Flight Journeys
Flight Information:
6PM airport 8hr SG to Dubai Airport
reaching timing 1AM Dubai time
2AM from Dubai
13hr flight 7.30 reach washington DC
Saturday 6PM at the Changi Airport- that was where our journey began. It took us an 8 hour flight to reach Dubai and another 13hour flight to reach Washington D.C.. Sleeping on a plane is NOT comfortable but we tried our best, knowing that we had a full day ahead of us after reaching Washington D.C. The time difference ensured we reached Washington D.C. in the morning- 7.30AM to be exact.
We also had to take a bus after alighting from the plane to the terminals. (After 8 hours + 13 hours to Washington D.C.) It was a new experience- the bus left the terminal by descending a certain distance from the door- and we never really hit the ground like we do riding on a bus. It kind of felt like we were floating on air.
Leaving the terminal, we caught our first glimpse of America. Pictures speak louder than words, so we have attached a photo so you can see it for yourself. The weather there was also… colder than expected. Living in Singapore with its hot and humid weather, most of us were unsure of what to expect about the cold weather in America, but suffice it to say that some of us did wear thicker layers after that first experience. In fact, some of us wrapped up like we were going to explore Antarctica.
6PM airport 8hr SG to Dubai Airport
reaching timing 1AM Dubai time
2AM from Dubai
13hr flight 7.30 reach washington DC
Saturday 6PM at the Changi Airport- that was where our journey began. It took us an 8 hour flight to reach Dubai and another 13hour flight to reach Washington D.C.. Sleeping on a plane is NOT comfortable but we tried our best, knowing that we had a full day ahead of us after reaching Washington D.C. The time difference ensured we reached Washington D.C. in the morning- 7.30AM to be exact.
We also had to take a bus after alighting from the plane to the terminals. (After 8 hours + 13 hours to Washington D.C.) It was a new experience- the bus left the terminal by descending a certain distance from the door- and we never really hit the ground like we do riding on a bus. It kind of felt like we were floating on air.
Leaving the terminal, we caught our first glimpse of America. Pictures speak louder than words, so we have attached a photo so you can see it for yourself. The weather there was also… colder than expected. Living in Singapore with its hot and humid weather, most of us were unsure of what to expect about the cold weather in America, but suffice it to say that some of us did wear thicker layers after that first experience. In fact, some of us wrapped up like we were going to explore Antarctica.
White House
The White House Visitor Center offers visitors a window into the President’s iconic home. The Center features many aspects of the White House, including its architecture, furnishings, first families, social events, and relations with the press and world leaders as well as a thirty minute video. The White House Visitor Center was opened after the White House itself stop offering tours.
#Fun-Fact 1: There is a blue, green and red room in the White House and all three rooms are decorated according to the colours.
#Fun-Fact 2: President Ronald Reagan loves jelly beans, so he is normal like us right?
Lincoln Memorial
The Lincoln memorial is a national monument built to honor the 16th President of the United States- you guessed it- Abraham Lincoln. The building was built impressively, gleaming a bright pure white against the blue of the sky. In pictures, the grandeur of the building is diminished greatly- because the sheer size and height of the Lincoln Memorial can take someone’s breath away. After scaling the many tall steps to the monument, one will see the statue of Abraham Lincoln sitting in the middle of the hall, literally larger than life by many times and it is a little difficult to explain in words but he was stately and majestic like a king on his rightful throne. The Lincoln memorial has always been a major tourist attraction and since the 1930s has been a symbolic center focused on race relations.
Fun-fact #1: Due to Lincoln’s pivotal role in racial equality, Lincoln is regarded as a symbol of freedom of speech- or more specifically, to stand up for something that you believe in, even if it is not popular at all. To some of us, he may be the very foundation that built an average American’s conviction in their own values and beliefs.
Fun-fact #2: There is also a slight difference in the colour of steps about ⅔ way up! And what’s even more interesting is that the difference in colour of steps marks where Martin Luther King Junior once made his famous speech, “I Have A Dream” in August 28, 1963.
Irony joke #1: He stands for something, but he sits on a chair.
