armed yourself with strength,

Who stilled the roaring of the seas,

The roaring of their waves,

And the turmoil of the nations.

Those living far away fear your wonders;

Where morning dawns and evening fades,

You call forth songs of joy.

You care for the land and water it;

You enrich it abundantly.

The streams of God are filled with water

To provide the people with grain,

For so you have ordained it.

You drench it furrows and level its ridges;

You soften it with showers and bless its crops.

You crown the year with your bounty,

And your carts overflow with abundance.

The grasslands of the desert overflow;

The hills are clothed with gladness.

The meadows are covered with flocks

And the valleys are mantled with grain;

They shout for joy and sing.

"Praise awaits you." Though this psalm screams joy, happiness, and thanksgiving at first glance- there is still an undertone of longing and perhaps loss. There is still a waiting for God. Wherever there is 'hope' and 'waiting,' then something is missing. "But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently" (Romans 8:24-25). Therefore, even though the psalm sounds joyful, there is still misery and groaning in the psalmist's voice. Yet he is confident. He knows that praise awaits God. This first verse alludes to the future. Not only do we wait for God, but He also waits for the fulfillment of His plans. The psalmist confidently knows that God will do something worthy of praise. Even in our current situations, we can look forward to the day when God will receive this praise and go ahead and give Him praise.

"To you our vows will be fulfilled." At first glance I think about our vows to God: we will be obedient to Him, love others selflessly, follow Him always even unto death, et cetera, et cetera. There are also vows God has made to us: He will never forsake us, give us good things, sanctify us, et cetera, et cetera. God continuously fulfills His vows to us today just as He fulfilled His vows long ago. When I think about the author, perhaps David, I can imagine that he was not in a safe place. Praying "praise awaits you" or "our vows will be fulfilled" while enemy soldiers chase or surround him is a brave statement.

"Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts!" Sometimes, being close to God's courts doesn't exactly feel like a 'blessing.' Sometimes, those outside the courts (i.e.- those with swords trying to kill the psalmist) seems like the more 'blessed' location. Again, this line is a brave statement when someone is in turmoil. The verb tense is striking: it's talking about the present and not about a future hope. We are blessed, right now; we are filled with good things, right now. Being in His presence is a blessing enough. Any other 'court' will fail. Every man and woman we've ever met or will encounter will fail us. There is no technology, institution, or philosophy that can save us from our turmoil. He can use our tools, but He is the only one who can bring righteousness or justice through them. God's court is the only court in which there will be resurrection, the raising of a 'New Jerusalem' from the ashes of the creation we've broken. Blessed are those in His courts.

"The hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas." Whenever I see the word 'sea' in scripture, I remember that the Israelis were not a seafaring people. The Philistines were the ones who fished far into the Mediterranean Sea or shipped goods across the waters. The seas terrified the Israelis, so the term 'sea' became a regular metaphor for 'turmoil,' 'trouble,' 'helplessness,' and so forth. This may or may not be the case here, but I like to think it is. I imagine someone who cannot swim lost and drowning in the 'farthest seas.' The waves are rolling over him. He is so far from land that no man-made invention can save him. God is the only one who can save him. Why can He save us from this earthly hell? Because He is the only one who has the strength. This point in the passage looks towards the past in order to have hope for the future: millennia ago, God created mountains from his own strength. We have been misfits desecrating His mountains, and we can only arm ourselves with measly tools fashioned from the dirt. Yet He is the one with the power to breathe life into clumps of mud.

"Who stilled the roaring seas, the roaring of the waves, and the turmoil of the nations." It's not man-made lessons about treading water that saves us from drowning the in the farthest seas. It is God who has the power to still the roaring seas and stop the waves from crashing over us. Yet the verse goes a step further away from our selfish focus and mentions the 'turmoil of the nations.' There is trouble not only in our house but across our neighborhoods and across the nations. The Great Recession has affected billions of people and has spurred bloody revolutions and civil wars across the Middle East and North Africa. And that is only one example of the 'turmoil of the nations.' I've spent a lot of time over the past couple years thinking about how man-made philosophies have tried to heal this turmoil. Neo-marxism tries to alleviate structural violence that oppresses the poor; neo-liberalism tries to open up the free markets so that the poor can move into the middle class; neo-classical realism tries to make states so fearsome that war is unthinkable; cosmopolitanism tries to get everyone to be respect each other. Yet, as a Christian, I cannot foresee a future in which man can use social science that creates a world without economic depressions or bloody wars. Man is still sinful: we make mistakes because we are selfish. We can only be 'good' if we define the adjective 'good' with such a low standard that the term becomes nonsensical. All men and women would have to become better than our general definition of 'good.' We'd have to become selfless. We'd have to be willing to give up what we cherish most so that others may live and prosper. We may even have to die. In other words, we would have to become like the God of Judeo-Christian scriptures. From a New Testament perspective, we'd have to live like Christ. Yet who is really willing to live like Christ if that means carrying a cross up to Calvary? Almost no one is willing, even those who claim to be 'Christian.' Ergo, I have no hope for man, unless God saves us.

