Hello bloggerworld... It's been a while! Also, I really need something to cover up that awfully embarrassing networking story. But, ya know, I am only human, and maybe a hopeless romantic human... but I can't help it sometimes!
Onward -- I'm on my last week here in DC and I'm not really sure what to reflect on here because I've done so much reflecting in the past two weeks completing TWC assignments that I'm almost OVER reflecting. We had to do a huge portfolio project that included work samples and papers reflecting on every aspect of our experience here... semi-exhausting.
I had my last Peaceful Solutions class tonight... and successfully got a hug from Professor McCarthy! :) That class really changed my life and my outlook, I'll look forward to carrying what I've learned with me in the future... I still have some projects at my internship to finish up. Part of me is going to miss the strange office life I've fallen into... but I'm also looking forward to a more active summer.
I think all I really have to say is that I am pretty content right now. I'm already getting a bit nostalgic of my time here in DC -- I've grown quite fond of this odd and tiny city, and the more I think about it, the more I realize I'm going to have quite a "culture shock" coming back to the crazy New Yorkers... and the commute into NYC won't compare to my lovely times on the DC metro. I'm thinking it is possible I'll wind up back in DC someday...
I'm going to try and spend as much time with my new friends here this week as I can, and then this weekend I'm headed to Dickinson for graduation. And then it's back to Long Island .. I'm looking forward to getting back to two of my "homes" and seeing my friends and family.
Well this was a very boring post, and for that I apologize. I don't know if my blogging career will continue over the summer, but to everyone who has been reading, I thank you for making it this far and for any encouragement you sent my way to help increase my ego ;-)
Who am I kidding, I'll be back next week.... so until I decide to blog next.... sending love your way!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Networking Mistakes: He Doesn't Want to Date You
Alright people, so as I near the end of my internship, I realize I have learned quite a bit and it's time to share some of my wise and unwise wisdom with the world, and any future interns who are interested.
Networking can be a funny and tricky thing, but it is encouraged as the KEY to success in Washington, DC. It often turns out that it isn't WHAT you know, but WHO you know. A wise, wise man I had an informational interview gave me advice along the lines of, "speak nicely of the people you like, and even nicer of the people you don't like" because the circles here are SMALL (especially in any circle even close to Hill involvement) and you never know who knows who, or when you'll run into people again.
Some quick suggestions:
1. Try to act confident, even when you don't feel completely sure of yourself. Push yourself to introduce yourself to as many people as you can!
2. Make sure you are cordial and polite with everyone upon meeting them for the first time
3. SMILE :) -- and a firm handshake also makes a statement, but I never quite got that down.
4. Don't be afraid to ask people for their business cards to keep in touch, and make sure to FOLLOW UP.
5. The majority of working people in Washington, DC will seem to be your age: try to eliminate people you meet in professional situations as dating material...
Some of this I have done successfully and some I have not... As the story I'm about to tell will show. I personally have felt uneasy at times because I feel that being an intern is enough of an "in-between" state to feel awkward at times. I'm definitely not a working professional, and I'm still technically a college student. But, I would encourage people to try and act more professional than you feel at all times.
So an EPIC networking fail to guarantee you a laugh: Waiting on line to get into a hearing a few weeks ago, I wound up chatting with a pretty attractive guy. When we got into the hearing, he gestured (what I thought was only to me) to exchange business cards. Mortified to give him my own card that SCREAMS intern, I mumbled something about being an intern under my breath and started talking to a friend next to me, we'll call her Amy. So this is the hearing where I met Secretary of Edu, Arne Duncan. In an attempt to befriend this cute guy, I decided to do a follow up email and tell him that he missed out on the excitement of meeting Arne when he left the hearing early. Unfortunately, the email bounced back due to "security reasons,"-- OK wasn't meant to be. Hah. A week later, I get an email from HIM, saying it was nice to meet me and he hopes our "paths cross again soon." As a precaution I get in touch with Amy who was at the hearing with me and also got his card -- apparently he had only emailed me -- so that is an offer if I've ever seen one. WRONG. I respond quickly saying that I'd love to meet up sometime, maybe over dinner? Well, he never responds. A few days later I'm at an education networking breakfast of sorts... talking to Amy... and who should walk in? But the mysterious cute boy from the hearing. "Oh by the way!" Amy says, "He DID wind up emailing me, too!" And to make my luck worse, I actually get stuck sitting RIGHT next to him. FML. After attempting to ignore him most of the time, he actually winds up talking to me at one point, apparently he is well into his 30's and keeps making references to how old he is and bla bla. Ok, I get it. In truth, he is a very nice guy, and he parted with a "let me know if you ever need anything" (aka questions about policy, jobs, etc). Moral of the story: older and attractive men may be charming and friendly, but he does not want to date you. So learn from my mistakes friends, and it's back to the brutal reality that dating is a b*tch.
Laugh it up, we all know I deserve it. More stories to come soon.
Networking can be a funny and tricky thing, but it is encouraged as the KEY to success in Washington, DC. It often turns out that it isn't WHAT you know, but WHO you know. A wise, wise man I had an informational interview gave me advice along the lines of, "speak nicely of the people you like, and even nicer of the people you don't like" because the circles here are SMALL (especially in any circle even close to Hill involvement) and you never know who knows who, or when you'll run into people again.
Some quick suggestions:
1. Try to act confident, even when you don't feel completely sure of yourself. Push yourself to introduce yourself to as many people as you can!
2. Make sure you are cordial and polite with everyone upon meeting them for the first time
3. SMILE :) -- and a firm handshake also makes a statement, but I never quite got that down.
4. Don't be afraid to ask people for their business cards to keep in touch, and make sure to FOLLOW UP.
5. The majority of working people in Washington, DC will seem to be your age: try to eliminate people you meet in professional situations as dating material...
Some of this I have done successfully and some I have not... As the story I'm about to tell will show. I personally have felt uneasy at times because I feel that being an intern is enough of an "in-between" state to feel awkward at times. I'm definitely not a working professional, and I'm still technically a college student. But, I would encourage people to try and act more professional than you feel at all times.
So an EPIC networking fail to guarantee you a laugh: Waiting on line to get into a hearing a few weeks ago, I wound up chatting with a pretty attractive guy. When we got into the hearing, he gestured (what I thought was only to me) to exchange business cards. Mortified to give him my own card that SCREAMS intern, I mumbled something about being an intern under my breath and started talking to a friend next to me, we'll call her Amy. So this is the hearing where I met Secretary of Edu, Arne Duncan. In an attempt to befriend this cute guy, I decided to do a follow up email and tell him that he missed out on the excitement of meeting Arne when he left the hearing early. Unfortunately, the email bounced back due to "security reasons,"-- OK wasn't meant to be. Hah. A week later, I get an email from HIM, saying it was nice to meet me and he hopes our "paths cross again soon." As a precaution I get in touch with Amy who was at the hearing with me and also got his card -- apparently he had only emailed me -- so that is an offer if I've ever seen one. WRONG. I respond quickly saying that I'd love to meet up sometime, maybe over dinner? Well, he never responds. A few days later I'm at an education networking breakfast of sorts... talking to Amy... and who should walk in? But the mysterious cute boy from the hearing. "Oh by the way!" Amy says, "He DID wind up emailing me, too!" And to make my luck worse, I actually get stuck sitting RIGHT next to him. FML. After attempting to ignore him most of the time, he actually winds up talking to me at one point, apparently he is well into his 30's and keeps making references to how old he is and bla bla. Ok, I get it. In truth, he is a very nice guy, and he parted with a "let me know if you ever need anything" (aka questions about policy, jobs, etc). Moral of the story: older and attractive men may be charming and friendly, but he does not want to date you. So learn from my mistakes friends, and it's back to the brutal reality that dating is a b*tch.
Laugh it up, we all know I deserve it. More stories to come soon.
Monday, April 20, 2009
You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one...
Hello my friends... how is everyone doing? I went through an intern burn-out/"I'm not supposed to be in America right now" phase last week, and in an attempt to inspire rather than depress my audience, I decided not to blog. No one is perfect, we all have bad days, sometimes more than one in a row, and there is nothing wrong with that! Sometimes you just gotta take Grandma Shirley's advice, "take it one day at a time" ...I do know for a fact she got that from her Over-Eaters Anonymous program, but whatever works, right? :)
Weekend highlight: I got to see the Flaming Lips yesterday for a FREE concert on the National Mall. That concert is crazy entertaining, the lead singer puts himself in an inflatable bubble and crowd surfs. He also has these weird trippy things on stage with him-- like an inflatable smiling sun, and some strange caterpillar/butterfly thing. My roomie and I enjoyed rocking out to our favorite, "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots," though I am pretty convinced none of those songs make any sense.
