DC gets slammed with snow

I'm spending my day off catching up on e-mail and the news looking at the bank of still three or four feet of snow outside of a coffee shop in the Columbia Heights neighborhood in Washington, DC. Record snowfall granted most of my housemates and I nearly a week off of work from our placements. Andrew, who works in hospice care, trekked each day to his placement.

When word that the snowstorm was coming, Lauren and I reacted like everyone else and went to a grocery store about a mile from our house to pick up a few items... not the basic staples such as milk, eggs, or bread; but supplies to make a gourmet dip that we could enjoy during the Superbowl. The lines at the cashiers stretched the entire length of the store. After waiting in line for 45 minutes (which felt like a very stressful and emotional experience), we decided we could go without gourmet dip, put the items back on the shelf, and decided to walk home.

The picked up heavily late that Friday. That night we were enjoying some time playing games, when our neighbors knocked on our door to join them in a snowball fight. Afterward, Andrew and I walked to the neighborhood Wonderland bar which was packed with neighbors from nearby. The rest of the weekend continued with snowball fights and time together. Rachel and I walked to Mass at Sacred Heart and walked to the national mall to take photos of the snow.

Work was canceled Monday, and thinking things were starting to get back to normal, the second round of the snow came through. This led to Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday to be canceled. I never thought I could get tired of staying up late with friends, sleeping in, eating, watching the news, and relaxation. But having to go back to work on Friday was a breath of fresh air.

On Saturday, my housemates and I rented a car and drove up the Philadelphia for a visit and crossed over to Camden, NJ for to join fellow Jesuit Volunteers for the annual Valentine's day party. A great time spent by all, always a pleasure to see other JVC communities.

This Friday I am going to begin tutoring at a local middle school, Malcolm X, in northeast DC. The high school program I work in does not have program on Friday's, so I'm looking forward to having the opportunity to work with youth who are involved in For Love of Children's neighborhood tutoring program.