A UK Teenangel In Washington D.C.. by Jennie

I got to meet Spiderman on Tuesday! Spidergirl, the Hulk, Captain America, the Green Goblin and a bunch of Teenangels from around America were also there. And as if that's not exciting enough, it was at the Capitol! Quite significant an achievement for my first time in the US...

A few weeks ago I got a last minute e-mail from Parry inviting me to meet Spiderman in Washington. Amazingly, it turned out to fall during the week that I was already in the states, in Boston, so it was just a short flight down. I usually wouldn't have so much luck. However, this time fate was on my side and I was able to go.

I decided to take my grandma with me; I didn't much fancy flying solo, and she too was lucky, getting to meet all the people mentioned above and a free Teenangel t-shirt. (She's going to speak to Parry about getting "Granny Angels" set up!)

So after getting to our hotel in DC we met two Teenangels. Living on a small, remote island, I'd never met any foreign Teenangels before. I just had my Teenangel group back on the small island. Well, I have to say, on behalf of myself and my grandma, we've never met more polite, courteous and friendly people. They were lovely!

We then went to the Federal Trade Commission to meet with Commissioner Thompson, who was a very delightful man. When we arrived there, several other Teenangels were waiting. Like I said before, it was great to meet Teenangels from another place, to see how the brilliant work can be carried forward by such a diverse group of people.

Commissioner Thompson was great! He picked one interest of each of the teens, and addressed it adding his personal views and feelings and experiences, allowing a more in depth approach and a different perspective to something each of the teens had a passion for. This was also good because it gave us a way of all getting to know one another.

Then we went to the Capitol and I have never seen a more intricately decorated building in my entire life. After touching the walls, we also concluded that yes, it really was hand painted! Then all the very important people arrived upstairs outside the room the event was to be held in, and naturally, they all needed name badges. I think, however, that people in such high places never imagined to be asked, "And what's your superpower?" Never in my life, have I seen more shocked and confused faces. The younger members of the audience all had answers ready but the high up people were totally baffled. Luckily, however we had a list of back up superpowers already available in our imaginations!

So the speeches started. They were quite short, quite sweet, yet all breathtakingly well presented. Everyone had relative points to make and Teenangels were praised many times, so obviously, we were all happy! And then, the moment we had all been waiting for... it finally arrived... the kids (and some of the grown-ups) went wild. Spiderman... Spidergirl... Hulk... Captain America... the Green Goblin... and the world's most amazing woman (Parry) came out. They did a small sketch on Internet Safety.

Spidergirl was talking to someone on her rather suave laptop, when Sipderman was trying to get her to speak to the audience. She then went off to meet this person she'd been speaking to online. However, in all the confusion, Spiderman had missed this fact. The Green Goblin gave a soliloquy about how easy it had been to lure Spidergirl into his trap. In the aftermath the green goblin was held up by a growling Hulk, and Captain America explained he had seen her waiting for someone outside a cyber-cafe and seen the Green Goblin not far away. Then Spiderman gave the message - "Don't meet people from the Internet."

There was lots of time for pictures with the superheroes, which I must say, adults, even those who couldn't think of super-powers, seemed to enjoy. Food was provided, drinks and before we all knew it, it was over. It had been great to meet Spiderman, the other Marvel characters, and the Teenangels. Hopefully the Teenangels now will be better linked since we have some idea of who we all are!

And back to the hotel... after an exhausting day, myself and the two other Teenangels who were staying in Washington ordered a pizza and watched a film... whilst reviewing the successes, the amazingness of meeting Spiderman, and contemplating how much write up work would arise from the event.