"The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain." If the psalmist is in turmoil, then he is now looking to nature for an example of hope. God enriches for the land so that it may be abundant. Why would he do this? He has ordained the land to feed the people with grain. This point is critical for the rest of my interpretation of the psalm: the streams are not watering the land so that the land can prosper without giving anything back to God; the land is supposed to feed God's children, His creation. The grain would just wither and die unless the land fed the people. Likewise, when God fills our streams with rain so that the grasslands overflow onto the desert (i.e.- when He allows the economy to prosper), we are supposed to then use our abundance to bless others. At least that's how I read this verse.

"The hills are clothed with gladness. [...] They shout for joy and sing." I imagine the psalmist looking from a hilltop at the grasslands and deserts around him. The hills are glad for what God has done: He has used them to bring glory to Himself and to feed His children. We should clothe ourselves with gladness whenever God uses us to further His kingdom on earth. At the end of this psalm, the grasslands, hills, meadows, and valleys all shout for joy and sing. One of my new running trails in Virginia gives me a good view of several hills. When I see these views of nature around sunset, I can imagine them 'singing' and 'shouting.' If the psalmist wrote this part of scripture while in great turmoil, while 'drowning' in the 'farthest seas,' then he may not have felt liking singing a joyful song. Yet looking at nature reminded him of God's promise, power, and glory. Nature reminded the psalmist of the creator's earthly mission. If He can bring water to the hills so that they may shout for joy, then there is reason to rejoice and hope in Him.

Electrifying Baseball

Again, a friend had connections to an extra ticket for a Nats game, and I was more than happy to oblige and go. One of the men from his church bought four tickets with a great view of the ballpark from just behind home plate. I wouldn't have been able to afford these tickets otherwise. I'm grateful that I was able to attend this game. I later heard that his wife was thrilled I was going because otherwise she would have had to go and use that ticket.

About half way through the game, a huge thunderstorm rolled through DC so that there was a play stoppage. After the storm passed and the game continued, there was still lightning flashing over the stadium. I kept trying to get a photo of the lightning along with the stadium lights, but I didn't have the right equipment or patience to pull off that type of photo. Only once have I tried doing lightning photography, and I just barely got one good photo from that shoot.

Yours truly with President Teddy.

View from my seat in the late afternoon.

View of a hit from behind the foul-ball net.

I kept waiting for these guys to sit down so that

I could get a photo of the stadium at night,

but then I thought, "Screw it. Just use them

as part of the composition."

1415, Henry V's Year of Glory: don't read this book, just read my notes

I bought the book 1415 just before leaving St Andrews with a gift card that a friend gave me for my birthday, and I figured it’s about time that I finally get around to reading this book. When I first started reading it, I thought it would be a fascinating page-turner that I would recommend to everyone. While describing the Duke of Orleans’ murder in 1407, the first few pages read like a vivid novel based upon historic events. I got excited. I thought the rest of the book would also read like a novel as the historian depicted the day-by-day events of the year 1415. Once I read the first fifty pages, I realized that the book wouldn’t be as interesting. Still, I was fascinated to read the behind-the-scenes political developments. Though I would suggest that others don’t read this book because they’ll think it’s boring, I’m very glad that I read the 600+ page, exhaustive history book. I’ve learned so many details that I wouldn’t have learned reading any other book about Henry V or the Battle of Agincourt. For instance, I learned how the English made enough arrows for the campaign. No one else would really like to read that, I’m sure. Instead of reading this book, those who want to learn a little bit about this year should read my notes instead.