In the spirit of my blog name, I'm going to give you some American Studies "word vomit." So, the concert was part of a bigger festival for Earth Day. Obviously an event like this attracts all sorts of hippies, but have you ever noticed that there are different 'cultures' of hippies? I suspect this maybe has something to do with class differences, but even if that isn't always the case, it is kindof interesting. For example, (sticking to men here) there are the 'dirty' hippies that grow their hair long, put it back in silly clips and hair ties, they dress kindof ragged and generally don't match. Then there is the more "manufactured" hippy -- they have the camelback backpacks and a clean, but "down to earth" looking waterproof jackets. They generally have shaggy hair, that looks longer than the traditionally accepted length for boys, but it still looks cleanly trimmed. Just an observation...
Tonight in class we had two homeless people come speak to us. One was named Steve, he has chosen to live in voluntary poverty, as in he left life as a businessman to come live in DC with no home, no car, no phone, no money, no bed... and according to him, no worries. He spends the majority of his time hanging out in a park by American University making flutes out of bamboo sticks. He gives the flutes to people he meets, and claims that when he gives a child a flute in a park that it becomes a source of attention and community. I believe him, but I guess what struck me the most is that he has the ability and access to resources to be more productive, to do good at a larger scale, and he is choosing not to. Taking a step back, that is obviously what makes him happy... and with the wise words of Coleman McCarthy, "We aren't called on to do great things, we are asked to do small things in a great way." I think that the idea of choosing to live THAT simply is interesting at the least. The other woman who came to speak to us was really awesome, her name was Ellen, you should check out her website: http://prop1.org/. She is really trying to make a grassroots advocacy effort, pretty inspiring -- especially since I have been contemplating the effectiveness of our government during my time here. She seems to still believe in it.
Moving right along... people have been calling me naive and idealistic, even "innocent," left and right since I've started talking about this peace studies stuff. And when I went home for the weekend, 5 seconds outside of the DC bubble convinced me that these ideas are definitely not well-accepted. I made the mistake of pulling a McCarthy line at my Passover seder. A younger family friend was being questioned about what he wants to do when he 'grows up,' I put in my two cents, "do what you love and the money will follow" only to be attacked right away and basically called an idiot. Cool. I'm not denying that there are a lot of issues I am ignorant to, many systems I don't quite understand, or that I'm not completely on my own and able to understand what it is like to live without an income. But we live in a society that is too money obsessed, and I'm not a fan. All I'm saying is that we can try. We can try talking about these issues and explore ways to incorporate them into our lives. We can try to hold ourselves repsonsible for doing our tiny part, and maybe we will get some good out of it. At the least, you'll influnce one more person, and even that is an accomplishment. So I'm trying to do my tiny part, trying to start dialogue, trying to go greenER, trying to be kinder... adding more love to the world never hurt anyone, but as Coleman says, "If love were easy, we'd all be good at it." Well love is something I usually have to give. Any takers? ;-) (Not that you really have a choice anyway...)
Some peaceful quotes for you to nibble on:
"He who has experienced good in his life must feel the obligation to dedicate some of his own life in order to alleviate suffering" Albert Schweitzer
Weekend highlight: I got to see the Flaming Lips yesterday for a FREE concert on the National Mall. That concert is crazy entertaining, the lead singer puts himself in an inflatable bubble and crowd surfs. He also has these weird trippy things on stage with him-- like an inflatable smiling sun, and some strange caterpillar/butterfly thing. My roomie and I enjoyed rocking out to our favorite, "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots," though I am pretty convinced none of those songs make any sense.
In the spirit of my blog name, I'm going to give you some American Studies "word vomit." So, the concert was part of a bigger festival for Earth Day. Obviously an event like this attracts all sorts of hippies, but have you ever noticed that there are different 'cultures' of hippies? I suspect this maybe has something to do with class differences, but even if that isn't always the case, it is kindof interesting. For example, (sticking to men here) there are the 'dirty' hippies that grow their hair long, put it back in silly clips and hair ties, they dress kindof ragged and generally don't match. Then there is the more "manufactured" hippy -- they have the camelback backpacks and a clean, but "down to earth" looking waterproof jackets. They generally have shaggy hair, that looks longer than the traditionally accepted length for boys, but it still looks cleanly trimmed. Just an observation...
Tonight in class we had two homeless people come speak to us. One was named Steve, he has chosen to live in voluntary poverty, as in he left life as a businessman to come live in DC with no home, no car, no phone, no money, no bed... and according to him, no worries. He spends the majority of his time hanging out in a park by American University making flutes out of bamboo sticks. He gives the flutes to people he meets, and claims that when he gives a child a flute in a park that it becomes a source of attention and community. I believe him, but I guess what struck me the most is that he has the ability and access to resources to be more productive, to do good at a larger scale, and he is choosing not to. Taking a step back, that is obviously what makes him happy... and with the wise words of Coleman McCarthy, "We aren't called on to do great things, we are asked to do small things in a great way." I think that the idea of choosing to live THAT simply is interesting at the least. The other woman who came to speak to us was really awesome, her name was Ellen, you should check out her website: http://prop1.org/. She is really trying to make a grassroots advocacy effort, pretty inspiring -- especially since I have been contemplating the effectiveness of our government during my time here. She seems to still believe in it.
Moving right along... people have been calling me naive and idealistic, even "innocent," left and right since I've started talking about this peace studies stuff. And when I went home for the weekend, 5 seconds outside of the DC bubble convinced me that these ideas are definitely not well-accepted. I made the mistake of pulling a McCarthy line at my Passover seder. A younger family friend was being questioned about what he wants to do when he 'grows up,' I put in my two cents, "do what you love and the money will follow" only to be attacked right away and basically called an idiot. Cool. I'm not denying that there are a lot of issues I am ignorant to, many systems I don't quite understand, or that I'm not completely on my own and able to understand what it is like to live without an income. But we live in a society that is too money obsessed, and I'm not a fan. All I'm saying is that we can try. We can try talking about these issues and explore ways to incorporate them into our lives. We can try to hold ourselves repsonsible for doing our tiny part, and maybe we will get some good out of it. At the least, you'll influnce one more person, and even that is an accomplishment. So I'm trying to do my tiny part, trying to start dialogue, trying to go greenER, trying to be kinder... adding more love to the world never hurt anyone, but as Coleman says, "If love were easy, we'd all be good at it." Well love is something I usually have to give. Any takers? ;-) (Not that you really have a choice anyway...)
Some peaceful quotes for you to nibble on:
"He who has experienced good in his life must feel the obligation to dedicate some of his own life in order to alleviate suffering" Albert Schweitzer
"People are unreasonable, illogical, and self centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people may accuse you of selfish motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you may win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable.
Be honest and transparent anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
People who really want help may attack you if you help them.
Help them anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you may get hurt.
Give the world your best anyway."
--Mother Teresa
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people may accuse you of selfish motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you may win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable.
Be honest and transparent anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
People who really want help may attack you if you help them.
Help them anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you may get hurt.
Give the world your best anyway."
--Mother Teresa
Monday, April 6, 2009
All Over the Place
I'll start this blog post off with my typical rant of random tragic/actually not so tragic observations of my life... my beloved "click click" shoes have officially stretched out and are showing their Payless shoe worth, causing me to spend the majority of my Monday tripping and falling on multiple occasions. And I nearly caused a traffic jam this morning right in front of the escalator (BIG rush hour no-no). And the vegetarian thing lasted three days before I accidentally ate tacos. And then chicken... soo I'm still exploring that...ish.
I had a very nice weekend. Saturday mom came to visit... we got to see some cherry blossoms, got to go to lunch with cousin Ian and his girlfriend (so nice to see them!) and then mom and I headed to one of my favorites, the National Portrait Gallery. After mom left, I headed over to what I thought was a park, but it was this strange bus-waiting area in the middle of a parking lot... I did a lot of people watching, and then my good friend Jen came to meet me and we talked and sat in the sun. Once we assembled some more interns we headed over to the Marvin Gaye Park Festival that Andrea (my roomie)'s internship, Washington, Parks, and People, was putting on in the community where I volunteer. We got there right in time for some live music... one of the Temptations was singing, it was pretty sweet.
