I got to be a lobbyist for a day! That was long enough. I got sent to Washington DC to lobby congressmen on behalf the American Student Dental Association and the American Dental Education Association regarding meth mouth (super gross teeth from methamphetamine abuse) research/awareness/prevention and a program that helps underserved communities attract dentists to come practice in the community in exchange for student loan repayment. I got to meet Representatives Matheson and Chaffetz from Utah. While I was waiting for my appointment with Rep Matheson, they had C-SPAN on and I saw Rep Chaffetz on the House floor giving a speech about congratulating the Pittsburg Steelers on their Super Bowl win and how they're so great (i'm not kidding). Later, at the appointment with Rep Chaffetz, I told him I liked his speech. He kind of laughed his way into a new topic of conversation, but I was being serious! His speech was even better than the guy from Pennsylvania!
I got to see the capitol, the Washington monument (you have to be blind not to see that one though), the White House, and Barack Obama (am I being serious? you'll never know!). I also learned a ton about how congress works. I thought I pretty much knew what went down, but I learned a lot more. So now I can safely say that I must know just about everything there is to know about how Washington works :) I also got to go to the zoo and it was free! But there were only about a quarter of the animals even in their cages and the rest just sat there and didn't really put on a show. You get what you pay for. When I say the animals weren't in their cages I in no way mean that they were out terrorizing people, they were just gone. If that had been the case, it would have been totally worth paying for. Anywho... DC rocked, enjoy the pictures!