The writer, Ian Mortimer, isn’t a huge fan of Henry V. Though many other historians consider Henry V one of the greatest English kings in history, Mortimer greatly criticizes him. In the conclusion, he wrote:

“While his organizational skills were extraordinary, and his determination to prove himself in war is awesome, his principal achievements were due as much to good luck as good judgment; and his perspective in pursuing his ambitions was prone to two fundamental weaknesses. The first of these weaknesses was the ill-defined objectives and time limits of his vision: he plunged England into a potentially endless and unnecessary war for the sake of demonstrating the legitimacy of his dynasty. The second wakens was his religiously inflated ego. He strikes me as a deeply flawed individual, undermined by his own pride and overwhelmed by his own authority.”

While reading through this book, the author’s distaste for Henry’s religious nature was obvious. The king dedicated lots of money to pay for monasteries and nunneries in England, perhaps to gain God’s favor since his father had been an usurper so that this line. There were rumors in England that Henry V didn’t deserve God’s ‘divine right’ to rule England since other members of the royal family had a better claim to the throne. If Henry didn’t deserve the right to rule England, then he had even less right to rule France as he claimed. The main purpose for invading France was to give himself the opportunity to risk his life in a pitch battle and prove that God was on his side. After his lopsided victory at Agincourt, no one in Europe challenged him again. It was a huge risk that almost ended in disaster, but the payout was enormous. Little poor England became a much more important player in European politics even though France and Germany were larger and wealthier.

The most dramatic example of Henry V’s religious devotion came on the 28th of August during the siege of Harfleur. His army was camped around the small port town and shelled the walls and buildings day and night. The inhabitants couldn’t sleep because at any moment a large stone ball could slam into their house or a nearby house; if nothing else the screams would wake everyone up. Meanwhile, along the English lines men were dying from dysentery. The English didn’t build a descent latrine that could handle the feces and other waste from thousands of soldiers, so men had horrible diarrhea. Though this siege was supposed to demonstrate that Henry had God’s favor, the dysentery outbreak didn’t help his case. Still, on this day in late August he attended a mass at 9 am in a nearby chapel with a choir the king brought with the army. The image of Henry listening to beautiful hymns and anthems while his cannon echoed across the battlefield just downhill from him is one of the most interesting scenes in the whole book.

The day-to-day narrative about Henry’s reign included several boring days that seemed to tell the reader the same thing over and over again. Basically, these days included items written in the ‘Issue Rolls,’ the receipts and documentation for royal payments. There would be a few pounds here or twenty pounds there to pay for delegations going to France or for the head chef to cook dinner. Today there are very few primary sources that describe what happened in the English government at this time, but the Issue Rolls give a very detailed account of what happened every day. Whereas personal letters often lied about how people felt, these payments give historians clues about how Henry felt about his peers. For instance, he gave a lot of money to the Thomas Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel, which suggests that the king and him were good friends. In fact, the records indicate that the king wasn’t closer to anyone else other than his own brothers. There were also very few references to women in the Issue Rolls, except for the king’s stepmother, Queen Joan. This lack of gifts or payment for women suggests that Henry did not associate much with women. The king was known for his celibacy after becoming king, and the records tend to verify that he did not have any close or intimate relationship with women other than his wife while he was king (that marriage, of course, was more political than personal… he wasn’t exactly celibate before he became king, though). The Issue Rolls also hint at the behind-the-scene diplomacy and espionage that occurred during the war. During the medieval era, the kings’ secrets were so well kept that we still don’t know what actually happened in several cases. However, a historian can speculate about what happened while looking at the fine print in the Issue Rolls. Henry’s diplomatic missions with the John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, in France were secret, but historians can assume that royal payments made to certain Englishmen for ‘traveling in France’ on royal business indicate that these men were creating a secret alliance with the French duke. Because of these negotiations, John the Fearless did not oppose Henry when the English invaded. There is also evidence that certain French lords helped Henry as he marched across northern France, which was probably the fruit of careful espionage and secret negotiation. Now we can only speculate while looking at the Issue Rolls as to what was going on behind closed doors during this war.