Mommy and Me!
Oh hey mom... (It was windy) ...don't tell her this is up here ;)
Live Music at Marvin Gaye Festival:
What else... Sunday John, Andrea, and I headed over to the National Mall and parked ourselves down for a little picnic. I departed to head over to a new favorite, Bus Boys and Poets, for a discussion on race and a book called "The State of Black America in 2009." Two friends, Nick and Keith, met me at the discussion. Nick also enjoys discussing race, but this resulted in standing on a street corner debating after the talk was over (and we're both really loud). We definitely got some strange looks, but I managed to persuade him to go to a restaurant, where we wound up befriending the bartender and getting almost everyone in the place invested in our conversation. U-Street is my new favorite DC area! We will be back!
My DC fam at our picnic :)
One (good) thing I have noticed is that even though I am spending the semester only 2 hours away from Dickinson -- I have still found ways to explore the issues that I care about and most importantly, to get myself out of my comfort zone. It was sort of interesting to witness the dynamic of bringing a group of fellow white interns into a predominantly black DC neighborhood for the festival... and we should acknowledge music as powerful in bringing people together. A speaker I heard at the beginning of the semester said something along the lines of, "we need to acknowledge what we have in common before we can celebrate our differences." People are still so hesitant to talk about race... even at the discussion, I'll admit I was uncomfortable at times, and I definitely hesitated to go in the first place... but what I came to realize is that oftentimes it is important to push ourselves to do what isn't easy. It's easy to think and talk about what needs to be changed in our society, but taking the next step, to put ourselves into situations that are different and to try and understand another point of view... that is valuable experience.
And another thing, as I have officially been defeated emotionally and physically... I hope everyone is taking some time to relax, wherever they are. Because I thought I had a relaxing weekend, but my body thought otherwise. I don't think it is a secret that I don't actually know how to relax, but how do we give ourselves time to relax when there is so much going on? Meh. So you know when you sleep on your neck wrong? Well apparently I slept on my back wrong, and as the day went on my shoulders got tighter and tighter (anxiety much?) to the point I basically couldn't move. I had to skip my weekly volunteering today in an attempt to "take care of myself" ... aka having a good cry on my bed while paralyzed. I feel like I write about being overwhelmed a lot, and even when I am having an "easy" semester. Maybe I shouldn't be realizing this about myself on a public blog... but I'm only human. Moral of the story: I'll admit it, I am burnt out! I'm heading home for the weekend for Passover and Easter (the plus to being half jewish/half catholic..) I'm looking forward to a good hug from Grandma Shirley.
Anyway, we're watching slumdog millionaire... and my very attractive Indian friend just won, and they're about to make out, err wait-- just kidding-- it doesn't show them making out. Just some crazy bollywood dancing I need to learn ASAP. How do you not want to marry Dev Patel after this movie?
Sending love to wherever you are... :) Leave me some nice comments, I'd like to get some feedback on my craziness... thanks much.
I had a very nice weekend. Saturday mom came to visit... we got to see some cherry blossoms, got to go to lunch with cousin Ian and his girlfriend (so nice to see them!) and then mom and I headed to one of my favorites, the National Portrait Gallery. After mom left, I headed over to what I thought was a park, but it was this strange bus-waiting area in the middle of a parking lot... I did a lot of people watching, and then my good friend Jen came to meet me and we talked and sat in the sun. Once we assembled some more interns we headed over to the Marvin Gaye Park Festival that Andrea (my roomie)'s internship, Washington, Parks, and People, was putting on in the community where I volunteer. We got there right in time for some live music... one of the Temptations was singing, it was pretty sweet.
Mommy and Me!
Oh hey mom... (It was windy) ...don't tell her this is up here ;)Live Music at Marvin Gaye Festival:
My DC fam at our picnic :)One (good) thing I have noticed is that even though I am spending the semester only 2 hours away from Dickinson -- I have still found ways to explore the issues that I care about and most importantly, to get myself out of my comfort zone. It was sort of interesting to witness the dynamic of bringing a group of fellow white interns into a predominantly black DC neighborhood for the festival... and we should acknowledge music as powerful in bringing people together. A speaker I heard at the beginning of the semester said something along the lines of, "we need to acknowledge what we have in common before we can celebrate our differences." People are still so hesitant to talk about race... even at the discussion, I'll admit I was uncomfortable at times, and I definitely hesitated to go in the first place... but what I came to realize is that oftentimes it is important to push ourselves to do what isn't easy. It's easy to think and talk about what needs to be changed in our society, but taking the next step, to put ourselves into situations that are different and to try and understand another point of view... that is valuable experience.
And another thing, as I have officially been defeated emotionally and physically... I hope everyone is taking some time to relax, wherever they are. Because I thought I had a relaxing weekend, but my body thought otherwise. I don't think it is a secret that I don't actually know how to relax, but how do we give ourselves time to relax when there is so much going on? Meh. So you know when you sleep on your neck wrong? Well apparently I slept on my back wrong, and as the day went on my shoulders got tighter and tighter (anxiety much?) to the point I basically couldn't move. I had to skip my weekly volunteering today in an attempt to "take care of myself" ... aka having a good cry on my bed while paralyzed. I feel like I write about being overwhelmed a lot, and even when I am having an "easy" semester. Maybe I shouldn't be realizing this about myself on a public blog... but I'm only human. Moral of the story: I'll admit it, I am burnt out! I'm heading home for the weekend for Passover and Easter (the plus to being half jewish/half catholic..) I'm looking forward to a good hug from Grandma Shirley.
Anyway, we're watching slumdog millionaire... and my very attractive Indian friend just won, and they're about to make out, err wait-- just kidding-- it doesn't show them making out. Just some crazy bollywood dancing I need to learn ASAP. How do you not want to marry Dev Patel after this movie?
Sending love to wherever you are... :) Leave me some nice comments, I'd like to get some feedback on my craziness... thanks much.
Last pic...Me attacking Jen by some blossoms Friday night:
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Time to Make Change
Back again... to say a few things. I started this post last night but it got a little late for my blogging taste. This week I've been feeling a little frazzled, a little "overwhelmed" as some of you who "love me most" like to tease... I found myself in a grumpy mood yesterday when I really had no reason for it. The sun was out and cherry blossoms have started blooming all over. The city seems to have transformed over night! Yet, even with finding my walk to the Hill enhanced with beautiful trees in bloom, I still found myself with a frown on my face and a the eye squint of a true grump! I tried to blame it on the blinding sun, but something was just off! I could see people passing looking at me with caution of my bad aura. What the heck was I so grumpy about? Lack of sleep? (I haven't been tired?), being dressed up and being on the Hill? I wasn't feeling the political scene yesterday. I had to run around to different Congressional offices basically all day getting our Impact Aid House Coalition letter signed (Congressmen/women sign on to our Impact Aid Coalition to show their support). Tony, my co-worker, and I had originally split up the list of a little over 40 offices to visit; but I wound up going back to the Hill in the afternoon to get his assigned list because he had a lot of work to do. I didn't mind at all except that I was kindof on a time constraint in the afternoon so I was running around trying to get all of these signatures in less than 2 hours. It was rough trying to find all of the offices! However, I did meet a potential future husband in one of the Arizona offices. Unfortunately for me, I looked like a wreck and managed to ask for the wrong staff contact... presenting myself as extremely put together and professional, I'm sure. And I spotted him on the metro this morning again? A sign? (I'm crazy and I know it...)
Anyway, I felt like every Hill office I went into was just uptight, and unfriendly, and fake, and too dressed up! and so not my style! I think what frustrates me about this is that I really see the value in making change from a government position, but it just doesn't seem genuine to me at times. Or very productive. I also can't seem to find my place here, either. Starting with pace: This city is so much slower than my NY mentality. In DC, you can stop right in front of the metro dispenser in the morning and no one tramples you, no one yells at you to move... But yesterday on the Hill, everything just seemed crazy and understaffed and boring and anxious. I can't quite explain it. It's like being unproductive and productive at the same time, mixed in with procastination. I guess I'm trying to put some emotion to that fact that DC is extremely reactive. Apparently no one has time to anticipate problems before they are right in your face. Part of me loves having a busy schedule, having to do important things all the time and feeling like I am getting things done, but I also can't deny that the slower pace of life in my own office and general lifestyle here has opened my eyes to the fact that life doesn't always have to be moving at 100 miles a minute, and maybe I'm happier that way? I could maybe see myself enjoying a political position... what I do know is that whatever I do, I want to be where the action is. I want to be part of something that makes a difference on a large scale. I would definitely be afraid though that I would lose myself in the political scene. Let's be honest, you have to have a certain look, a certain way of presenting yourself. I think often about how it would be really hard to not get caught up in it. There is a reason my program teaches us professional development, because there is a specific way to do it. I'm not saying there can't be variation, but what if you just aren't the type of person who has that strong handshake and happy face ready to go every day? Maybe I'm analyzing this too much, maybe being professional is as easy as being polite and kind. But I can't help but ask, where are all of the humans on Capitol Hill?