Fun-fact #1: Due to Lincoln’s pivotal role in racial equality, Lincoln is regarded as a symbol of freedom of speech- or more specifically, to stand up for something that you believe in, even if it is not popular at all. To some of us, he may be the very foundation that built an average American’s conviction in their own values and beliefs.
Fun-fact #2: There is also a slight difference in the colour of steps about ⅔ way up! And what’s even more interesting is that the difference in colour of steps marks where Martin Luther King Junior once made his famous speech, “I Have A Dream” in August 28, 1963.
Irony joke #1: He stands for something, but he sits on a chair.
Washington Memorial
The Washington Monument is an obelisk on National Mall in Washington D.C. built to commemorate George Washington, the first American president. It is located at almost east of the Reflecting Pool and the Lincoln Memorial- and is both the world’s tallest stone structure and the world’s tallest obelisk, standing at 169.351m tall. Because the monument was so tall, it was also the first thing we saw when we entered the National Mall. It was standing tall and proud, even with its history of being destroyed once during the 2011 Virginia earthquake and Hurricane Irene in the same year. (It underwent 32 months of repairs for that and was finally reopened on May 12, 2014.)
Fun-fact #1: The reflecting pool located east of the Washington Monument is literally a “reflecting” pool where we can actually see our reflections in the water. However, this is only if there are no strong winds creating ripples on the water.
Fun-fact #2: The Washington monument is built out of two different coloured marbles that is clearly visible. This is due to the fact that the construction of the monument was halted once in 1856 due to a conservative anti-Catholic political party seizing control of the Monument Society. It was continued after the Civil War in 1876 with the Congress providing full monetary support such that the construction was no longer dependent on the donations from the public and societies.
Fun-fact #1: The reflecting pool located east of the Washington Monument is literally a “reflecting” pool where we can actually see our reflections in the water. However, this is only if there are no strong winds creating ripples on the water.
Fun-fact #2: The Washington monument is built out of two different coloured marbles that is clearly visible. This is due to the fact that the construction of the monument was halted once in 1856 due to a conservative anti-Catholic political party seizing control of the Monument Society. It was continued after the Civil War in 1876 with the Congress providing full monetary support such that the construction was no longer dependent on the donations from the public and societies.
Martin Luther King Jr National Memorial
Martin Luther King Jr National Memorial
Martin Luther King Junior was an American Baptist minister, activist, humanitarian and leader in the African-American civil rights. You may know him for his famous speech, “I have a dream”. Daniel, our tour guide leader explained about how he first met Martin Luther King Junior in college (our university level) and also how later on when he started working he actually worked with him. Daniel mentioned that Martin Luther King’s charisma was strong and powerful- and that MLK was his constant inspiration. The monument itself also alluded to how Martin Luther King was an inspiration to many- it was surrounded with walls engraved with some of his famous quotes. In fact, the monument was a literal expression of his quote- “Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope emerges”
And that wasn’t the coolest part yet- it was how the monument meant this instead: “out of the mountain of despair, emerges a stone of hope. And out of the stone of hope, emerges Martin Luther King Jr himself.”
Food for thought:
If you were to meet MLK Jr, what questions would you like to ask him? Why?
Martin Luther King Junior was an American Baptist minister, activist, humanitarian and leader in the African-American civil rights. You may know him for his famous speech, “I have a dream”. Daniel, our tour guide leader explained about how he first met Martin Luther King Junior in college (our university level) and also how later on when he started working he actually worked with him. Daniel mentioned that Martin Luther King’s charisma was strong and powerful- and that MLK was his constant inspiration. The monument itself also alluded to how Martin Luther King was an inspiration to many- it was surrounded with walls engraved with some of his famous quotes. In fact, the monument was a literal expression of his quote- “Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope emerges”
And that wasn’t the coolest part yet- it was how the monument meant this instead: “out of the mountain of despair, emerges a stone of hope. And out of the stone of hope, emerges Martin Luther King Jr himself.”
Food for thought:
If you were to meet MLK Jr, what questions would you like to ask him? Why?
Korean War memorial
We call the border dividing the South Korea and North Korea the 38 parallel border. The Korean War memorial reflects that, and the very spirit of Koreans. There are 19 soldiers, 2 meters tall, each modeled after a different person and are each facing a different direction. They embody the spirit of a strong young Korean.
