and much more . . .

{Note: This post has been updated. The formatting is still a bit weird, but I don't think I can make it any better. Enjoy!}

Given the occasion of a Sunday evening, I thought I ought to blog about my experiences of Baltimore, yet again. I have successfully finished one week of work at my internship. I think I might be starting to get a routine down, but it might take some time to actually get it perfected. Such is my quest for perfectionism . . . not perfect. 

This week at work, after finding out where I live, another intern surprised me when she asked, "Why Fells Point?" I guess she really wanted to know because after some jovial conversation, she repeated herself, "No really, why Fells Point?"


I actually came to live here through a connection of a connection sort of deal, but I am enjoying my location quite thoroughly. Without a vehicle of my own, I find it convenient to be close to everything that I want to go to, or to be close to a free bus that can get me around downtown. So really, "Why not?"


She said that she had never known anyone to actually live in Fells Point. It might be true that Fells Point does not house college students (at least not many that I've met), and it does have a bar at every corner, but I feel like I am at the heart of Baltimore.


What would Baltimore be without the people of the city? The steady flow of everyday life, unique and unpredictably predictable. People with or without families, night lives, and city jobs. I enjoy being able to see the realistic city life of citizens, instead of my normal interactions with other students.


I have been spending a little bit of time collecting information about summer activities going on around Baltimore. I have been checking brochures, newspapers under the events section, websites, and Natalie has even been kind enough to keep an ear open to what she hears. I am beginning to compile a list (that's what I do --- I LOVE making lists) of events happening and of all sorts of things.


Touristy events along side of weekly neighborhood knitting nights, I have been trying to decide what things I would like to enjoy and learn, as well as be able to involve myself in the community  in such a way that many summer interns regularly do not experience. I figure that I am going to get out of Baltimore exactly what I put into it. If I want to have a great experience, then I AM going to have a GREAT EXPERIENCE!


I heard about a summer ballroom opportunity that is held every Wednesday night, mostly put on for the Johns Hopkins students. It runs all summer, but I have decided that it is not worth it for me for a couple of reasons: first, I do not want to put $45 dollars into something that I either already know, or could learn at home, and second, it starts at 7:00 p.m. on a week night at the Homewood Campus of Hopkins and I think the circulator stops running around 9:00 p.m. I do not really desire to walk home in the dark once a week.


This week has had some beautiful weather in Baltimore. I have not really noticed any humidity, and it has just felt like a nice transition week between spring and summer for me. How much more of this weather I am to expect, I can not tell you. I will expect to be having the temperatures increase drastically, and if they do not, then I'll be pleasantly surprised.


Work has been nice this week. I am excited for clinical rounds next week since I was not able to go this week. I guess there was a bit of confusion, but nothing too big, so I will be going to that every Thursday afternoon. I think it will be what makes everything in a lab worth the work. Putting faces to a disease will change how I think about the work we are trying to accomplish and know that there is a real purpose that laboratory work is performed.


On Friday, during lunch, a lot of people were eating in the Conference room and Sarven started setting up his laptop to the projector saying there was a surprise presentation for all of the new students. He proceeded to turn on a soccer game and eat his lunch. Everyone is so laid back in the lab.


I guess that is pretty true for all of the labs that I have been in. I think it still surprises me though, because I have somewhat professional expectations going into almost every venture. I would be no fun if I ran a lab. (I actually had a dream that on Thursday about me back in Utah and I was in charge of a lab.) I would be too strict to be a lead researcher, thinking that I was actually being professional.


On Friday evening, Natalie and I went for an evening walk, mostly in the direction of Canton. She showed me some of the things that I have not seen in the opposite direction of downtown.


Since moving out here, I have found that I have this attraction for old church buildings. I think they are just beautiful and I love that Baltimore has churches all over the place.


This church in particular may not be too old, but it does have some historical charm to it, in my opinion at least.
We walked past O'Donnell Square and I bought a cream puff at Vaccaro's, an Italian Pastry shop. Everything inside was massive! I got a cream puff since I thought that if I tried to eat anything else, it would immediately clog my arteries. I am too young to be thinking this!

Midst the shops, I spotted a Mexican place advertising with Natty Boh in a Mexican sombrero.

Of course I could not pass up the opportunity to document the real Baltimore. Also, I learned that some people say Baltimore as "Bawlmer" just as the sign says.

I will try and work on my impersonation skills . . . I would love to be able to imitate an Eastern accent by the time I come home; the truth is, I am terrible at accents, so this has the potential to go completely down hill and be hysterical to listen to, we'll see what happens.