The discrepancies between the two "types" of Washington, D.C. that I see couldn't be more apparent on Tuesdays. Yesterday especially, I spent the whole day on the Hill (predominantly WHITE, and in my opinion, still very patriarchal), and then after work rushed over to one of the more disadvantaged parts of town to volunteer with a program called Girls on the Run. We work with inner-city pre-teen girls (8-13 years old) on emotional and physical empowerment. The first half an hour we talk about different values, for example yesterday we talked about gratitude and being thankful for things in our lives. We talked about the importance of reflection and meeting our goals. The second half we go on a run, in preparation for a race we have in early May (there will be pictures of that, guaranteed). It was adorable, I got to stand at the midway point of their laps and give them encouragement and high-fives as they ran past. I fell in love on the spot with a girl named Angel who told me she was reflecting on doing good things with her life and getting an education. She also held my hand and gave me hugs (!!), making up for the serious lack of hugs I receive here. I loved working with the younger girls because I can see how it is better to try to get to them earlier. Hence, why my summer in Philadelphia was such a struggle. By the time they are in high school it can be hard to get past that wall they have built up for so long... younger children are still so accepting of everyone. They don't only see everything as "white" and "black" just to make a blunt reference to my own comfort realizations.
But these Tuesday's always point out to me that the difference between black and white America and the segregation that still exists is A REAL THING. As we get closer to my metro stop on the ourskirts of the orange line, I'm almost always left as the only white person on the train. This is also the case as I get on the bus to take me over to the Riverside Community Center. It is not a safe area. I can't help but notice as the girls are running their laps that cop cars are wailing on the street behind us. I can't help but notice someone being arrested as I wait for the bus. I can't help but notice the bums selling drugs to eachother outside the liquor store next to the community center. And these girls, these little girls, they see this everyday. This is their reality. I find myself getting overwhelmed at how powerful this program is. How powerful the existence of the community center in itself is. I found out about this opportunity through my roommate, Andrea, who is interning with a non-profit called Washington, Parks, and People. Part of their mentality is that beautifying parks in bad areas and establishing community centers and programs can help to make a positive change in these communities. I think that is so beautiful. Riverside is right next to Marvin Gaye Park, and volunteers have been going to help with upkeep. There is still a ways to go, but already I just see so much potential for positive change.
Alright, I got a little ahead of myself there. But we all need to find our passions, we all need to get revved up about an issue and do something about it. What are you doing to make a difference in your community?
On a lighter note, I am apparently becoming a vegetarian. On Monday in peace studies we looked at "non-violent eating" and animal rights. After three of those movies about how your meat is prepared (you all know what I'm talking about) in a row, I was convinced. I all of a sudden see the value in not eating meat because it causes harm to animals (though wouldn't you think that is obvious?). That stuff never sticks, I figured I'd go home and eat a hamburger. But I have been trying to eat a turkey sandwich for the past two days now and I just can't bring myself to do it. And I'm going to Whole Foods after work today to stock up on tofu. How did this happen? Reading back it seems like I am changing so much, but I still feel like plain-old Ariel. Or maybe un-plain-old Ariel. Well, I'd rather be crazy and changing than the same and boring! I want to hear from everyone soon!! XOX.
Anyway, I felt like every Hill office I went into was just uptight, and unfriendly, and fake, and too dressed up! and so not my style! I think what frustrates me about this is that I really see the value in making change from a government position, but it just doesn't seem genuine to me at times. Or very productive. I also can't seem to find my place here, either. Starting with pace: This city is so much slower than my NY mentality. In DC, you can stop right in front of the metro dispenser in the morning and no one tramples you, no one yells at you to move... But yesterday on the Hill, everything just seemed crazy and understaffed and boring and anxious. I can't quite explain it. It's like being unproductive and productive at the same time, mixed in with procastination. I guess I'm trying to put some emotion to that fact that DC is extremely reactive. Apparently no one has time to anticipate problems before they are right in your face. Part of me loves having a busy schedule, having to do important things all the time and feeling like I am getting things done, but I also can't deny that the slower pace of life in my own office and general lifestyle here has opened my eyes to the fact that life doesn't always have to be moving at 100 miles a minute, and maybe I'm happier that way? I could maybe see myself enjoying a political position... what I do know is that whatever I do, I want to be where the action is. I want to be part of something that makes a difference on a large scale. I would definitely be afraid though that I would lose myself in the political scene. Let's be honest, you have to have a certain look, a certain way of presenting yourself. I think often about how it would be really hard to not get caught up in it. There is a reason my program teaches us professional development, because there is a specific way to do it. I'm not saying there can't be variation, but what if you just aren't the type of person who has that strong handshake and happy face ready to go every day? Maybe I'm analyzing this too much, maybe being professional is as easy as being polite and kind. But I can't help but ask, where are all of the humans on Capitol Hill?
The discrepancies between the two "types" of Washington, D.C. that I see couldn't be more apparent on Tuesdays. Yesterday especially, I spent the whole day on the Hill (predominantly WHITE, and in my opinion, still very patriarchal), and then after work rushed over to one of the more disadvantaged parts of town to volunteer with a program called Girls on the Run. We work with inner-city pre-teen girls (8-13 years old) on emotional and physical empowerment. The first half an hour we talk about different values, for example yesterday we talked about gratitude and being thankful for things in our lives. We talked about the importance of reflection and meeting our goals. The second half we go on a run, in preparation for a race we have in early May (there will be pictures of that, guaranteed). It was adorable, I got to stand at the midway point of their laps and give them encouragement and high-fives as they ran past. I fell in love on the spot with a girl named Angel who told me she was reflecting on doing good things with her life and getting an education. She also held my hand and gave me hugs (!!), making up for the serious lack of hugs I receive here. I loved working with the younger girls because I can see how it is better to try to get to them earlier. Hence, why my summer in Philadelphia was such a struggle. By the time they are in high school it can be hard to get past that wall they have built up for so long... younger children are still so accepting of everyone. They don't only see everything as "white" and "black" just to make a blunt reference to my own comfort realizations.
But these Tuesday's always point out to me that the difference between black and white America and the segregation that still exists is A REAL THING. As we get closer to my metro stop on the ourskirts of the orange line, I'm almost always left as the only white person on the train. This is also the case as I get on the bus to take me over to the Riverside Community Center. It is not a safe area. I can't help but notice as the girls are running their laps that cop cars are wailing on the street behind us. I can't help but notice someone being arrested as I wait for the bus. I can't help but notice the bums selling drugs to eachother outside the liquor store next to the community center. And these girls, these little girls, they see this everyday. This is their reality. I find myself getting overwhelmed at how powerful this program is. How powerful the existence of the community center in itself is. I found out about this opportunity through my roommate, Andrea, who is interning with a non-profit called Washington, Parks, and People. Part of their mentality is that beautifying parks in bad areas and establishing community centers and programs can help to make a positive change in these communities. I think that is so beautiful. Riverside is right next to Marvin Gaye Park, and volunteers have been going to help with upkeep. There is still a ways to go, but already I just see so much potential for positive change.
Alright, I got a little ahead of myself there. But we all need to find our passions, we all need to get revved up about an issue and do something about it. What are you doing to make a difference in your community?