This day-to-day narrative also showed how King Henry had to take a direct role in ruling his country. There was no Department of Defense or administration of bureaucrats that managed the day-to-day operation of a military campaign. The king’s council, including prominent clergymen and the king’s brothers, made numerous small decisions which were critical to Henry’s success at Agincourt. It’s hard to imagine an British Prime Minister or an American President taking such a direct role in running a military campaign today. No doubt Henry’s years fighting rebellions in Wales prepared him to fight in France.

I’m was a bit surprised that the clergymen were so powerful. It seems odd today that cardinals and archbishops were helping the government’s day-to-day operation and military planning. It is also weird that Henry went to the clergy to ask them to finance his war. The church was incredibly powerful and wealthy at this time and had the ability to finance a war with their own property. Many of the clergy were the sons of lords and were not in line to inherit their fathers’ wealth; the church was a good alternative. The church was willing to pay for an army to invade France, but I wonder what charity the clergy gave for the poor people in England.

The power of the church is also evident in the Council of Constance. During this meeting of clergymen from all over Europe, the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund sought to end the church’s schism and bring the Catholic Church back under one pope. At the beginning of the year there were 3 popes. According to church rules, the cardinals and archbishops did not have individual votes but contributed to their nation’s vote. In political issues, ‘nations’ weren’t important. Europe was divided into kingdoms and fiefdoms, not ‘nations.’ However, ‘nations’ were very important in ecclesiastical issues. The English delegation fought for the right to be considered as a single nation. This designation would give them a very powerful position. Otherwise, they would have been grouped with the German nation and would have been greatly outnumbered. When the church recognized England as its own nation, it gave immense amount of power to the small number of English representatives. The other nations included the Germans, Italians, Spanish, and French. It’s interesting that the modern system of nation-states has roots in the medieval Catholic Church.

The final note I’ll mention is this blog is about how medieval armies dealt with the corpses of prominent lords. The army often did not bother to transport the whole body back home in a box. Instead, they carried a large cauldron with the soldiers. When someone prominent would die, the soldiers would take out the heart and preserve it. Then, they would boil the corpse in the large cauldron. The flesh would fall off the bones like moist beef in a stew. Soldiers would have to pull the flesh and organs off the bone as the body cooked. Afterwards, these soldiers would ship the bones and preserved heart back home where the lord would be buried. I can’t imagine the smell of this cauldron after a battle.

So, there you have my notes. If you want to know anything else, give me a call.

Academic Value of a Royal Wedding

Prince William and Princess Kate on their wedding day.

In the US, sports can bring a lot of publicity to a university if a team does well. For instance, no one really knew about Virginia Commonwealth University until they got into the NCAA men's basketball Final Four... and thus ruined my bracket... earlier this year. When I hear about different universities across the country, I usually associate them with how they've done in sports. Of course, a good team doesn't mean the university has good academics. Still, the exposure can help graduates from that university. Potential employers don't have to look confused and ask where a university is when they've already heard about them on ESPN, even if the team didn't do so well. For instance, no one has ever heard of Mississippi College outside of Mississippi, so no one knows if it is a good school or not. However, some people have heard of the University of Southern Mississippi because of Brett Favre, regardless of how the school has done academically (just today I heard someone who knew little about Mississippi bring up Brett Favre when hearing about USM). Some universities, like Harvard and Yale, have excellent reputations across the nation without good teams, but most universities are known better for their sports than their academics, for better or worse.

When I tell friends and potential employers that I went to the University of St Andrews, many of them know about the school because the Scots invented golf there and because the British Open is there every five years. Even though British universities don't have sports, most Americans still know about my alma mater because of sports. Those who know about the school and my Masters in International Relations often tell me, "Oh, that's a very lucrative degree." However, one of my friends recently told me that in her country no one knew about St Andrews, either for academics or sports or whatever. She had to explain that St Andrews is a Scottish university. The recent royal wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton changed that. Because several news reports and even a made-for-tv movie told the story about how the couple met at St Andrews while studying there, she didn't have to explain her education anymore. It helped her get traction in conversations with potential employers. While a lot of people complained about how much money the couple spent on the wedding as the British government wants to cut funding for public services, the expensive royal wedding added value to my Masters degree. Now in interviews I can now possibly stand out from other candidates because I can tell potential employers that the future king and queen attended my university. It has nothing to do with academics, but at least I don't have to explain where the university is.

More efficient, but without the jobs

Joe Heller. Green Bay Press-Gazette.

