University of Wisconsin–Madison

Washington, DC: Global Gateway Summer 2024 (A Day in the Life 1)

Valerey: Daily Life in DC

A wooden door with a frosted glass window with the University of Wisconsin logo visible.
This is the door located in the United Methodist Building that opens to the Wisconsin in Washington Space. This is where class is located majority of the time

On a typical day on this program, class starts exactly at 10am and can last anywhere from 2 to 3 hours. Normally I wake up at 8am EST to get ready for the day and head downstairs to grab daily breakfast that the hotel has kindly prepared for their guests every morning. Although, mornings in Washington DC can be very fast paced as there are constantly people trying to get to where they need to be. The best way to put this is that everyone here walks with purpose. Heading to class every day is around a 20–30-minute walk depending on how fast your legs move. I personally love the walk to class as I can see everyone getting ready to start their days and because our classroom is right next to the Supreme Court and the United States Capital. Class is in the United Methodist Building in a reserved space just for UW-Madison which is so cool. After class is over, there will either be a museum lined up for the class to go to or sometimes free time is made for us. Personally, I normally head to get lunch and discover different places that are around DC, but my favorite place to eat has been at Union Station in DC. There is a wide range of restaurants to choose from, and if you are missing something from home, you can find something there.

I have had the pleasure of attending many different spaces in DC, but my absolute favorite has been the United States Botanical Garden. And best of all, DC is a place of fun that is FREE. Most importantly, after a long day, I can come back to the hotel and find myself sharing with my roommate on this program how much fun I have been having exploring different parts of such a wonderful city.

An arena of seats surrounding the patterned grass of a baseball diamond at night.
Washington DC Nationals game versus the New York Mets taken by my digital camera.

Washington DC is known for its large political atmosphere, but I feel like, during this program, I have connected with this city differently. I have had the pleasure and opportunity to attend two sports events while I have been here. Through the program, I attended the DC United vs. Chicago Fire soccer game with the DC cohort. It was a wonderful time, and it honestly reminded me of home with the same soccer atmosphere that there is in Los Angeles. In addition, in my free time I have had the pleasure of meeting with some people, and, through this experience, I attended the Nationals baseball game located around the block from our hotel. I have grasped how passionate Washingtonians are about their sports, and it genuinely is something so admirable about this city. Although our program might not be abroad, these experiences have shown me how even studying away can look so different from Madison and even my hometown of Los Angeles, California.

Delaney: Place: Favorite

An outdoor seating space in front of a coffee shop with all glass windows.

For Five Coffee Roasters was my favorite place in Washington DC, as it brought me comfort, familiarity, and energy. To me, coffee and coffee shops represent getting together with others, building connections and relationships, and productivity. I found it interesting that the founders of For Five specifically kept each location, from New York City all the way to Los Angeles, designed with unique touches that made them stand out from one another. For Five understands that coffee is about experience, much like I have grown to love. This location specifically offers personable baristas that enjoy striking up a conversation. I have gained perspective from both speaking with employees but also reading about the qualities that the owners had in mind when they created and eventually expanded For Five.This was my favorite place because I got to do many different things while going there. I went there many times, whether I went alone, with friends, or to work on homework. While on the program, we have often had to wake up early and spend a lot of time throughout the day going to class and visiting museums. These experiences have been so rewarding, but I would be lying if I said it wasn’t at some points exhausting! Overall, it has been great to have a spot to spend some downtime at or take to-go to sip on in class or otherwise.

Three plastic coffee cups with black sleeves sit on a table.
A paper with two people on it that says "Our Story" with more, smaller text.

Marissa: Food in DC

A paper container with three pieces of fried fish on top of french fries, with two small containers of sauce.
A basket from Gordon Ramsay’s “Fish and Chips”

Washington D.C. is home to thousands of restaurants of different styles, cultures, and options.

My peers and I are staying in Navy yard, which is not only the home of the MLB team, the Washington Nationals, but also so many restaurants! Right outside of our homebase, we have one of my favorite breakfast spots, Bethesda Bagels. Bethesda is a city in the DMV just north of DC in Maryland, but to my surprise you can find Bethesda Bagels locations all over the city! I’m a Wisconsin native and, as unfortunate as it is to say, when it comes to bagels, the East Coast does it best!

This is also true for what I believe to be the best cupcake bakery, Georgetown Cupcakes. Georgetown Cupcakes offers dozens of unique cupcake flavors from your standard vanilla to flavors you have to take a breathe in between saying. When it comes to DC food, I am finding that a lot of food establishments will specialize in one item (such as cupcakes or bagels) but offer them in 1000 different ways. Personally, it has kept me coming back; I just want to try them all!

Two hands hold out cones of ice cream, one vanilla and one chocolate, in front of a stone floor.
Ice cream from a spot at the Wharf

Some of my classmates and I have also found ourselves constantly trying new coffee shops. It is rare that you will walk one block and not find a great place for coffee. I think it fuels our government workers. Two days in a row, I went to Chinatown to get some of the best draft lattes from La Colombe, and I think I’m about to make it a third. La Colombe is a chain found mostly on the East Coast, but there are several small coffee shops to try around DC as well. My favorite local coffee shop was located in the MLK library (also in Chinatown), and it was not just tasty but also very affordable.

Now I’m no chef, but I am familiar with the renowned chef Gordon Ramsay. Gordon Ramsay has several restaurants in DC including his famous “Hell’s Kitchen” and his much smaller (and less expensive) restaurant “Fish and Chips.” Both of these restaurants are located in the Wharf, which is a beautiful pier with more restaurant options than one can dream of. I went to Fish and Chips with a friend, and the location was too beautiful not to get ice cream and sit over the water. That is another thing about DC; it not only has great food representing many cultures, but also great views! When my peers and I first arrived in DC, we were lucky enough to have dinner right by the water during sunset. We had a great view and then great food. I couldn’t have pictured a better way to start our program, and I can’t wait to see what else is in store for our taste buds here in DC.

Alivia: Places: Routine

The US Capitol building, a rectangular white building with pillars with a large dome rising above the rest of the building in the center.
Image 1

When I came to Washington DC, it became apparent how much bigger this district is than the city of Madison. Even the directions for the DC confused me because of the quadrants and repeated street names. However once we started to explore, we got the hang of traveling and understanding areas and their importance. One place that became part of my routine was Capitol Hill.

Capitol Hill contains the United States Capitol, Senate, Houses of Representatives and the Supreme Court. We had to become familiar with these buildings and use them as a reference because our class is right next to the Supreme Court. It is about a thirty minute walk from our hotel so seeing the buildings is reassuring when we finally reach the end of the walk. Capitol Hill attracts many tourists but also many working people in suits and business wear are around. Even during a break for class, me and a few other students went to the grand Capitol building and explored. We learned the history and more about the architecture of the buildings on the Hill for about an hour then went back to the class. We have not gone into the Supreme Court building yet, but we have seen protestors and news reporters outside the building once while on the walk to class which we thought was cool.

Marble stairs lead up to a white building with pillars and a triangular roof on a sunny day.
The Supreme Court

I would not pick any other place for the University of Wisconsin location in Washington to be. Being able to see some of the most famous Federal buildings everyday is definitely impressionable to me. Sometimes I can feel disconnected while learning broad and complicated topics involving the government and systems in the US, but the location of class constantly reminds me that anyone could be part of these institutions.