Some may ask, why 19? Because half of 38 is 19- and there is a highly polished wall beside that that reflects the 19 soldiers to make 38 soldiers, coming out of the forest. The monument is surrounded with junipers to imitate the rough terrain during the war, and the Rose of Sharon, which represents Korea as it is Korea's national flower. There are some strips of granite between the junipers in order to reflect the challenges that they have to face. And there are 38 degree rising triangle blocks at the end of each granite strip- again alluding to the 38 parallel border.
#Fun-fact 1: Everywhere you walk, there is a soldier looking at you.
#Fun-fact 2: The most powerful weapon used in the war cannot shoot, cannot stab, cannot explode. What is it? (A radio)
Food for thought:
What are some of the observations you have made regarding American’s attitude towards their war veterans? What does this reflect about the American society?
Some may ask, why 19? Because half of 38 is 19- and there is a highly polished wall beside that that reflects the 19 soldiers to make 38 soldiers, coming out of the forest. The monument is surrounded with junipers to imitate the rough terrain during the war, and the Rose of Sharon, which represents Korea as it is Korea's national flower. There are some strips of granite between the junipers in order to reflect the challenges that they have to face. And there are 38 degree rising triangle blocks at the end of each granite strip- again alluding to the 38 parallel border.
#Fun-fact 1: Everywhere you walk, there is a soldier looking at you.
#Fun-fact 2: The most powerful weapon used in the war cannot shoot, cannot stab, cannot explode. What is it? (A radio)
Food for thought:
What are some of the observations you have made regarding American’s attitude towards their war veterans? What does this reflect about the American society?
Vietnam War Memorial
The Vietnam War, also known in Vietnam as the “Resistance War against America”, occurred in Laos and Cambodia from 1 Nov 1955 to 30 Apr 1975. The War was fought between North (supported by USSR, and the other communist allies) and the government of South Vietnam (supported by US and anti-communist allies. The National Memorial is located in Washington D.C and it honours US servicemen of the armed forces who fought in the Vietnam War and the memorial is ranked 10th on the “List of America’s Favourite Architecture”. It consisted of three separate parts, the Three Servicemen Memorial and Vietnam Women’s Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, which is the best known part of the memorial.
As we walked along the Vietnam Veteran Memorial Wall, there were some handmade memorials lining against the walls that were engraved with the names of the soldiers who were declared missing in action or had died during the period of the war. Not only were there flowers, there were handmade airplane models, bibles and boxes that were left along the walls. Those that were declared dead were denoted with diamond engraving next to their names while those missing in action were denoted by a cross engraving.
#Fun-fact 1: Wars were never popular, but the Vietnam war was really unpopular among citizens of United States. The reason most widely used could be that the Vietnam War was never really their war to fight. Yet, it only took 7 years for there to be enough private donations to build the Vietnam War Memorial.
#Fun-Fact 2: The Vietnam Veteran Memorial Wall is shaped like a scar. As the names of the soldiers were arranged in chronological order, the memorial actually started at the deepest part and ended at the deepest part (we’re talking about the angle here).
#Fun-fact 3: The wall is made of polished stone, so you can see your face reflected on the names of the soldiers engraved there.
#Sad-Fact 1: The youngest soldier to have ever enlisted in the Vietnam War was 14 years old. There were two, both 14. One died at 15 while the other died at 18.
#Sad-Fact 2: The Vietnam War was so unpopular that war veterans that actually survived the tragic war were looked down upon. There were some that were actually spat on where the memorial was built.
#Info-fact 1: The Three Servicemen memorial was built to model after 19 year old soldiers. The Vietnam Women’s memorial was built to remember the efforts of females that may not have had an active fighting role but have sacrificed parts of their lives, or their lives to serve as nurses in the war. A photo of the Vietnam Women’s memorial can sometimes be found in nursing textbooks.
Food for thought:
Why do you think that some Americans spat and even physically assaulted some of the Vietnam War veterans as opposed to the respect that Americans have towards other war veterans?
As we walked along the Vietnam Veteran Memorial Wall, there were some handmade memorials lining against the walls that were engraved with the names of the soldiers who were declared missing in action or had died during the period of the war. Not only were there flowers, there were handmade airplane models, bibles and boxes that were left along the walls. Those that were declared dead were denoted with diamond engraving next to their names while those missing in action were denoted by a cross engraving.
