A busy Saturday

I should break this down into separate posts - but it's late and I'm tired. We started this morning with a run to the Jefferson and FDR memorials (well, two of us did), then we headed to the L'Enfant Plaza at 7;30AM to sign in for the STAND conference. We listened to a number of panels tell us more about STAND and the state of various human rights crises. Sabina, one of the student leaders of STAND was most impressive, and we learned about the importance of connecting the Darfur issue to the larger problems in Sudan, especially in Southern Sudan. We also got ideas about how to be to take action on Burma. After Lunch, some of us stayed to listen to more panels and attend the first breakout sessions, while the rest of us headed to the mall for the Tents of Hope events. Our tent was set up in the AM by Mr. D, Mrs H and Ms. K. We got to see it surrounded by hundreds of others. On stage, they had a celebration of the cities open mike where each group could go up - we went up and sang the Preamble and If I Had a Hammer. After us they had a preview of the show tonight with Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion (Arlo's daughter and son-in-law) - they borrowed my guitar! (I'll never wash it again . . .) After taking an hour to explore the tents, most of us went to the Museum of the American Indian, then back to the hotel. For dinner, we headed to the Tents of Hope Youth Dinner at Church of the Resurrection. This was a wonderful meal, and we were the only youth group to go- so they were real happy that someone could put a dent in the food they made - we did our best. After, most headed back to the hotel to catch up on homework (after an unsuccessful mission to find blue hair dye at Union Station). Some of us hung around for the benefit concert at the church, and were treated to an amazing concert featuring a vocal group from Berklee School of Music, Omar Ihsas - a Darfuri singer, and Sarah Lee and Johnny again. After helping out a bit after the show, we ended up giving the Berklee singers a ride on our bus to their hotel (with a bus sing-a-long), which put us near the White House for a brief evening visit. Finally we got home and are now in bed asleep!