Sitting at sunlit tables on the fourth floor of Luther Place, Sara led the YAVs (minus Keyah, who was at a grad school interview) in creating our own maps of D.C. For half an hour, we sat and mapped out the places we most frequently occupy in the city. It was a great way to visualize the abstract map that floats inside my head, and highlight the places I spend time in the city.
In the map, the YAV house is highlighted yellow. A yellow pathway runs its way through Capitol Hill, past the crossing guard, elementary school, and Lincoln Park where there are always several dogs. Shaded by trees and bushes, I make my way to either the Office of Public Witness near the Capitol building, Supreme Court, and Congress buildings, or past Eastern Market to Capitol Hill Presbyterian. Towards the top of the map is H street, complete with street car, X2, and grocery stores. Along H Street are my favorite places: Sidamo coffee, Ben’s Chili Bowl, and Bullfrog Bagels/Bar. Near the arboretum is the police station where I got a visitors parking pass (the farthest north I’ve wandered), and an ambulance and police car (there are lots of sirens I hear from the house that have become background noises at this point).
The map would not be complete without the Chinatown archway on H street, the Portrait Gallery, the National Mall, Adams Morgan (where I usually hang out with Davidson friends), the Busboys & Poets and Ben’s Chili Bowl on U street, and the Washington National Cathedral (which I love for its calming gardens and stained glass windows).
This map is a really good representation of the places I spend my time and made me realize how much of the city I’ve seen and am comfortable in, and how there is still so much to explore.
Langley in D.C. 