Day Three: Montgomery (complete with a personal dancer)

It was another long day, but another fun day. I am still not a morning person. I will probably marry a latino. These are the lessons I learned today.
I'm kidding. But they still apply. When we got to Montgomery, we went to the state capitol. It was definitely teeming with history, and architectually it was beautiful. After the state capitol we had lunch...fast food. Delicious! Actually, chicken nuggets dipped in a chocolate frosty from Wendy's makes for a wonderful combination and you should all try it. Just so you know.
You should also know that I've been trying to write this for over an hour. My mind is so unfocused. Clearly.
After lunch, we got to my favorite part of the day. We went to the Civil Rights Memorial Center, complete with top-notch security and a woman who was....er, intense. I thought about her as a professor in a classroom. I can just imagine how brutal her tests would be. Anyway, I don't know what it was about this place that made it so special. Maybe it was the way they presented the information, maybe it was the reality of it all setting in, but when I put my name on the Wall of Tolerance, it really meant something. I didn't do it to follow the trend, I didn't do it because I wanted to pretend to care. If I didn't care, I wouldn't have come on this trip. I put my name up there because as much as we'd like to think that it's over, it's not. Racism and prejudice still happen, and I'm sick of it. It shouldn't happen. The bible claims equality, the constitution claims equality and still, there is inequality. Amongst the races, amongst homosexuals, amongst genders...it may not be as pronounced as it once was but it is still there, and it's sad. The other really incredible part was the fountain outside the Civil Rights Memorial Center. It was beautiful and there was this serenity about it that just made you feel like those honored were at peace, despite the awful events that led them to need to be honored.
We also went to the Rosa Parks Museum and Library, and learned more about the bus boycotts. Also very interesting, and I made sure to listen to the tour guide and "hugged on" the Rosa Parks statue. Victory.
Sarah led a small group of us on a tour of the city, and we mistakenly ended up in the Methodist Church that is down the road from Martin Luther King's Baptist Church. Hmm. I didn't really care, it was a beautiful church and a great photo opportunity.
Dinner...oh dinner. We ate at Dreamland BBQ, and it was undoubtedly entertaining. The food was good, inhalation was inevitable, and our personal dancer? Oh yeahhh. For those who don't know what I'm talking about, there was a Mexican waiter who was flirting with everything that moved and frequently busted out in dance moves that involved a severe amount of hip movement. We dubbed him our personal dancer. Entertaining much? Yes.
I'm not sure what everyone was hyped up on but the bus ride back to the hotel was full of tons of laughter and occasional outbursts of song (Fresh Prince of Belair, anyone?) and just general rambunctiousness. It was good though. Everyone is having an amazing time and this has definitely been the trip of a life time. I can't wait to see what happens next!