Things didn't go exactly to plan, and not just Barack saying the oath of office.
I got up and ate breakfast with Phil and Dev and Phil suggested we go to the Museum of Natural History before we went down to the Texas Embassy to watch the Inauguration.
My first thoughts of the museum is how incredible the building itself is. This is probably the most impressive building I've been in here. There is an apatosaurus in the entrance hall, and the rest of the building looks like it's from 'Harry Potter.'
We went to the dinosaur hall first. It was solid, although they were really into animatronic dinosaurs, and many of them were casts (including an allisaurus from the Cleveland Lloyd Quarry I visited in September). I was telling stories about digging dinosaurs to the guys the entire time.
From there we walked through the mammals exhibit and then spent the rest of the time in the huge gem room. I've never been thrilled with gems, but it was impressive.
Phil had to go to somewhere else, so Dev and I went down to the Texas Embassy, a restaurant just off Trafalgar Square. As we walked around, Obama was everywhere. It hardly felt like I as in a different continent.
The Texas Embassy was packed with people, and there were more outside waiting to get in (many Americans). We waited for a little until a waiter came out and said no one else was getting in unless they had reservations. So we decided to just head back to the dorms to watch.
We missed the first 40 minutes or so, but got there in enough time to hear Aretha Franklin kind of sing on the BBC. Their coverage was much more subdued than American television. They usually just let the procession go and not speak that much. There were about 20 other people there, and were watching very intently, the majority Brits watching their first inauguration. From what they say, when a new prime minister is sworn-in, there isn't that much of a deal. It's a bigger deal to open Parliament every year.
The Brits love Obama. And hate Bush just as much. When he was shown they would all scoff at him, but Obama drew cheers, including a big one after he was sworn-in. I thought the speech was solid, nothing too memorable, but he delivered it very well. It was much more policy based than any sort of Kennedy-dreamer speech. With everything he's going to have to deal with, it was about right. All of the Brits were impressed, Dev even said he'd never seen someone speak so impassioned.
I got chills as I watched him speak. I've seen him so many times in person that when he started talking it brought me back there, especially when the crowd started chanting 'Obama,' I know that moment. I really wish I could have been there, it would have been something pretty memorable, although I've seen my share of memorable Obama moments I guess. I really can't believe he's president now, it's incredible to me. I kept expecting someone to come on screen and say this was all fake, but it's true. Now all of that hope and inspiration has to translate to something, and unfortunately, sort of quickly. I imagine he's going to have a longer-than-usual leash though.
I went back up to my room and watched CNN on my computer, another fascinating progression. Here I am in London watching CNN live from my room on my computer. Kinda crazy. It made me realize how truly global everything is now, and the power that America still hold in the world. I think during the speech Obama talked about restoring our glory or something along those lines, but the truth is, everyone still looks to us. Our culture is dominant around the world. And our foreign policies play tremendous roles around the world. The world is so behind Obama not just because he's a likable guy and for all he represents, but also because he is the most powerful man in the world. Everyone wants their lives to be better, and they think that Obama can be the one to change it. That's a pretty big responsibility.
I watched the parade for a while and then went to St. John's Saloon with the group not from my halls. We stayed there for like 15 minutes (another one of those super old feeling places) and went to The Diner, an American styled, well, diner. I had apple pie and a chocolate shake, the All-American meal. It was actually a lot of fun, I really like those guys.
But in the end, walking the streets of London tonight, nothing has changed, it's still the same as it was last night. Getting Obama into office is just the start.
One final update from my story in the paper yesterday. I received 'fan mail' from a reader last night, and one of the CEA advisers emailed me as well saying that she liked it. And at the end of the article there was an option to vote 'more' or 'bore' for the author of the column. I was 92% more to 8% bore. And I only voted once.
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