On a lighter note, I am apparently becoming a vegetarian. On Monday in peace studies we looked at "non-violent eating" and animal rights. After three of those movies about how your meat is prepared (you all know what I'm talking about) in a row, I was convinced. I all of a sudden see the value in not eating meat because it causes harm to animals (though wouldn't you think that is obvious?). That stuff never sticks, I figured I'd go home and eat a hamburger. But I have been trying to eat a turkey sandwich for the past two days now and I just can't bring myself to do it. And I'm going to Whole Foods after work today to stock up on tofu. How did this happen? Reading back it seems like I am changing so much, but I still feel like plain-old Ariel. Or maybe un-plain-old Ariel. Well, I'd rather be crazy and changing than the same and boring! I want to hear from everyone soon!! XOX.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Stuck in an Elevator and Bathroom Gossip
Hello all! I realized there are some exciting things that have been happening, and I have been leaving you all un-updated! Not too many ridiculously tragic things have been happening to me lately, which is actually good for me, but unfortunate for you only because I don't have too many amusing stories to tell. But today there is one, of course. My Monday has to begin with actually getting an early start out the door, only to get STUCK in the elevator leaving my apartment. I actually didn't freak out as much as I thought I would, I was mostly just pissed off that I tried to be on time to work and now I was going to be late! But I wound up having to press that emergency button in the elevator, apparently resulting in the fire department showing up. My SAINT of a roommate also came to my rescue by getting maintenance after I called her... But we had a moment of banging on the wall back and forth to eachother trying to figure out what floor I was on. Anyway, I missed all the hoopla because they found a way to re-start the elevator and it went right down to the basement floor, and I was kindof afraid to risk taking it back up, so I pretty much just peaced out... but I'm going to try to write a thank you letter to the maintnence (I think I'm butchering this spelling -- sorry) staff or something. But that was a serious FML moment.
Gah I can't believe I haven't updated in this long -- a lot of things happened last week! Ok this post is going to be purely informational! Two main highlights of last week: I think it was Tuesday I went to the House Budget Committee hearing and two very exciting things happened to me... besides that I was at the hearing from 9:30am - 4pm... (and it was still going when I left) During the lunch break I went to fill up my water bottle and saw one of the NY reps in the hallway. We made eye contact and you all know my tendancy to be chatty... so I told him I was from NY and thanked him for all he does, and I'm going to break down this priceless conversation for you: he goes, "where in NY are you from?" (So he is probably just being friendly, right?)
"Long Island..."
"Where on Long Island?" (He's from NY, obviously familiar with the area, no biggie)
"Port Washington..."
"So you went to Schreiber high school?"
"Yup!"
"Do you know Maggie Spreitzer?"
"YES!"
"I'm her God father"
::me freaking out::
For those of you who don't know Maggie, she is one of my very close friends from high school, and considering my excitement I think I managed to control myself in front of the Congressman, but it can be such a small world, right?! His assistant gave me his card, and I'm in the process of getting in touch with him, but he offered to take me out to dinner and everything! How cool! I'll keep you posted.
So after this I'm on my networking high and I'm in the bathroom and I see another rep from the hearing fixing her make-up, etc... so I just say hi and ask her how shes liking the hearing so far... small talk somehow leads to a gossip session about Nancy Pelosi and her plastic surgery... wow. I won't say her name for "protection" purposes, but the Long Island girl in me got a kick out of that conversation... how many can say they gossiped with a representative in the bathroom? Hah!
Well I have other stories from last week, but they will have to wait because I've got to run to my internship programming that we have every Monday afternoon... it's usually a lecture of sorts. And then I've got class tonight! I hope everyone is doing well in their corner of the world, know that I am thinking of you and missing you... <3
Gah I can't believe I haven't updated in this long -- a lot of things happened last week! Ok this post is going to be purely informational! Two main highlights of last week: I think it was Tuesday I went to the House Budget Committee hearing and two very exciting things happened to me... besides that I was at the hearing from 9:30am - 4pm... (and it was still going when I left) During the lunch break I went to fill up my water bottle and saw one of the NY reps in the hallway. We made eye contact and you all know my tendancy to be chatty... so I told him I was from NY and thanked him for all he does, and I'm going to break down this priceless conversation for you: he goes, "where in NY are you from?" (So he is probably just being friendly, right?)
"Long Island..."
"Where on Long Island?" (He's from NY, obviously familiar with the area, no biggie)
"Port Washington..."
"So you went to Schreiber high school?"
"Yup!"
"Do you know Maggie Spreitzer?"
"YES!"
"I'm her God father"
::me freaking out::
For those of you who don't know Maggie, she is one of my very close friends from high school, and considering my excitement I think I managed to control myself in front of the Congressman, but it can be such a small world, right?! His assistant gave me his card, and I'm in the process of getting in touch with him, but he offered to take me out to dinner and everything! How cool! I'll keep you posted.
So after this I'm on my networking high and I'm in the bathroom and I see another rep from the hearing fixing her make-up, etc... so I just say hi and ask her how shes liking the hearing so far... small talk somehow leads to a gossip session about Nancy Pelosi and her plastic surgery... wow. I won't say her name for "protection" purposes, but the Long Island girl in me got a kick out of that conversation... how many can say they gossiped with a representative in the bathroom? Hah!
Well I have other stories from last week, but they will have to wait because I've got to run to my internship programming that we have every Monday afternoon... it's usually a lecture of sorts. And then I've got class tonight! I hope everyone is doing well in their corner of the world, know that I am thinking of you and missing you... <3
Thursday, March 19, 2009
I'm changing, but I'm still not Irish...
Wow.. so I haven't updated this in a while, which is a big deal for me, I seem quite attached to this blogger thing. I'm writing to you from the office (finally a lul in the work load), reading my "Education Week" newspaper, eating my bagel with cream cheese, and downing my coffee.. "professionally" dressed in my pencil skirt and pointy shoes that go "click click" when I walk on hard surfaces. Usually I eat oatmeal at the apartment before I get to work, but we have this problem with running out of plates and bowls because we only have so many and then the next challenge is to see who will step up and actually turn on the dish washer. Having that machine in the kitchen in the first place spoils us in general, I can't imagine what it would be like without it, the kitchen would be a much bigger disaster. Speaking of cleanliness, I think some of you will be happy to know I seem to have dropped some of my germaphobe qualities. For example, I am the last person to remember to wash my hands after going on the metro, and even if someone brings it up it doesn't even bother me. Weird? Definitely. Gross? Probably.
Also speaking of my "click click" shoes (as I will now call them).. there really seems to be a time and a place for them. I like wearing them to work because it makes me feel like I am actually dressed up and able to fit in with these working adults, but pretty much everywhere else I feel very silly wearing them.. giving me an excuse to debate whether or not this "professional office lifestyle" is something that suits me. For example, yesterday after work I tagged along with my roommate, Andrea, to a service she has been doing lately. We read letters from prisoners with book requests, sort through donated books to find a few they might like, and then write them a letter back and make a package for them. I know your first response is, "writing letters to PRISONERS?" but my hero, Coleman McCarthy, would be proud I believe because as I'm learning, our justice system is pretty flawed, and often prisoners are left in total isolation constantly. I don't really care who you are, that is rough. I can't imagine being alone for that long! And that isolation doesn't help you resolve whatever caused you to commit the crime, I feel like isolation in that sense makes you feel worthless to the point of dispair. I agree that some people definitely need to be in jail for committing crimes, but at the same time I think forgiveness and giving people a second chance is also something that is valuable to keep in mind. Or at least trying to understand the motives behind whatever happened and helping those imprisoned to help themselves. Disregard people with mental illness in this argument though, that is a whole different story. Anyway, the point of this prior to my rant, is that I felt so silly with my "click click" shoes when we were writing the letters. I just felt out of place and not myself because of how dressed up I was. I know it definitely was not a big deal, but it made me think that maybe something more down to earth is more my style... but either way it was really nice to FINALLY do some service and be able to take a step outside of what has become my regular office day grind.