We walked past a branch of the Enoch Pratt Library in Canton that is being renovated for two years. I saw some spider webs and wild flowers by the fence that I sought to capture on camera.

It is hard to see, and I realize that I am no photographer; this is really the first summer I have even attempted to take pictures of things I experience.


You can see some of what I saw . . . at least you get the idea.




As we walked farther into Canton area, we passed a house with a cute little painted screen in the window. One of the traditional Baltimore things was to paint on the window screens and display them to the public.


For some reason or another, everyone always painted a house by a lake. Maybe that is what they imagined as the American Dream? That is the best I could come up with. It is not quite as common anymore, but it was fun to run into.


We reached Canton's Waterfront Park and spied on the cute couple by the harbor.

Continuing along, I was enjoying the park. I also really love trees. Sometimes I like to take pictures of trees; this is the result.
There were a lot of people thoughtful enough that as they saw me taking pictures, they would either stop walking or go around me. I don't think they realized that I was trying to capture the scene --- whether they were included or not.

The park also had a monument to the Korean War. Since Natalie and I realized that the Korean War was something brushed over in school, we decided to read up on it. I guess Baltimore City knew that this war's history was not commonly known, and an entire, brief summary of the war was displayed in stone around the monument.


Please note from the pictures that I set foot in South Korea and I was even lucky enough to spend a couple moments in North Korea as well. I'm telling you, pictures don't lie ;)

The sun was setting as we continued on our walk in the direction of home.  I think the harbor is so beautiful!

Yet another church in the distance. I am not quite sure which one this is, but it sure looks majestic!

An actual water taxi docks here! I even saw it when it came and docked. I don't know why I didn't take a picture of that though . . . oh well. This similar to a bus stop sign, but not.

The Black Eyed Susan was docked and peaceful. I don't know if this is actually a commercial boat, but I feel like it is the kind of thing you would see south of here with a lively party aboard.

We passed this car, but I don't know what it is. I thought it was cute. I figured the guys could help me out here . . . what car is this? It seems like if a guy is around (I know, BIG stereotype) then he'll be able to tell me what kind of car it is. . . . (Guys: Here's your chance!)

The sun is setting and the harbor is gorgeous. I am doing my best to capture what I see . . . and it still never will do it justice.

This is the bird . . . that might be a baseball team's mascot. Anyway, if it is, I saw it. I took a picture of it as proof. 

I spied on another cute couple. I guess sitting and staring at the harbor is a great Friday evening date night if you're in Baltimore. So that's what people do . . . . Well, I think the bars get used as well --- there is one on every corner in Fells Point, literally.

More of the sun setting. I think this is about the best I could do as far as capturing the moment.


Also, at this point, the sky lit up all of the traces from airplanes in the sky. It was really neat to see the tracks of so many people with diverging life stories. I am always fascinated about how many people are alive and that each person has their own history and life. So amazing to me. 

The original Natty Boh! Yes, I know this is a beer can, but it is where Mr. Boh started out in the first place. I had to document it like a scrapbook.

Yet again, another painted screen. This one is more modern (a signature and dated 2011) screen painting, but it seems to have carefully tried to incorporate the older classics of Baltimore.
If you look in the bottom right corner, there is a house by a lake just as the other painted screens seemingly always had.

We are now nearing home, and this little sushi place is working its way on opening soon (I'm not sure when exactly).

What I really wanted to point out, is the Natty Boh by the sushi rolls. This is a REAL Baltimore sushi place. It makes me laugh that Mr. Boh is leaving his mark on the city. Here and there, in little ways, but he really is everywhere.

Other little things to enjoy, less than a block from my house. This house is a violin studio and has adorable outcroppings to prove it.


To conclude my Friday evening, Natalie and I sat in the living room and watched Thoroughly Modern Millie. I had not seen it, so we enjoyed the 1920s costumes and making fun of the terribly racist Chinese subplot.                          

{Saturday}

Saturday morning, I tagged along with Natalie and her sister and family (husband and three-year-old daughter) to the farmer's market by Homewood campus. It was much bigger than the one I went to last week. I actually bought some asparagus and three cucumbers. 

In the neighborhood around the farmer's market, I saw this stop sign. I enjoyed it. 

We stopped in a park for a brief time to let Natalie's niece play, and continued on our Saturday morning adventure. 

Our destination? The Book Thing of Baltimore! What a clever title. Apparently some guy decided to start up this thing where people could donate books. He sells any books that are worth money online, and stores the rest at a warehouse-library. 

