LCI students tour National Portrait Gallery in Washington

LCI students at the Northern Virginia Center took a field trip recently to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. See photos from the trip and some of the students' reactions below.

Bassam AlSulami                                                                                                                                     

On Jun 6, we went to National Portrait Gallery. It was one of the nicest trips in my life. First, we arrived in 10:15. Second, when we entered the museum, we met the displaced tourist. Third, we went to the presidential hall, and saw different of the presidents to the united states. Overall, we learned a lot of about American history.

Abdulrahman Alghamdi

We went on a trip to National Portrait Gallery on Friday 06-20-19 , It was a very beautiful trip. First we left at 9:30, Our teachers were with us. Second, I learned a lot about America's presidents, for example George Washington and Obama Thirdly I liked the place very much, for example the variety of ways of providing information. Finally the tour guide was treated very well and she told me a lot. I loved the place a lot and advised my friends to visit it

Omar Alghonaim

On Friday June 21,2019 my friends and I went to Washington D.C to visit The National Portrait Gallery. The sky was cloudy and the wind was perfect. We took the metro to metro center and walked to the gallery. The building was huge and full of pictures, sculptures and art work. The best thing in the gallery was the art work. There was a snake made of bottle caps. I didn’t see everything in the gallery because I want to come back and continue looking around. As I mentioned it is a huge building and it is free.

Students get to the heart of Congress

Students and faculty from the National Capital Region took a field trip recently to the U.S. Capitol, the home of  Congress and the seat of the legislative branch of the federal government. Read what they had to say about their trip.

Alhumaid Abdulhamid                                                               

One of the most exciting field trips hosted by Virginia Tech since I enrolled was the visit to the Capitol Building. There, we saw many interesting things, such as the many statues, the Capitol Rotunda, and the great dome.

The trip began at the school, where we met before we walked to the Metro station. There we took the train that was going to Capitol South Station. The trip took almost half an hour. Then we walked for ten minutes to the Capitol Building. We took a group picture with my classmates and my teachers in front of the building. Then we went to the main entrance, where we went through security check. After that, we got our tickets and waited for the tour to begin. While we were waiting, we looked around the main hall that had many statues. Then the tour began, first we entered a theater where we saw a 15-minute film about the history of the Capitol. Then we met a tour guide named Norah, who showed as around the building.

The first stop was the base of the Capitol Rotunda. There, we saw the many pillars holding it. Also, the guide told us about the center point of the District of Columbia and that there is no mailing address for the building because it was the central of the capital and all the streets lead to it. 

The next stop was the Capitol Dome. I was amazed by the beautiful paintings and how high it is. The guide told us that the Statue of Liberty can fit under it. Below the dome, on the walls of the Rotunda, there were large paintings, and each one of them represents a time in the American history. Also, in the Rotunda and in many places of the building there were statues that represent each state of America. These statues are either presidents or people who the states wanted to honor for their good deeds. 

In conclusion, we enjoyed our time during the tour, and we learned about the history of the Capitol Building. The Rotunda, the dome and the many statues were fascinating. I would like to visit The Capitol Building again with my family someday.

Gufran Alyati

One of my greatest field trips was yesterday. I have never thought that I would visit the United States Capitol until I joined the Virginia Tech Language and Culture Institute.

The first thing we did when we gathered at Virginia Tech meeting room took the Metro from West Falls Church station to Capitol south station. Second, when we arrived at the Capitol we took some pictures of the building from outside. Then, we got our tour passes and entered the center of the hall where there many statues. There were two unique statues to me. One of them was the enormous white statute where I took a selfie with it. Also, I liked the golden statuette for the first king of Hawaii who united the island chiefdoms into a peaceful kingdom. The statue was amazing with unique golden clothe. Third, we went to the theater for a 15-minute movie. It was about how the presidents started to build the Capitol and then how they rebuild the dome after the British war. Fourth, we saw the breathtaking dome. It was vast and incredible. The dome was built from cast iron and painted by Roman painters. One of the most famous statues in the dome hall was for Dr.Norman Eborlaug. His nickname is “ The Father of The Green Revolution." This doctor brought the corn and oatmeal to the USA, South Africa, and the middle east. Fifth, we went to the Supreme Court galleria room. The design was fantastic and historical with the red sofa in the middle and dark brown wood furniture. There were many candles around in the place. Finally, the journey was ending.

