Last week was Mexican Independence Day! As you probably know, we Mexicans take that pretty seriously, so I went with all my country fellows to the Organization of American States here in Washington, D.C., where the Mexican Ambassador — Arturo Sarukhan — would host this big party in order to commemorate the beginning of the Mexican Independence movement.

Since the minute I got there it was easy to know it was a Mexican celebration. The interior of the beautiful building of the O.A.S., on Constitution Avenue, was decorated with green, white and red colors, everything filled with the characteristic Mexican warmth that we all miss around here.

The room where the party was taking place was even more stunning. It was like being back home! Lots of people gathered to celebrate our most traditional national celebration, Mexican flags waving to our typical home music while drinks and food were served. Everybody was singing and smiling, it was time to celebrate our traditions and history – our own identity which we are very proud of.

The entire room was filled with Mexicans and others, who happen to be in a foreign country, gathered to commemorate our freedom. We celebrated because, despite our differences and our own problems, we are part of a country filled with honest and hardworking people with fervent love towards it; people who are willing to come together when times get rough, and show everybody that we will do whatever is necessary to make things better, just the way our founders did. With a sense of strong moral sense and sincere love and respect to our nation.

To finish our celebration, the ambassador took the stage just as the color guard entered the room. The national anthem was sung and the civic ceremony concluded with a lung explosion: VIVA MEXICO! That’s the most sincere declaration you will ever hear from every Mexican, and we are proud of it.

I do feel guilty for not being smarter.

A few days ago I also went with my advisor from the Washington Center to the Library of Congress—The Thomas Jefferson Building. That's probably the most beautiful building I´ve ever been in the United States! Just past the Capitol Building, I can assure you'll find a place where culture, on its broad sense, is shown to its maximum splendor.

The detail all over its architecture, the murals and paintings on the wall and the sculptures all around the place - company to millions of books stored there - gives the library mysticism worthy of hundreds of years of enlightenment gathering. Inside every camera and room of this American monument, lies a piece of history that you wouldn’t want to miss, making of this magnificent building a wonderful place to visit.

The Library of Congress also hosted The National Book Festival at the Capitol Hill last weekend. Located just next to the Washington Monument, the fair was settled with many different tents, where authors could share their experience and inspiration with the audience — it was amazing! The place was crowded with people of all ages, looking to hear about the motivation that drove their favorite writers into their work.

At the end I truly believe that the welcoming quote to all these events should be— “Welcome to the place where you'll feel guilty for not being smarter.” So, do you remember my last advice? Networking, networking, networking. Let me rephrase that: networking, reading, reading - that’s the road to success.

Unpredictable changes, squirrels and more.

In the past days the weather changed as well. I guess I'm used to warm temperatures, but I've never felt such a rapid change before. Fifteen days ago I'd be dripping all over at 90 degrees and now I'm staring down the window at a windy, rainy Washington at 69 degrees. If that happened in just two weeks, I think just may have to start building an igloo for next month! Is like the weather just knows how dynamic the capital city must be — unpredictable in every way.

There is another thing nobody talks about in Washington. They are everywhere you look, chasing something or just staring at you with that innocent look—squirrels. There are thousands of them just chilling and living for free. They are brown and fluffy. Yesterday it was raining really hard and I was out on an assignment from my boss, when this little squirrel was standing on the way to a rooftop where I could have taken shelter, but it wouldn’t let me! They are claiming this city for themselves. We really need to stop them.

I guess that Washington, D.C. is just someplace I'll never be able to figure out completely, and I love it for that.  I'll just keep my eyes open and tell you more about it next time!