To leave you, a life lesson learned on St. Patrick's Day. As some of you know, I was very close to going to Ireland this semester after India didn't work out. But I am here, in America, and therefore observing our own mysterious country from my little corner in Washington, DC. So for some reason, in America, we love any excuse to drink ourselves silly. Maybe I am being closed minded about this, but I just didn't see the need to go out and "celebrate". If you are in Europe, fine. If you are Irish, fine. Maybe it was because the night before I had a mini-break down because I can't figure out for the life of me what I want to do this summer... BUT I just had no interest in this holiday. Overrated. I told myself I wasn't going to plan anything, if someone called me then maybe I could be swayed. So no one calls, until 5:01 pm, as I am about to leave work, of course. It's my friend Nick and he won't take no for an answer. Long story short, after seeking out a few over-priced and over-crowded bars, and seeing a drunk man fall down the escalator, I was out. I felt bad leaving my friends, but at the same time I was proud of myself for figuring out what I wanted to do, and not just doing what I was apparently "supposed to be doing on St. Patrick's Day." I realized something that I love about living in a big city is that there are constantly people around living their own different (and sometimes similar) lives. Feeling liberated, I headed to Whole Foods for an emergency grocery store run. And guess what... there were other people there, just food shopping, going about their daily lives.. no crazy Irish party in the grocery store (but I did get to sample GREEN mashed potatoes.. kinda cool? hah). I left the grocery store feeling good about making my own decision and even if small, a victory towards being on my "own path." Apparently, going to Whole Foods was what I needed to do, and I quite frankly didn't care what anyone else was doing. I've just been debating the whole drinking scene in DC in general. Before I got here everyone raved about the "night life" and how it was something that would make my experience here. But I'm finding that the people I enjoy hanging out with, aren't the people who want or are able to go out to the bars on the weekends. I feel like the people I meet when I am out are probably not coherent enough to remember me, and aren't interested in getting to know me back. I am dumbfounded when I ask someone 5 questions about themselves and why they are in DC and if they are liking it and where they work, trying to get a sense of who they are, only for them to ask NO questions back. I think we all know I don't have a problem just talking about myself when I want to, but sometimes it is nice to have people be actually interested in asking. So as for this whole "DC night life/happy hour scene" I guess I am still figuring it out.
Interestingly enough, my hero "challenged" us on the first day of class to try not drinking for the semester. I considered it, but blew it off thinking it would be detrimental to my social life, and not to mention I thought had already "learned that lesson." But clearly there is a lot of value to seeing the role drinking plays in our lives. It is interesting to think about whether your drinking buddies your "real friends" or your "fun friends," and maybe it doesn't matter to you, but I realized that the strong drink and the hoppin' bar doesn't matter to me if I'm not with people I truly like. Truth and truth. Happy Thursday everyone!
Also speaking of my "click click" shoes (as I will now call them).. there really seems to be a time and a place for them. I like wearing them to work because it makes me feel like I am actually dressed up and able to fit in with these working adults, but pretty much everywhere else I feel very silly wearing them.. giving me an excuse to debate whether or not this "professional office lifestyle" is something that suits me. For example, yesterday after work I tagged along with my roommate, Andrea, to a service she has been doing lately. We read letters from prisoners with book requests, sort through donated books to find a few they might like, and then write them a letter back and make a package for them. I know your first response is, "writing letters to PRISONERS?" but my hero, Coleman McCarthy, would be proud I believe because as I'm learning, our justice system is pretty flawed, and often prisoners are left in total isolation constantly. I don't really care who you are, that is rough. I can't imagine being alone for that long! And that isolation doesn't help you resolve whatever caused you to commit the crime, I feel like isolation in that sense makes you feel worthless to the point of dispair. I agree that some people definitely need to be in jail for committing crimes, but at the same time I think forgiveness and giving people a second chance is also something that is valuable to keep in mind. Or at least trying to understand the motives behind whatever happened and helping those imprisoned to help themselves. Disregard people with mental illness in this argument though, that is a whole different story. Anyway, the point of this prior to my rant, is that I felt so silly with my "click click" shoes when we were writing the letters. I just felt out of place and not myself because of how dressed up I was. I know it definitely was not a big deal, but it made me think that maybe something more down to earth is more my style... but either way it was really nice to FINALLY do some service and be able to take a step outside of what has become my regular office day grind.
To leave you, a life lesson learned on St. Patrick's Day. As some of you know, I was very close to going to Ireland this semester after India didn't work out. But I am here, in America, and therefore observing our own mysterious country from my little corner in Washington, DC. So for some reason, in America, we love any excuse to drink ourselves silly. Maybe I am being closed minded about this, but I just didn't see the need to go out and "celebrate". If you are in Europe, fine. If you are Irish, fine. Maybe it was because the night before I had a mini-break down because I can't figure out for the life of me what I want to do this summer... BUT I just had no interest in this holiday. Overrated. I told myself I wasn't going to plan anything, if someone called me then maybe I could be swayed. So no one calls, until 5:01 pm, as I am about to leave work, of course. It's my friend Nick and he won't take no for an answer. Long story short, after seeking out a few over-priced and over-crowded bars, and seeing a drunk man fall down the escalator, I was out. I felt bad leaving my friends, but at the same time I was proud of myself for figuring out what I wanted to do, and not just doing what I was apparently "supposed to be doing on St. Patrick's Day." I realized something that I love about living in a big city is that there are constantly people around living their own different (and sometimes similar) lives. Feeling liberated, I headed to Whole Foods for an emergency grocery store run. And guess what... there were other people there, just food shopping, going about their daily lives.. no crazy Irish party in the grocery store (but I did get to sample GREEN mashed potatoes.. kinda cool? hah). I left the grocery store feeling good about making my own decision and even if small, a victory towards being on my "own path." Apparently, going to Whole Foods was what I needed to do, and I quite frankly didn't care what anyone else was doing. I've just been debating the whole drinking scene in DC in general. Before I got here everyone raved about the "night life" and how it was something that would make my experience here. But I'm finding that the people I enjoy hanging out with, aren't the people who want or are able to go out to the bars on the weekends. I feel like the people I meet when I am out are probably not coherent enough to remember me, and aren't interested in getting to know me back. I am dumbfounded when I ask someone 5 questions about themselves and why they are in DC and if they are liking it and where they work, trying to get a sense of who they are, only for them to ask NO questions back. I think we all know I don't have a problem just talking about myself when I want to, but sometimes it is nice to have people be actually interested in asking. So as for this whole "DC night life/happy hour scene" I guess I am still figuring it out.
Interestingly enough, my hero "challenged" us on the first day of class to try not drinking for the semester. I considered it, but blew it off thinking it would be detrimental to my social life, and not to mention I thought had already "learned that lesson." But clearly there is a lot of value to seeing the role drinking plays in our lives. It is interesting to think about whether your drinking buddies your "real friends" or your "fun friends," and maybe it doesn't matter to you, but I realized that the strong drink and the hoppin' bar doesn't matter to me if I'm not with people I truly like. Truth and truth. Happy Thursday everyone!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Internet Addiction.
Hello friends! I'm blogging to you from the NAFIS conference here in downtown Washington, DC. Nothing too exciting, it is a block from where I work everyday. I'm actually sitting in my office now because after over 24 hours of no internet access, I was starting to bug out. Sometimes I think about how unconnected to the internet I would be if I had actually gone to India, but what can't be denied about life here is Washington is the ridiculous "blackberry culture." I kid you not it is acceptable to be on your blackberry in a meeting (I don't have one -- and taking out my silly pink phone is definitely not an option, so I just observe everyone else). In meetings I go to people will make some heartfelt speech about education and then five mintues later be checking their email on their blackberry. I personally think it is pretty rude, but you have to be accesible here in DC. Another take on it that of my roommates relayed, "everyone in this city thinks they are so damn important..." Haha, I like that response. I think I'm a little too accessible these days with blogger, twitter, facebook, skype... but after one whole day of being cooped up in the hotel I was feeling pretty isolated from the outside world! I'm dissappointed I didn't really get to enjoy the warm weather this weekend, but the conference has been a good experience. I had to cut my weekend pretty short, and definitely missed out on some penthouse festivities, but it has been a good reflection period for trying out that whole "find my own path, do my own thing" ordeal. I'm growing up! Being at this conference really has me feeling like a working girl for sure.
If you haven't caught on at this point, NAFIS, where I have my internship at is hosting a conference this weekend. I've been doing general help-out and sitting in on some of the workshops/lectures, and trying to make some good contacts. In a weird way I do feel like my co-workers are starting to become like a family to me. My work family. hehe. They are all so nice, and I really admire how they all stay so calm and kind even when it seems hectic.
I'll talk more about the conference once it's over and I have more time to write... but basically the food has been GREAT, I have my own room, access to room service, VIP guest status... I can't complain! I'm being spoiled! I'm just a little lonely at times, and no one here is my age really... but, a funny story before I depart: So for VIP guests apparently housekeeping comes in during early evening and "pulls back the bed cover" and turns on the TV to some strang nature/soothing music channel for when you come back to you room. Well I did not know this was normal and called the front desk asking if someone broke into my room. The guy could NOT stop laughing. I'm sorry but if anything it was CREEPY that nature music was playing, not soothing... I thought you would all be amused by that though.
Alright back off to the real/grown-up world and being unaccessible... although now that I am back on the internet, I think a few more days without it will be just fine. Have a great week everyone!