#Fun-fact 1: Wars were never popular, but the Vietnam war was really unpopular among citizens of United States. The reason most widely used could be that the Vietnam War was never really their war to fight. Yet, it only took 7 years for there to be enough private donations to build the Vietnam War Memorial.
#Fun-Fact 2: The Vietnam Veteran Memorial Wall is shaped like a scar. As the names of the soldiers were arranged in chronological order, the memorial actually started at the deepest part and ended at the deepest part (we’re talking about the angle here).
#Fun-fact 3: The wall is made of polished stone, so you can see your face reflected on the names of the soldiers engraved there.
#Sad-Fact 1: The youngest soldier to have ever enlisted in the Vietnam War was 14 years old. There were two, both 14. One died at 15 while the other died at 18.
#Sad-Fact 2: The Vietnam War was so unpopular that war veterans that actually survived the tragic war were looked down upon. There were some that were actually spat on where the memorial was built.
#Info-fact 1: The Three Servicemen memorial was built to model after 19 year old soldiers. The Vietnam Women’s memorial was built to remember the efforts of females that may not have had an active fighting role but have sacrificed parts of their lives, or their lives to serve as nurses in the war. A photo of the Vietnam Women’s memorial can sometimes be found in nursing textbooks.
Food for thought:
Why do you think that some Americans spat and even physically assaulted some of the Vietnam War veterans as opposed to the respect that Americans have towards other war veterans?
National Museum of American History
The Museum provides a glimpse into the American history, and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific and military history. Among the items on display are the original Star-Spangled Banner and Dorothy’s red shoes (yes, from the Wizard of Oz). The museum is part of the Smithsonian Institution and it is currently having a special exhibition (from when we went) called, “Innovation!” which was fronted by a large Lego-brick USA flag made by Lego experts and normal visitors of the Museum. It contains various exhibitions, and some of that we visited included the First Ladies Gowns, Food!, History through the lens of an African-American, Transportation, Cost of Freedom, American Presidency… The exhibitions were large and various, filled with interesting facts and colourful exhibits that attract attention immediately. The information was condensed and the history was detailed enough for average people like us to learn and not get lost with the overload of information.
#Fun-fact 1: We had our first lunch at the cafe here, called Stars and Stripes.
#Fun-fact 2: Jetlag caught up with us here, but we still managed to pull through to appreciate some exhibits.
#Fun-fact 3: The Star-Spangled Banner is the banner that inspired the US national anthem- and the huge flag on display is not the star-spangled banner but actually the Abstract Flag.
Food for thought:
-What constitutes American history? In the Singapore context, what do you define as Singaporean history?
-Do you think Singapore places enough emphasis on its history? How does it affect us as a people?
Reflections
One interesting observation that we made after visiting the various war memorials was that Americans hold their war veterans in high regard and the immense respect they show to the deceased is nearly tangible. We also witnessed a young man going up to a WWII veteran and shaking his hand, saying, "Thank you." Even young children were visiting the memorials and beautiful, hand-made mementoes were left behind. This is in stark contrast to Singapore's situation, where the respect for our war veterans seem to be minimal, as seen when there was barely anyone in the Kranji War Memorial when we visited it earlier. The showing of respect is indeed something that Singaporeans can learn from.
On our first day here, we also observed that many Americans are very friendly and willing to help. They also take a lot of pride in their jobs. One such example would be our bus driver, Captain Larri, who was really friendly and would always have short conversations with us. When we were eating, we observed that the Americans would automatically return their own plates after they finish eating. This is something that is part of the American culture and such small gestures have been instilled in them since young. Singaporeans ought to learn from the Americans as such behaviour would help to make the society more gracious.
On our first day here, we also observed that many Americans are very friendly and willing to help. They also take a lot of pride in their jobs. One such example would be our bus driver, Captain Larri, who was really friendly and would always have short conversations with us. When we were eating, we observed that the Americans would automatically return their own plates after they finish eating. This is something that is part of the American culture and such small gestures have been instilled in them since young. Singaporeans ought to learn from the Americans as such behaviour would help to make the society more gracious.