The Acevedo Dedication

On Tuesday the 12th I headed to DC for my last short trip until the big move on the 22nd of this month to College Park. When arriving in DC, I took the subway from Reagan International to my new address on Matey Rd in Maryland. The idea was to stay there while on my trip and to get to know the new roomies. Well that went wonderful the first few hours as we went to dinner together.

When returning from dinner to my new place I showered, and got ready for bed. At 4:30am, in the morning I awoke to the sound of rats scurrying through the walls and on the floor in the other room. I was completely freaked out, as I flipped the light on. So at 4:40am I packed up my stuff and headed to Priceline.com and found a hotel in downtown DC. I then left the house telling them this place would not work for me and left on foot to the subway. With suitcase in hand, I headed to downtown to a Starbucks where I stayed until 8:00am, when I met the Acevedo family at the USHMM. It was an honor to meet them in person.

The Acevedo family and I headed into the museum where I held the diary in my hands as one of the last people to ever hold it, before it is processed into the vault at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. It was an overwhelming honor. Below is a picture of the diary and me with tony Acevedo. The family, his son Fernando Acevedo and his wife Mitsy were wonderful by including me into the family tour. For two hours the family and I talked and I examined to diary. From 9-3 Tony was meeting for his oral history interview so the family and decided to leave and meet back at 3:30pm for the dedication and then for dinner. At 12 noon I met CNN for the much awaited interview. The interview was a great honor due to this journalist's article being the reason I decided to start studying Berga. The meeting was awesome and I cannot wait until it is posted online. The subject was my research and the dedication of the diary.
At 4pm the diary was officially donated at a wonderful ceremony at the USHMM. Afterward Wayne Drash, the Acevedo's and I went for a yummy dinner. Afterward I retired to my hotel for the evening. I was so happy to rest after such a long day.

Tomorrow will be my 29th birthday. I am extremely excited as I spend it in the city I love. I also have an appointment to meet two girls who are interested as me as their roommate in College Park. I am so excited. Here is a pic of the house. I just keep thinking that everything happens for a reason. The potential new room is a 5 minute walk to the archives and is in a perfect location.