It was one of my best field trips. The United States Capitol building was beautiful and full of history which I liked end enjoyed it a lot.

Anonymous Student

Today I visited the US Capitol Building. It is a very important place. The Senate and the House of Representatives come together to discuss, debate and deliberate national policy and craft the country’s lows. It is a very enormous place. it’s over 1.5 million square feet. It has more than 600 rooms and a lot of corridors. Also, this capitol building has a huge white dome. The construction of this dome took more than 11 years. It is overlooking the city of Washington D.C. and it has become an icon of the Americans people and the government. People started to be building this building in 1793. Then it was burnt and rebuild again. The capitol building is divided into five levels. Each floor is dedicated to something different. The interesting thing is that the capitol building is not only for the use of congress, also, it is a museum for the Americans arts and histories. It is open to the public. Each year the building welcomed a million of people from around the world. If you have not visited this place yet, I highly recommend it for you to know the history about the US laws.

Fairfax students take a trip to the money factory

Students and teachers from the LCI National Capital Region took a field trip recently to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, D.C. The BEP designs and prints billions of dollars in paper currency each year for delivery to the Federal Reserve, the nation's central bank.

Below are essays written by several students, as well as photos from the trip.

Natalia Rodriguez

This was one of the most interesting places that I have visited in my life, because I could appreciate better how the money such as bills and are engraved, inked and printed.

We started to watch a video about the history of money, when the first engraving and printing was founded in 1862 just with six people. Then this company was growing with more people and it was totally formed in 1934. Since then the same company exists until now.

After we watched the video, the tourist guide showed us the steps how the bills are created and processed. The first step is they start to engrave the security marks on the bills and then they ink the bills with the colors green, yellow, black and blue. The second step is they print the bills with their denomination number, correlative serie and the year which it was created. This company changed the new design on the bills every seven or ten years. The people who design the new bills work in front of this company. Finally they package the bills in bricks. For example each brick has $80,000 in denomination of 20’s. In total the company produce from $900,000 to $1,200,000 per day.

One important data is the Bureau of Engraving and Printing Company has a customer that is The Federal Treasury Reserve (FTR). When the FTR receive the money it is distributed to all the national banks. 95% of all the produced money is exchanged for damaged money from the Federal Treasury Reserve, and just the 5% is placed in circulation, that it means “the national inflation” of The United States of America.

Victoria Cheng

This is my first time to see money printing out from machines. The tour guide said each type of notes will change their designs in 7 to 10 years. The water print designs are to make sure that notes are real. Those designs can not be easily reproduced. The paper used to print the notes is also special. Those trees are from the central of the United States. Moreover, notes are basically printed in green in the back and black in the front. Each notes print in different color. One dollar notes do not have special color. However, the rest of notes are printed in specific color. For example, ten dollar notes are printed with yellow and hundred notes are printed with blue.

Those machines used to print 1.5 billion dollars per day. Due to people who are changing their way to pay by credit card, now those machines reduce the amount to 900 million per day. The 95% of notes are used to replace the notes that are seriously damaged. The rest is used to keep the currency demand balancing. Before the notes are public to the market, the notes will check by machines to make sure the notes are correct. If there is an error, that note will be replaced with a special note whose number has a star. These notes for replacement are rare. If I get the note with a star, I will keep the note and do not use it. Meanwhile, I know there was a mistake happened. And this is what I have learned during the tour in Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

It is important to know how notes are being printed and how the government design notes to be protected. Also, I would like to know how people who work in Bureau feel because they company with million dollars. Even I just walked through in front of the window, I could smell the money.

