The second day began pretty early. We were to start our day at 8:30. So we got up a little early to get ready in our professional uniforms. Kevin had already left for his horrendously long shift of 12 hours at 6:30. Abbie was taking care of lil man Nicholas, who was already awake. We handed in our gifts to her and she thanked us for them. We thanked her for the hospitality she and Kevin had extended to us. In a while, Derek showed up and we were whisked to the State Capitol after bidding goodbye to Abbie, as she assured us she'd try her best to get to Culture Week.
The day at the Capitol was once again pretty exciting. The same security procedures and the discussion based Committee meeting. The only difference was that we were both with Representative Nate Willems today. He was the one who arranged for this whole thing to happen. We hadn't gotten to talk to him the day before properly due to time conflicts. But on this day, we decided to talk. We talked over the course of breakfast and he mentioned his bachelor's days in Georgetown and how competitive it was there.
Once again, we were back in the committee meetings. Focus was primarily on the pre-school funding cuts being proposed and further cuts on social programs. It would mean disaster for the people in the poorer families to make ends meet with the cuts. Many school districts were also to lose money because of this.
Although we wanted more time, it was not possible. We also had a deep desire to go to the top of the capitol and look outside. With the help of a certain Senator and Nate's Clerk Linda (very very nice lady!), we went to the top and looked outside. It was amazing to see Des Moines from up there. What made the journey more memorable was that it wasn't possible for everyone to get up there. Visitors need to have a member of the house take responsibility to be up there.
At around 12:30, we decided to leave as Derek was waiting. After handing out gifts to Reps. Willems, Steckman, and Olson, we bid them goodbye and promised to stay in touch. Derek was waiting for us outside, to whisk us away from this amazing place.
The whole journey was amazing. What struck us the most was the very kind and open nature of the individuals we worked with. They were encouraging us to learn more about their system and get to know ours in return. They had no sense of pride of their position. More or less they broke down the power distance between the people and the government. With people like them helping make laws , we felt Iowa was in safe hands....for now.
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