A lot of people who haven't looked for work in this economy while unemployed don't really understand what it's like for the rest of us. In one of my temping gigs, I worked with a woman in a corporation's Human Resources department. She told me about the 'good-ole'-days when there were signing bonuses; a job search would only last for a couple weeks. That seems like a fairy tale now. I know of multiple people, especially those who are overqualified with Masters degrees, who have spent years looking for stable work. Talking with this woman was comforting because we had the same experiences. She spent a while looking for work before getting hired and had multiple conversations with people who simply didn't understand what unemployment means now. I've had the same conversations over and over. People tell us, "Well, you need to do ________ or apply at ________ or talk to ________ or whatever. Then you'll get a job." Since I've applied to 500 jobs and have tried to network for a while, I can usually say, "I've already done that." Sometimes I can even say, "I've done that multiple times." The HR lady had the same conversations. These people are trying to encourage us, and they usually become frustrated with us. They tell us, "Well, you should have a job then." We say, "Nope." This experience reminds me of Job and his three friends, the 'miserable comforters.' They tell him to humble himself before God, admit his sins, and then God would restore him. He tells them that he is blameless before God, but the 'comforters' say he can't be blameless because he is suffering. In the same way, I sometimes feel as though others may think that I'm not trying to find a job hard enough because I haven't found a stable job yet. I felt great comfort that the HR lady had been through the same problems.

There are some suggestions I haven't tried, and soon I will try most of those new things in addition to what I've been doing. I pray something works out.

I recently found an article in Time about the current state of the economy. The United States is now producing the same amount of goods and services that we were making before the Great Recession began in 2007 (GDP is around $13.5 trillion). However, we are producing this amount of goods and services with 7 million fewer employers. The number of unemployed workers has doubled. This official number of unemployed doesn't include the millions who have become so discouraged that they stopped looking for work or those who (including yours truly) technically have part-time jobs but still can't support themselves. Most of the new jobs in this economy are part-time jobs that pay less than $19,000 annually. If we included the number of unemployed and under-employed and discouraged, there are around 24 million people who want a full-time job but can't find one.

Still, when I turn on the news I hear more about Donald Trump and American Idol than I do about the job market or why the government has failed so miserably to do anything about creating sustainable job growth.

When I think about the line "thy kingdom come" in the Lord's prayer, I've been thinking more and more about what employment and job hunts would look like if God's Kingdom was fully here. Praying for His Kingdom to come has a different meaning for me now.

Traveling Around the World for Free- Part 3: Argentina

After I finished visiting the Trinidad and Micronesia Embassies, I decided that I had time to tour one more embassy if I could hurry. The next one I went to was the Australian Embassy, but it had closed even though all the other embassies would be open for another hour. I missed getting inside by just a few minutes. I later heard that it was a good embassy to visit, so maybe if I'm in DC next year I'll get to see it. Instead, I walked to the next closest embassy, Argentina. The line outside was so long that I didn't think I would be able to get in before it closed at 5 pm, but we moved quick enough that everyone could get past security and squeeze into the already cramped rooms with at least 30 minutes left to tour the building. After getting a taste of some delicious tea (or some other type of hot beverage), I pushed my way through a crowd to see a small dance and musical performance. There was hardly any room left in there, but I still got to see the last few minutes of the show before the embassy closed.

Flag outside the Argentina Embassy.

Empty room inside the embassy.

I'm not very happy with the photos I took during the performance,

but I really didn't have a chance to get into a good position where

I could get some descent light. Instead of putting all the photos up,

I'll just put this one up so y'all have an idea of what the room looked like.

Ceiling and wall decor inside the embassy.

Street sign on my way back to the Dupont Circle metro station.

Video of the musical and dance performances

in the Argentina Embassy.

