When I say "in" I do mean inside their Washington headquarters - I'm not rich or stupid enough to actually sign up. I'll fill in some blanks as to how I ended up here.
I took a stroll downtown with Brian to go and have a look at what was going on around the mall in D.C. After getting through some of the expected security that seems to greet you everywhere here (so glad I didn't bring my turban), we got into the Holocaust Museum...only to find you had to sign up the day before. They still let us in to see a really interesting exhibit on propaganda which appealed to me, though it brought with it the also familiar sight of Asian tourists streaming past while you tried to read something. Chip in if I'm starting to sound racist.
I grabbed a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon (watch 'South Park' to get an idea) and a pork sandwich at an "Irish" pub - the first place to question me on my I.D. What are the odds! Annoyingly, Liverpool scored a last minute goal on the T.V while I was there, but less of that. We then tried to get into the Museum of the American Indian, but we got kicked off ofthe reservation (it was after half five).
And then on a slow stumble back to Adams Morgan we found it, home of Tom Cruise and many more: the Washington D.C Church of Scientology. After watching a few films in the lavish settings we asked Betty - a very friendly lady who bought me some bottled water - a few questions. Sad to report we heard no crazy stuff about aliens and volcanoes. What we did hear was a very basic idea of human psychology, that was packaged for gullible people willing to spend money to attain some kind of peace with themselves and the world.
We were even asked to do some personality tests and it turns out that I'm anxious and critical. Personally I thought that Betty was talking rubbish, but then I got really nervous about hurting her feelings (think you see what I'm trying to get at, but it's late at night over here). Some incredible falafel and a few buds settled things down and that's pretty much D.C. It's a cool place but a lot less relaxed than other places on the east coast. Well worth a visit though!
Off to Chicago on the train tomorrow so I'll try and get a brief blog in tomorrow if I discover wi-fi anywhere. If not I'll see you there. Keep reading!
P.s. the picture is of some protesters/drunks we met who are doing a sleeping demo on the street. Nice!
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