Syrine Ben Ayed - Week 7 - A District of Suits and Ties

Walking down 17th street, I feel as if I have been transported into the scenes of a film, or perhaps the hallways of some law firm. – It feels as if this world I have entered is in a different realm, a different universe; one where vernacular language seems nonexistent and kids running down the street is a picture far unrealistic. Passersby stroll past in suits and ties, their dress shoes and heels clicking in rhythm with their purposeful steps across the pavement. It seems as if each figure is rushing off somewhere, competing with the ticking clock and the professionalism of punctuality. Here, cafes are not merely a place for casual coffee runs and life updates with friends, but rather, informal meeting rooms where I find myself immersed in an intellectual ambience, surrounded by the talk of work and politics and national affairs. From the men to my left discussing their predictions for the 2024 election, to the young girl to my right who speaks of her internship at the White House with the Legislative Affairs Office. 

As my mom and I took my trip to Washington, DC for the 2023 American Society for Gravitational and Space Research (ASGSR) conference as an excuse for our mother-daughter evening walks (well, I was wheeling around in my wheelchair; she was walking), we found ourselves enveloped in the sort of enchanting environment that makes you pause in your footsteps, and take a moment’s breath to look around. It was in those moments that it dawned upon us that this was the very governing core of our nation. Saying that my mom and I felt a cultural shock would be misleading. I don’t think it was as much of a shock as it simply felt surreal. We were constantly surrounded by sophistication – sophisticated people and sophisticated conversations. And while I constantly remind myself that DC is, in fact, not a city or state but a district, specifically the federal district of the US, it all makes sense. Nevertheless, it instills a sense of amazement and inspiration as you stand, an outsider, in the midst of this collective operation.

I realize that it’s this shared effort that shapes our nation, through policies and governance. Each building, each individual, seems to be a part of a collective pursuit for a better future.