Traveling Around the World for Free- Part 2: Trinidad & Micronesia

In my last post, I wrote about traveling to Indonesia, more specifically to the Indonesian Embassy in Washington, DC, for the Passport DC festival. After leaving Indonesia, I took a walk down Massachusetts Avenue in order to find another country/embassy to visit. It was getting to be late afternoon, and the embassies would only be open for a little while longer. Since I spent so much time waiting in line at my first embassy, I thought that I would only have enough time for maybe one more country. The closest embassy on the map was Uzbekistan, but it just so happened that they withdrew from the festival at the last minute. I kept walking down past Dupont Circle along Massachusetts because I could hear loud drums and see a large crowd gathered on the sidewalk. According to my map, this was Trinidad & Tobago. Micronesia was next door. The buildings didn't look like anything special when compared to how grand Indonesia had been. These embassies could have been just another couple 4-story brick townhouses in downtown DC except for the foreign flags flying over the front doors. Other than the drums outside the Trinidad embassy, there wasn't much else to see. There were a few displays showing what women wear during festivals, and an animal trainer had snakes and other reptiles from Trinidad that guests could play with. It was a bit of a letdown from Indonesia, but it was still pretty cool, especially when the animal trainer brought out the snake. I didn't see that one coming.

Steel band in front of the Trinidad Embassy playing

the steelpans, which originated in Trinidad

Costume display in the Trinidad & Tobago Embassy.

Inside Trinidad & Tobago Embassy foyer.

Sitting room on the first floor of the

Trinidad & Tobago Embassy.

Micronesian flag over the embassy's front door.

Modest is hottest? Pshaw!

Let me put it to you this way:

No guy on his wedding night is going

to look at his new bride if she is wearing

the outfit in this photo and say,

"Honey, maybe you should change into that

plaid turtleneck sweater and oversized

sweatpants with the red pizza stain instead."

Painting in the Micronesian Embassy.

"Belle in the Garden (A)" by David Boothman.

Steel band in front of the Trinidad & Tobago Embassy.

Traveling Around the World for Free- Part 1: Welcome to Indonesian Soil.

Every year the Cultural Tourism DC hosts the "Around the World Embassy Tour," or the "Passport DC," in May so that regular joes and janes can visit embassies that are usually closed to the public. Since these embassies are legally not part of the United States but are sovereign territory for foreign governments, walking through the front door of an embassy is the same as entering that country. Therefore, I was able to walk up and down a couple streets and visit multiple countries in one day. The best part is all of it was free. Roughly 30 embassies participated in this event, but some, such as Bahrain, canceled at the last minute, probably because they were killing their own people. Still, it's almost impossible to see all the embassies in one day, especially since there are long security lines in front of several of the popular embassies, like the Indonesian and Argentinean. Almost every participating embassy has special events throughout the day that show off their culture such as dance or music lessons. Some embassies also provided food and drink.

The first embassy I went to was the Indonesian Embassy because some of my classmates in St Andrews were Indonesian government employees. I teased one of these friends when I got home and told her, "I went to Indonesia today!" She responded, "Wow! Whereabouts in Indonesia? Let me guess- the Indonesian Embassy in Washington?" I was a little disappointed I couldn't trick her, but I promised to give her more of a heads-up next time I came to Indonesia so that we could meet up.

The Indonesian Embassy was by far the most impressive embassy I saw, and I'm not saying that because I have Indonesian friends. The building was once the mansion of a Colorado gold rush tycoon. Simply walking through the front door was breathtaking. When I enter an art museum or palace, I'm not surprised when I see the decorations and stained glass windows. However, I wasn't expecting the Indonesian Embassy to be so elaborate. I was a little disappointed with the other embassies because they weren't so grand.

This staircase is the first thing guests see

once they walk through the front door

and enter Indonesian territory.

One of the large murals beside the staircase

along with the stained glass skylight.

Mural that is on guests' left as they enter the front door.

Crest for the Indonesian government.

Meeting room in the embassy.

A musical performance with the angklung,

a traditional bamboo instrument.

Guests got to play the angklung.

Video of the angklung music demonstration

plus the guests playing the instrument.

While we were playing, I wasn't really paying

much attention to what I was filming, and the

camera shakes every time I play the angklung.

