US of A, Baby

July 20th 2025

I'm conferencing again, or maybe for the first time, depending on how you count.

I arrive in Washington D.C. with a borrowed phone and an empty laptop, because these are the times we live in now. It feels strange to travel this light — being mostly offline for a week, using devices that aren't really mine. The waiting line at immigration is decorated with military drones. The message is rather clear.

I forget that this is a real place

I make it out of the airport without any fuss, a bit hungover from the flight, and the Americana of it all hits me over the head: I'm in a burger place, the waitress is making insane amounts of small talk, there's a strange sports game on the TV where very little appears to be happening and the ads are all either "the new burger!" or "social network for cancer patients". Later on I see a Scientology bus immediately followed by a Personal Injury Lawyer bus.


Living on Campus

In the same vein, I knew that living on campus was an expression, and I heard the term campus police before — but it's still wild to actually see this in real life: The GW university owns practically every building in the quarter, from huge concrete blocks to charming brownstones. They have their own emergency services, trash cans, restaurants, and pharmacies. And, of course, dozens of greek-lettered fraternities/sororities — ΣΧ, ΩΨΦ, ΖΒΤ, ΣΝ, etc. It's a city in a city.


Conferencing

For most of the day, I listen to various people talk about privacy and do my best to network, or at the very least find people to stand with during the many coffee breaks, which is going okay, although I also sneak out during some breaks to my secret hideaway: A little garden on campus with a bunch of hammocks that is perfect for some reading in the shade and a peaceful lunch.

I'm having fun with it all, though: The weather is nice, if incredibly hot, and I wake up feeling alive. I carefully pick my outfit for the day to look cool and interesting, get my hair in order, grab my name tag, and feel very professional by the time I leave the hotel. I challenge myself to find the conference building without using the map and pick up a bagel on the way. It feels fluid, somehow.

In the afternoons I venture out to explore the city (and even have dinner with some people from the conference twice). The monuments are all rather underwhelming, in my opinion, but there are a bunch of lovely museums, the Smithsonian especially, and the city itself has some lovely spots as well. Bridge Street Books, if you're in the area, is wonderful. I end up buying two books of poetry I am unlikely to ever read.


Strike Faster

Adding to the general America-whiplash is the fact that in D.C., everything is geared towards The Politicians. The ads in the subway are for hypersonic missile systems from military contractors ("adapt quicker. strike farther. fly faster."), a dedicated mobile network for cops, and vague military AI applications ("accelerating aerial threat detection"). Talk about the military industrial complex I guess.


We're Rappers

On one of my last days here, I walk home from a restaurant, camera over my shoulder, when someone starts shouting from a car stopped at a red light:

"EY! YOU TAKING PICTURES??"

I'm not entirely processing what happens and are they even talking to me? Should I just keep walking?

"YO WHAT KINDA CAMERA IS THAT?"

I spot the two guys in the car now and I think they're friendly? So I manage something that passes for a reply. They jump out of their car — "YOU WANNA TAKE OUR PICTURE?" — "WE'RE RAPPERS!"

The sun is already starting to set but I still have a few exposures on the film and I think I we barely have enough light left, so you know what, sure. I ask if they wanna do a pose and they instantly pull out middle fingers, flashy watches, and jump on a nearby utility box. It's a pretty fun shoot to be honest.