Ayman Alhammad

Long time ago, money was important thing in our life. However, is not easy to have or to create it. Yesterday, I visited bureau of engraving and printing one of the effect place in global economy and take general idea about the dollar printing process.

Firstly, me and my friends take the metro from Dunng Louren to Smithsonian station that located on 14th St at DC, which the edifice at the there. It was old building.

Next, we walk up the stairs and it was surprised me that no unusual security pressure. After passed the check point. We sat at the lobby to watch a short film about the bureau.

After that, the guide women took us throw the corridors to explain how print money and how much the print every day. In addition the explanation was very deep and the questions that my friend asked our guide were smart.

In sum, I enjoy of the trip to bureau of engraving and printing. Absolutely it is a good place that any one will come to D.C have to visit. 

LCI students tour National Museum of African American History and Culture

Students from the LCI Fairfax recently visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington.

It is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African-American life, history, and culture. It was established by Act of Congress in 2003, following decades of efforts to promote and highlight the contributions of African Americans.

Read what some students had to say about the field trip below.

Library of Congress field trip offers lessons in history

This month, students and faculty from Fairfax took a field trip to the Library of Congress, the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States.

It is said that the Library of Congress is the world’s largest repository of knowledge and creativity, with a growing collection of more than 162 million items, including books, print materials, sound recordings, photographs, maps, sheet music, movies, and manuscripts.

The Library of Congress was established in 1800, when President John Adams signed a bill transferring the seat of the U.S. government to Washington. The legislation described a library of “such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress.”

Read more about the field trip below.

Students, faculty break Ramadan fast with potluck iftar

Last Friday, students and faculty in Fairfax, and their family members, got together for a potluck iftar.

The iftar is the meal served at the end of the day during Ramadan, to break the day's fast. Iftar is served at sunset during each day of Ramadan, as Muslims break the daily fast.

All participants brought some food from their national cuisine to share. Everyone in attendance really enjoyed all the food, good conversation, and had a great time!

— Guennadi Bratichko

Students head to the Mall for monuments and cherry blossoms

Students and staff from the National Capital Region took a field trip recently to see the National Mall and the famous cherry blossoms. They got to see the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, as well as the area's beautiful cherry blossom trees.

See more photos and read students' essays about their trip below:

'Show me the money,' Fairfax students say

Students and faculty from the Language and Culture Institute in Fairfax recently toured the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which develops and produces U.S notes. During the tour, they saw millions of dollars being printed.

Below, some of the students share their thoughts about the field trip.

Students get their day in court

A group of LCI students and faculty members from the National Capital Region took a field trip recently to the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.

Click below to read what some of the students had to say about their trip.

Fairfax students check out the cherry blossoms

Students and staff from the National Capital Region recently toured Washington, D.C., to see some of the capital's many monuments, as well as its famed cherry blossoms.

See their photos and read their accounts below.

Students tour the Library of Congress

Students from the National Capital Region recently got an up-close look at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Read some of their reflections and see photos from their field trip.

Classes canceled Friday, Jan. 22

Virginia Tech's main campus in Blacksburg will be closed Friday, Jan. 22. All classes, including those at the Language and Culture Institute, are canceled. All university events scheduled for Friday will be canceled.

Classes are also canceled at the LCI's locations in Fairfax and Radford.

For the latest information, visit the Virginia Tech homepage (www.vt.edu) or Virginia Tech News (www.vtnews.vt.edu), or call the campus weather hotline at 231-6668.

Visit www.btransit.org for the latest Blacksburg Transit information.

Ahead of Thanksgiving, Fairfax students tour American Indian museum

Last month, students and faculty from the National Capital Region toured the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. The museum is dedicated to the preservation, study, and exhibition of the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of Native Americans.

See photos and students' accounts of their visits below:

Exploring the Air and Space Museum

Students in the National Capital Region took a field trip recently to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

See more photos from their trip and read what some students wrote about their experience after the jump.