Adams Morgan's Bourbon

Since commuting in and out of DC via the metro during rush hour can be so expensive, meeting a fellow St Andrew alumnus for a happy hour drink was a nice way to socialize while avoiding the exuberant metro fares. She lives near the Columbia Heights metro station, and I got to see her neighborhood around the station. I always find it interesting to see where and how my DC friends live throughout the metro area; some love the inner city lifestyle where biking and the metro are the easiest and cheapest ways to get around; others live in suburbs beyond the Beltway where the land and rent prices are significantly lower even though the driving and metro commute is horrific. While visiting this not-so-touristy area of DC with my friend, I could see how this area around the metro station had gone through a bit of 'gentrification.' After the construction of the DC metro system in the 1970s, the land prices around metro stations increased dramatically. Many of the former inhabitants had to leave for other neighborhoods or out of the DC metro area completely because they couldn't afford to live in the new posh apartment complexes and condos. However, just beyond these pockets of posh neighborhoods immediately next to the metro stations are huge swaths of still poverty/crime-ridden neighborhoods that most everyone forgets about unless they get lost in them. It honestly reminds me a bit of Vicksburg, Mississippi, where some of the best homes in town are just a couple blocks away from the poorest neighborhoods; once, a group of guys tried to mug me in one of those neighborhoods so that I still keep my guard up inside cities. Since I usually explore these neighborhoods inside the District with friends who live there, I've learned which areas have cool and trendy restaurants and bars while learning which streets to avoid.

My friend and I walked from the area around Columbia Heights to a neighborhood called Adams Morgan. This spot of land is slap-dab in the middle of several metro stations from the red and green lines, but not one of those metro stations is within easy walking distance. My friend told me that was done on purpose. The community here adamantly opposes building a station even though it would be relatively cheap and easy. This area is one of the more interesting neighborhoods I've yet seen in DC. It seems to be affluent enough with a very young, hipster, and trendy feel. Unlike the areas around U Street and Eastern Market, Adams Morgan isn't as touristy. The bars and restaurants have reasonable prices, and no one seems to wander into this area accidently. A lot of the people I saw looked as though they were young college interns working on the Hill or had just recently moved into the District after graduating from college. Howard University is nearby, so perhaps that added to the college atmosphere, but perhaps my first impression is completely wrong.

My St Andrews friend chose to take me to a place that would remind us of our Scottish days, Bourbon on 18th Street. As the name suggests, this establishment specializes in whiskies, and the dimly-lit interior with brown-painted walls reminded me of some pubs frequented. The happy hour special on bourbon was incredibly well priced, especially considering how everything in DC costs significantly more than everywhere else. The serving was about 4 times larger than the skimpy Scottish servings to which I had grown accustomed. Of course, I had to be a whisky snob and pour a dash of water into my neat bourbon so that the flavors would explode a bit better. My drink, the special for the day, was the Old Forester Signature from Kentucky. I didn't think about bringing a pen and paper with me so that I could write down my thoughts on this bourbon, but I remember it had a robust and full flavored taste. It would be one that I would drink again. From what I've been able to glean from a quick internet search, it shouldn't be too expensive to buy a bottle in the States if I found a liquor store that carried it.

While sitting next to an open window on this breezy spring evening, I sipped my bourbon and watched as pedestrians, bikes, busses, and cars competed for the same space just a dozen or so yards away where a side alley emptied onto 18th Street. Looking at all these people made me think about how this community fits into the rest of the city's metropolitan area. It's almost isolated because getting in and out can be difficult even though it is in the center of a huge urban expanse. Yet, it is also well connected for people who work downtown. I thought about why this community wouldn't want a metro station that would better connect the residents to the rest of the city. I've heard about several other communities inside the District that don't want a metro station, such as Georgetown. When the suburban neighborhoods in Virginia fight against the city's plans to expand the metro into their communities, the residents get accused of racism because the metro would better connect their community to the less-fortunate neighborhoods. No one can hardly accuse Adams Morgan of racism because they don't want a metro station. I tried to think of other reasons. A metro station would dramatically affect land values and taxes in this neighborhood, and many residents would probably leave because they couldn't afford to stay. My price of bourbon would most definitely increase. The whole community would change as gentrification brought new residents to the neighborhoods. The disadvantages of a metro station far outweigh the advantages, especially since building the new station and new rails could cost millions or billions of tax-dollars. Yet because this community and many others around the metropolitan area don't want a more metro stations and lines or a more efficient highway system, traffic throughout the city is horrific. This city is a conglomerate of communities smashed into each other while refusing to work with each other. In order to attain certain goals, like an efficient transportation system, all the different incorporated towns in two states and the District would have to agree. As far as I can tell, every community is focused on their own self-interest and not the city's greater good. Everyone has a different vision for their community, and few of these visions merge into one.