Basically anybody can come in and take whatever books they want. The books are free. Completely free. On their website, under frequently asked questions is this: 
* Are the books really free? [Yup.]
* Really? [Yes.]
* Absolutely free? [Yes.]
* What's the catch? [All the books have been stamped "not for resale". That's it. 
* Is there a limit to how many books I can take? [You can take 150,000 per day, per person.]
* . . . And the books are free? [Yes.]

I am so impressed! I want to start one of these in Utah! When I walked in, it wasn't just a room full of books, but like five rooms full of books. All of them completely available and free to have for the keeping. I found a few classics such as The Great Gatsby, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Mansfield Park (I like Jane Austen), A Passage to India, Evelina, Brave New World, The Catcher in the Rye, and Nine Stories also by J. D. Salinger. 

I got a couple of other books that I am planning on doing some craft projects with (ideas from another book), but if I don't get around to them this summer, then I can easily take them back to The Book Thing of Baltimore. 

It was a fantastic morning. What a wonderful treasure to discover!

Next up, I made it over to Fort McHenry for a BYSA (Baltimore Young Singe Adult, an organization of the LDS Church) activity. I was about half an hour late (it would have been later had Natalie not driven me --- Thank you!), but the group had not even left the visitor's center yet. 

There were about ten people that showed up. I found them as they were watching a video documentary about the Revolutionary War. I don't know how much I missed, But what I did catch was amazing. 

I love America! I also love being here, on the east coast, where there is a rich history of the beginning of our country. It is absolutely fascinating to me how America came to be a country, up against all odds. It was truly a gift from God that we became a country. 

Around the fort, several people were dressed up in attire that might have been found a couple hundred years ago. It was fun to see, and really made me think about what I am grateful for. 

The story of Francis Scott Key was also told here. He wrote the lyrics to our national anthem, and was inspired. Those words ring through my ears.

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave, O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? 

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep, Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes, What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep, As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses? Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam, In full glory reflected now shines in the stream: 'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave, O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand, Between their loved home and the war's desolation! Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land, Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation. Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto: "In God is our trust." And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave, O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

The fort was inspiring and memorable. I am so grateful for the freedoms that I have been born into and take for granted. It was a sight to behold, and got me thinking about numerous people that came before me. 

An underground tunnel . . . showed some promise. We were curious as we descended the steps. 

Only lead to this . . . they didn't want me to explore :( oh well. 

Secret hideout? This was a storage space for bombs, but was also built for protection if needed. (I think, don't quote me on this.) Let's just say, the stairs to get down to it, were built for short people. 

Down the stairs and into the room. 

This is a view from the bottom looking up where I came down the stairs.

Old desk . . .

One of the things that I count among my many blessings, is my bed that I sleep on every night. A giant THANK YOU to everyone who came before me and had to sleep on something like this or worse! Sleep well tonight. . . .  

One of my other blessings . . . need I say more?

A real jail room, it is really small. I bet it smelled something awful during the summer. Someone told me that a private committed suicide in that very room. Look, I got locked inside! AHHH! Just pulling you leg! They were kind enough to let me out again. 

A couple of soldiers teaching the visitors how to be a soldier. They explained the stances, and how to hold a gun, and load it (the old fashioned ones, of course). 

They looked like they could be dying from the heat in those uniforms! Most everyone else was holding to the shade --- this is about noon. 


The new recruits all lined up!

This little girl was my favorite to watch! She was absolutely the cutest and mirrored everything that the soldier was doing. It was pretty much adorable.

Some ladies all dressed up.

I am proud to be an American!

In other news, I lost my earring this week. It was actually one that I liked. Oh well, life soars on. 

Also, I got a ride to church on Sunday. Another bus opportunity just got passed up! I am glad that everyone is so thoughtful and willing to help me out. 

After church I joined in on a spontaneous potluck dinner, but I didn't have anything to bring. Surprisingly enough, they still wanted me to come and I even got a ride. It was fun to relax, laugh, and meet some more people from the ward here. Everyone is so friendly, I love it!

Today, while I was at work, there was a fire in Fells Point. It was just a block south of where I was standing this morning at the bus stop. I would have been able to see it from there. I saw the smoke from a window in the hospital and it was burning for a few hours. 

In order to avoid traffic and blocked roads, I took a different route home. I hopped on a Hopkins shuttle (that I didn't know about before) and took it a couple blocks east. I walked home a few blocks, but it was a straight shot south. 

The neighborhood was cute; I was surprised at the difference in the blocks size. North and south, the blocks are a lot longer than they are east and west. It was a different experience, but a pleasant one. As a bonus, I completely avoided the fire and traffic all together. 

As a reminder, everyone is free to comment on these posts. I'd love to hear what you think about them.