If you haven't caught on at this point, NAFIS, where I have my internship at is hosting a conference this weekend. I've been doing general help-out and sitting in on some of the workshops/lectures, and trying to make some good contacts. In a weird way I do feel like my co-workers are starting to become like a family to me. My work family. hehe. They are all so nice, and I really admire how they all stay so calm and kind even when it seems hectic.
I'll talk more about the conference once it's over and I have more time to write... but basically the food has been GREAT, I have my own room, access to room service, VIP guest status... I can't complain! I'm being spoiled! I'm just a little lonely at times, and no one here is my age really... but, a funny story before I depart: So for VIP guests apparently housekeeping comes in during early evening and "pulls back the bed cover" and turns on the TV to some strang nature/soothing music channel for when you come back to you room. Well I did not know this was normal and called the front desk asking if someone broke into my room. The guy could NOT stop laughing. I'm sorry but if anything it was CREEPY that nature music was playing, not soothing... I thought you would all be amused by that though.
Alright back off to the real/grown-up world and being unaccessible... although now that I am back on the internet, I think a few more days without it will be just fine. Have a great week everyone!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
The Time the Metro Tried to Eat Me
Today, the metro tried to eat me. AKA the train was way overcrowded (DC does not know how to deal with snow at all -- the city and metro slow down like CRAZY.. it is actually pretty amusing) and I really had to make the train to get to work so I made a run for it into the train car-- and OOF the doors closed on me, but with my very own "eeeeee" I pushed my way in. Some angry woman was not very happy about it... but I thought it was a great metro experience. And extremely funny.
Today was a great day at work. I worked on my research project on Best Practices and then attended an awesome conference at the Capital in the afternoon, and got up the courage to exchange some cards and network a little. We had a speaker (a Dickinson alum actually) come speak to the TWC interns yesterday and he really put in perspective how important confidence is and how it is so important not to act like a lowly intern, even if you are feeling like one. It has only been a month since I've started my internship and I think I have learned a lot more than I'm giving myself credit for. If anything I am more confused about what I want to do with my life, and I'm still struggling to figure out my purpose in this political arena, but the struggle is always part of the experience... isn't it? And it is always the part you take for granted because generally, it is never fun. With only a month behind me I see the next few weeks as extremely unpredictable, but packed with potential. I'm realizing that it is up to me, I need to make this the experience I want. The speaker also spoke of how your 20's are not an easy time and recommended some books as guides to the "quarter life crisis." I'll try to post the titles another time. But that crisis is inevitable for most of us, and I always love when people empathize with the fact that sometimes we just need to embrace our different and crazy emotional journies. Because as most of you know, I relate to that crazy emotional thing pretty damn well. The speaker was also hating on Twitter a little bit, I did not approve. Twitter is my current guilty pleasure. I can't shake it!
I can always tell when it is my stop on the way home because the train goes out of the tunnel, the streets and cars looked very peaceful covered in snow :) Some of you are in Europe and who knows where else enjoying the warmer weather, but the snow here made me quite content today.
Intern tip of the week (I just made that up): Put business cards in your pocket before any event you can network at, it makes for an easy/un-awkward exchange.
Also, expect for your feet to suffer when you enter the real world. Or at least never expect to break in Payless shoes. Ever. You may think that you finally broke them in, but then you have round 2, 3, and sometimes 4 of blisters. So much for my $9 bargain? Aka trying to be cheap? Who knows, but my feet hurt.
Shoutout to Kaitlin -- I tried Zorba's greek restaurant in Dupont Circle-- YUM. And a serious bar recommendation for anyone ever in DC: My Brothers Place -- $1 beers at 5pm every Friday and they go up .25 cents every half hour or something like that. Convenient for college budget... and RIGHT on the Hill. Fun :)
Today was a great day at work. I worked on my research project on Best Practices and then attended an awesome conference at the Capital in the afternoon, and got up the courage to exchange some cards and network a little. We had a speaker (a Dickinson alum actually) come speak to the TWC interns yesterday and he really put in perspective how important confidence is and how it is so important not to act like a lowly intern, even if you are feeling like one. It has only been a month since I've started my internship and I think I have learned a lot more than I'm giving myself credit for. If anything I am more confused about what I want to do with my life, and I'm still struggling to figure out my purpose in this political arena, but the struggle is always part of the experience... isn't it? And it is always the part you take for granted because generally, it is never fun. With only a month behind me I see the next few weeks as extremely unpredictable, but packed with potential. I'm realizing that it is up to me, I need to make this the experience I want. The speaker also spoke of how your 20's are not an easy time and recommended some books as guides to the "quarter life crisis." I'll try to post the titles another time. But that crisis is inevitable for most of us, and I always love when people empathize with the fact that sometimes we just need to embrace our different and crazy emotional journies. Because as most of you know, I relate to that crazy emotional thing pretty damn well. The speaker was also hating on Twitter a little bit, I did not approve. Twitter is my current guilty pleasure. I can't shake it!
I can always tell when it is my stop on the way home because the train goes out of the tunnel, the streets and cars looked very peaceful covered in snow :) Some of you are in Europe and who knows where else enjoying the warmer weather, but the snow here made me quite content today.
Intern tip of the week (I just made that up): Put business cards in your pocket before any event you can network at, it makes for an easy/un-awkward exchange.
Also, expect for your feet to suffer when you enter the real world. Or at least never expect to break in Payless shoes. Ever. You may think that you finally broke them in, but then you have round 2, 3, and sometimes 4 of blisters. So much for my $9 bargain? Aka trying to be cheap? Who knows, but my feet hurt.
Shoutout to Kaitlin -- I tried Zorba's greek restaurant in Dupont Circle-- YUM. And a serious bar recommendation for anyone ever in DC: My Brothers Place -- $1 beers at 5pm every Friday and they go up .25 cents every half hour or something like that. Convenient for college budget... and RIGHT on the Hill. Fun :)
Friday, February 27, 2009
Update: Life is Back on Track
This is very unfortunate: This morning a homeless woman was asking for money, and I figured instead of giving her some money I would ask her if she was hungry. She said she was and I handed her an apple from my lunch, then I realized as I walked away that all of her front teeth had been rotten or broken... meaning she probably won't be able to eat the apple. I felt so awful about it, so maybe from now on I'll try to carry an extra PB&J with me because it is a little more substantive than an apple. I mean she seemed kindof disappointed anyway that all I had for her was an apple. But at least I was trying, right?
Professor McCarthy, who teaches my Peaceful Solutions class, has become my official new hero. I really can't talk enough about how powerful I feel his message is. I'm in the process of exploring this idea of "peace studies" and non-violence more and I think it would be awesome to teach it one day. Yesterday morning I followed Professor McCarthy around as he taught in different high schools in DC. I am very lucky I have a lenient boss who will let me do this, because I think that if I can go at least once a week it will be a perfect way to observe direct classrooms and also learn about education policy at my internship. I'm definitely starting to pick up more about Impact Aid and the whole Congressional process. I'll have to admit it is growing on me a little bit. We have a big conference for work coming up next weekend so they have had some more work for me to do, which has me feeling more useful. I don't think that any office job will ever be for me, so I guess it is good I'm realizing that now. I have been finding that I constantly have itch to be interacting with others and helping people directly, but going to the high schools yesterday definitely helped satisfy that a little. Plus next week I'm hopefully starting my civic engagement of delivering breakfast to the homeless in the morning with DC Greater Kitchen, assuming I don't sleep through it this time.
What else about this week... I've been meeting more people after work which has also been fun. I made two great new friends, Nick and Keith. At happy hour on Tuesday I met up with them and Nick and I wound up having an awesome conversation about race and white priviledge, etc. He is going to give me some books to read -- I can't wait. Also yesterday there was a Dickinson reception, it wasn't as exciting as I had hoped, I exchanged cards with one alumni who works with preventing HIV/AIDS in India, so it might be cool to meet up with him. I don't feel confident about how I came off though because when I came back John was sure to point out to me that I was "soooooo red faced" :( but I think it is really human to get flustered when talking to older professional people. I'm realizing more and more how many awkward mannerisms I have in conversations and there is just no need for it. Like I'll make one of my stupid jokes and everyone just kindof doesn't laugh with me... right. I really need to work on that. Also still working on that self-confidence thing, it doesn't always come easy.