I wonder if this is what a country on the brink of civil war feels like. Two or more communities are officially part of the same community even though they have different self-images of who they are, what they want to do, and where they want to go. After years (or perhaps even months) of friction about how the official larger community should operate, the smaller fractions realize that it would be easier for them to break off and head into their own direction without worrying about what the other communities want. In the ensuing confusion and conflict, a civil war becomes incredibly likely. One of my professors at St Andrews tried to argue with us that constructing a new national narrative and self-image in spite of different communities is easy. Just look at Greece. All you need is a group of historians to construct a narrative and make certain the government includes all the communities so that everyone feels like they belong to the same nation. Et voila. Civil war is averted. Simple as pie. I never bought this poppycock. Just look at Italy. They've tried desperately to construct a single national image and narrative, but there are still numerous fractions across the country. As I consider how the metropolitan DC area is like a mini-country on the brink of civil war, I see how it could be very difficult to construct a new self-identity and narrative spreading across Northern Virginia and into Baltimore so that everyone would be willing to make painful compromises in order to attain a greater good. An inspirational leader would be a good start, but that's not a guarantee. If I was in a country on the brink of civil war and the only thing that could save us from disaster was an inspirational leader, I would buy a gun. Relying upon an inspirational leader is like relying upon the hail-mary pass in the last seconds of a football game. Of course, DC isn't a mini-country on the brink of civil war, but it is interesting to compare and contrast the similarities.

I've probably spent too much time studying conflict and civil wars because I'm still thinking about these things while sipping my bourbon.

Charming Baseball: Afternoon at Camden Yards

A friend of mine who lives in Alexandria and loves baseball asked me if I wanted to go with her to see the Orioles play at Camden Yards since the ballpark is only about fifteen minutes away from where I'm staying. I always love going to a new baseball park and seeing a game when it's not expensive. I also have some birthday and Christmas money left over since I've been trying to live frugally. Camden Yards is supposed to be one of the most beautiful baseball parks in America, and it was a really nice to enjoy a Sunday afternoon talking and watching the Orioles struggle to hit and catch balls. And, of course, I had to eat a hot dog.

For the past several weeks I've been trying to follow baseball, but I've been following and rooting for the Washington Nationals, which can be a frustrating and heartbreaking experience. For weeks I've watched one relief pitcher, Sean Burnett, screw up game after game and cause the Nats to lose. At least I'm beginning to remember the players' names. Unfortunately, I usually remember them for their mistakes. "Oh, that's the player who had three errors in one game." It's supposed to be a young team, but I'm not sure how much that matters. If the big-market teams like New York, Boston, and Philadelphia poach the best players from the small-market teams every year, then teams like the Nats will always be a 'young' team. They can't spend $300 million annually on their roster. Unless MLB comes up with a way that brings the teams closer to parity the way the NFL has done, I doubt that I will be a big follower of the sport. I don't care to see the wealthy teams beat up on the poorer teams year after year. Still, it's nice to watch a game at the stadium with a friend. Maybe someday I can afford to buy tickets for more expensive sports, like hockey.

There were a couple sad things about Camden Yards, though. Even though it was a Sunday afternoon game, there weren't many people in the stands. It should have been packed. I've read about how the Great Recession has caused lower attendance at ballgames, which makes a lot of sense. I'd probably go a lot more often if I had a good and stable job. Also, the Orioles kept playing a "Remember When" game. It would show events that happened back in the day when the Orioles were actually good and won some World Series. Those days are long gone.

Flags over Camden Yards.

Maybe the middle flag is for Baltimore?

One of the most beautiful ballparks in America.

A pretty sweet catch in the outfield.

Fan of the game sat close to us.

She's wearing an Orioles baseball cap with a

stuffed Orioles teddy bear sewn on top.

Yummy.

I don't know who this guy is.

I guess he was famous.

Bar window near Camden Yards.

USS Constitution.

Camden Yards is next to the Baltimore Inner Harbor,

so we took a walk around the ships while looking for

a place to get a drink and something to eat.

I became a little giddy when I saw the submarine

because I thought it was new to the harbor.

But no- it has always been there.

I just missed it last time I was in Baltimore.

The Barnes and Noble by the Inner Harbor

used to be a power-plant or something like that.

This is one of the old smokestacks in the

middle of the store.