Coming to America

I should probably apologize for being gone for so long but I won't.
Anyway, let's dive into it. I was just speaking to a friend about how I hate blogs that are like Twitter updates in prose form: "I woke up at 10 a.m., had a full English breakfast and proceeded to rummage through my ex's trash for the last tissue she used." That said, this post is going to be exactly like that.
You may or may not know that the last three months of my life had been leading up to one event – the International AIDS Conference in Washington DC. I was going there as an intern with the Museum of AIDS in Africa (www.museumofaidsinafrica.org is a website you should visit because it was designed [mostly] by yours truly) and it was going to be my first time in the United States.
Before I get into the actual conference, I'm going to give you my opinion of the United States. It was a unique experience that made me realize how much I love Canada. Here are some fun facts I learned while I was there:

1. You have to make an appointment through your embassy several months in advance if you want to get a tour of the White House.
2. People who work at American international airports either hate their jobs or are just rude.
3. Georgia Brown's serves AMAZING fried chicken.
4. Someone was stabbed in the McDonald's I visited, thankfully not while I was there.
5. Some Americans think the Capitol is the White House.
6. SOMEONE WAS STABBED IN THE MCDONALD'S I VISITED.

Maybe I'm overreacting. Perhaps people have been stabbed in the numerous McDonald's locations that I frequent in Canada. However, even if that may be the case, at least I don't have to find out about it while I'm ordering a Quarter Pounder.
So, on to the conference. It was HUGE. Walking from one end of the convention centre to the other was a perilous journey that took about seven minutes, during which you could be ambushed at every turn by people giving out invitations to prayer circles or free condoms. That said, it was also extremely educational and uplifting. It's really nice to see people band together for a specific cause like they did at the conference. Everyone was friendly and willing to talk to you for the most part. What did piss me off was the swag cruisers. You know, people at conferences who don't give a shit about what you have to say but just wanna grab all the free stuff you're giving out. It's even worse when you're not giving any free stuff out, and they walk up to you with their conference bags, stuffed full of free merchandise and blatantly ask you if you have any free things. Then when you say no, they just walk away. Seriously?