National Capital Region parties in the park

Students, faculty, and staff from the National Capital Region gathered recently for an end-of-term picnic at Nottoway Park in Vienna. See photos and student essays about the celebration.

'People from Around the World All Gathered in One Place'
By Alanhoof Alotaibi

Thursday has arrived and the day we get to have a picnic with everyone from VTLCI begins. Thanks to Professor Bobal’s video, no one got lost and managed to find the park. 

The weather at first was very hot and humid, but everyone managed to fan away the discomfort. The park was filled with a chill atmosphere. It still fascinates me to see people from around the world all gathered in one place, and the fact that they get along makes it so much greater. You can hear the many different conversations, jokes, and even songs going on in the park.

One of my favorite moments was meeting Professor Sereda’s mother, who only speaks Russian; she is lovely. Not to mention the many delicious foods there were! Just remembering that feast makes me want to travel back in time to eat those yummy burgers Ashley grilled for us.

The picnic ended as soon as the rain started to pour, but it was wonderful.

See photos from the National Capital Region summer picnic

Click on a photo below to open a slideshow in Facebook.

A field trip to the National Portrait Gallery

Among the portraits on display at the National Portrait Gallery is this one by artist Chuck Close of President Bill Clinton.

Students and staff from the National Capital Region took a field trip recently to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. Read about their trip and see some photos below.

Elaine de Kooning's portrait of President John F. Kennedy.

By Shatha Alamoudi

Last week we had a beautiful trip to the National Portrait Gallery with some students and teachers.

We started to move from the institute at 11:00 a.m. We took the Metro there. The weather was amazing; it was cloudy and good for the trip. 

We arrived the museum at 12:11 pm .We saw a lot of pictures, such as Brad Pitt, Rosa Parks, George Washington, and others. 

After we finished the trip, I went with my Professor Shamsaei and my friends to have lunch. Then I came back home. 

It was a beautiful trip and everybody had a good time.

The Great Hall

By Reenad Alhussein

On Jun, 2, students from Virginia Tech went to the National Portrait Gallery. We learned a lot of information about American art. 

We listened to an educational tour guide. She told us many ideas. The field trip was great experience. However, it was too short to see everything in the museum, but other way is to do any thing we want. 

In addition, the museum has old and new art. That is great for all ages of people, so it is a good place to go with family and children. In addition, it has a perfect map, so you can walk around the museum easily. 

I would like to go again and see everything. People will not be bored at the museum. Also if people finish, they can see the gift shop and buy special gifts from the museum. 

Finally, the museum is near Chinatown, so people can go to museum and have fun in Chinatown.

Gilbert Stuart's 1796 portrait of George Washington is known as the Lansdowne portrait because it was a gift to the Marquis of Lansdowne, an English supporter of American independence, from Senator and Mrs. William Bingham of Pennsylvania.

Students see the cherry trees blossoming in Washington, D.C.

Students, teachers, and staff from the National Capital Region recently toured some of the many monuments around Washington, D.C., and saw the beautiful cherry blossoms.

See more of their photos and read their accounts of the trip below.

Language program helps Malaysian teachers speak better English in their classrooms

Claire Peters (right), assistant principal at Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, Virginia, gives a tour to Virginia Tech Language and Culture Institute instructor Christine Bobal (second from right) and a group of visiting high school teachers from Malaysia.

Nolie Binti Shamshudin, a math teacher taking part in a Virginia Tech Language and Culture Institute program, expected to improve her English and learn to better integrate technology into her classroom in Malaysia. Among the skills she did not expect to pick up: throwing a snowball and making snow angels.

More accustomed to the tropical greenery of Southeast Asia, she found herself knee-deep in the wintry weather of the National Capital Region, where Virginia Tech's facilities include a learning center in Fairfax.

Read more

Photos: National Capital Region End of Term party

Post by Virginia Tech Language & Culture Institute: National Capital Region.