This morning was exciting because I went to a meeting to represent NAFIS all by myself! I was pretty flustered and probably definitely came off that way, but like I said, I really am still learning how to present myself as professional and I'm sure by the end of the semester I'll have it down. I also met another intern who goes to GW. I didn't get his number or anything, but maybe next week we can exchange cards, it might be nice to hang out with other students my age who are from the area.
Alright people, in the words of my new hero and Professor, "tell someone that you love them today" ... this new mentality is really making me appreciate everyone that I care about in my life more, which I think is something we often take for granted. So prepare for sentimental emails haha. And for anyone who is really looking for purpose: try thinking about what you are thankful for at the end of everyday (or some highlights of the day), it will make you :)
Ps. Just got a phone call from one of my co-workers, did I mention we call and email each other rather than just walk a few feet? "Just wanted to let you know there are some cookies in the other room you should go eat" <3 my office.
Professor McCarthy, who teaches my Peaceful Solutions class, has become my official new hero. I really can't talk enough about how powerful I feel his message is. I'm in the process of exploring this idea of "peace studies" and non-violence more and I think it would be awesome to teach it one day. Yesterday morning I followed Professor McCarthy around as he taught in different high schools in DC. I am very lucky I have a lenient boss who will let me do this, because I think that if I can go at least once a week it will be a perfect way to observe direct classrooms and also learn about education policy at my internship. I'm definitely starting to pick up more about Impact Aid and the whole Congressional process. I'll have to admit it is growing on me a little bit. We have a big conference for work coming up next weekend so they have had some more work for me to do, which has me feeling more useful. I don't think that any office job will ever be for me, so I guess it is good I'm realizing that now. I have been finding that I constantly have itch to be interacting with others and helping people directly, but going to the high schools yesterday definitely helped satisfy that a little. Plus next week I'm hopefully starting my civic engagement of delivering breakfast to the homeless in the morning with DC Greater Kitchen, assuming I don't sleep through it this time.
What else about this week... I've been meeting more people after work which has also been fun. I made two great new friends, Nick and Keith. At happy hour on Tuesday I met up with them and Nick and I wound up having an awesome conversation about race and white priviledge, etc. He is going to give me some books to read -- I can't wait. Also yesterday there was a Dickinson reception, it wasn't as exciting as I had hoped, I exchanged cards with one alumni who works with preventing HIV/AIDS in India, so it might be cool to meet up with him. I don't feel confident about how I came off though because when I came back John was sure to point out to me that I was "soooooo red faced" :( but I think it is really human to get flustered when talking to older professional people. I'm realizing more and more how many awkward mannerisms I have in conversations and there is just no need for it. Like I'll make one of my stupid jokes and everyone just kindof doesn't laugh with me... right. I really need to work on that. Also still working on that self-confidence thing, it doesn't always come easy.
This morning was exciting because I went to a meeting to represent NAFIS all by myself! I was pretty flustered and probably definitely came off that way, but like I said, I really am still learning how to present myself as professional and I'm sure by the end of the semester I'll have it down. I also met another intern who goes to GW. I didn't get his number or anything, but maybe next week we can exchange cards, it might be nice to hang out with other students my age who are from the area.
Alright people, in the words of my new hero and Professor, "tell someone that you love them today" ... this new mentality is really making me appreciate everyone that I care about in my life more, which I think is something we often take for granted. So prepare for sentimental emails haha. And for anyone who is really looking for purpose: try thinking about what you are thankful for at the end of everyday (or some highlights of the day), it will make you :)
Ps. Just got a phone call from one of my co-workers, did I mention we call and email each other rather than just walk a few feet? "Just wanted to let you know there are some cookies in the other room you should go eat" <3 my office.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
For real my life is a MESS.
I have been so out of character lately. Let's discuss all of my epic FAILs within the past 48 hours. Sunday I was supposed to do a FREE practice GRE that I signed up for throught The Washington Center. Well a long story short, Saturday night festivities led to my roommate and I "sleeping through" the test. No future grad school planning for me right now. So then, Monday we take off from work to go to a tour at the Pentagon that our program assistant has arranged for our group to go on. But, we leave too late (misjudging the metro time? how/WHY?) and arrive pretty much 20 minutes AFTER the meeting time. We just happened to get lucky and the security guards let us in to meet the group, but it was still kindof stressful anticipating missing the tour when we traveled all that way. ALSO, the night before I had stayed up til about 2 am working on an application for a teaching program for the summer. For some reason I thought yesterday was March 2nd and that is when the application is due. Why I thought this, I have no idea. But unfortunately, I rushed through the application and submitted it. Then I realized when it was due. I know I didn't make it the best it could be, but now I don't really get a choice of fixing it...
And what has led me to write this post of epic failures? We have a civic engagement component of this program, aka regular community service, and I slept through my first one this morning. My alarm mysteriously didn't go off... and I had to wake up and re-email the organization I wasn't coming (I hate doing that, I am so not that person who sleeps through things...) and also my boss to tell him I'll actually be in at the regular time. So, about that. I just hate letting people down. I'm already at the point of finding this all slightly amusing, in fact I've been impressed with myself for bringing humor to almost all of these situations already besides the application dilemma. I think I should be a little easier on myself and assume that it probably isn't a big deal that any of this happened, I'm just having an off weekend...ish. I know I tend to make a joke of most unfortunate little things that happen to me everyday, but this just all needed to be documented. Enough is enough... here's to getting my life back on track. I haven't even been using my planner (now that should be a shock for most), time to get my head out of the clouds!
I apparently work best with a certain degree of expectation/obligation to do well. But now to find a balance that works. It's all a learning experience, right?
Happy Tuesday everyone... I'm off to embrace America some more.
And what has led me to write this post of epic failures? We have a civic engagement component of this program, aka regular community service, and I slept through my first one this morning. My alarm mysteriously didn't go off... and I had to wake up and re-email the organization I wasn't coming (I hate doing that, I am so not that person who sleeps through things...) and also my boss to tell him I'll actually be in at the regular time. So, about that. I just hate letting people down. I'm already at the point of finding this all slightly amusing, in fact I've been impressed with myself for bringing humor to almost all of these situations already besides the application dilemma. I think I should be a little easier on myself and assume that it probably isn't a big deal that any of this happened, I'm just having an off weekend...ish. I know I tend to make a joke of most unfortunate little things that happen to me everyday, but this just all needed to be documented. Enough is enough... here's to getting my life back on track. I haven't even been using my planner (now that should be a shock for most), time to get my head out of the clouds!
I apparently work best with a certain degree of expectation/obligation to do well. But now to find a balance that works. It's all a learning experience, right?
Happy Tuesday everyone... I'm off to embrace America some more.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Morning metro, Pelosi pics, and I'm homesick :(
On the metro this morning I harassed some random boy who I knew was a Washington Center intern. Like he was listening to music and I started waving my hand in front of his face to start a conversation because I really want to keep meeting people. It is kindof hard to meet people... the Washington Center doesn't really create ways to meet other interns in the building, I'm the only intern at work, and I haven't really gone out to many places where I could meet people. So I don't care if I'm that awkward person on the metro because clearly that is what I've got to do. Also, I just really like talking to people. Like why is it so hard to smile and just talk to the people around you? Obviously I am more talkative than most others, but if you are stuck on the metro early in the morning crowded together, you might as well make it a lighter situation by smiling and starting an innocent conversation with the person next to you. I'm not trying to sound like I'm this crazy outgoing person who talks to every random stranger she encounters (because it is only a handful of the random strangers, and usually I at least recognize them from my building or something...hehehe), but this week hasn't been the greatest and I'm trying to make the best of it and stay positive. I was relieved to hear my roommate say in response to this story, "there is more to life than your little ipod world" TRUTH.
My roommate, Andrea, has also discovered a hilarious newspaper called The Onion; and said this article about race reminded her of me, and I promise it isn't boring, as I quote, "more than 92 percent of African-Americans have noticed a dramatic increase in the number of beaming Caucasians in their vicinity." I also found another one that pretty much summarizes one of my life fears: Head Lice Going Around Senate ... I mean if I get lice when I go to Capital Hill I'll flip..... kidding. But seriously lice is my #2 fear besides pink eye, which I also thought I had recently, but it was a fluke. Lack of sleep and waking up at 7 am will cause pink-eye like symptoms. But it isn't pink eye because it doesn't itch. Alright so moving away from my life paranoia...
I was planning on leaving a depressing blog post because work has really just been boring and awful and I don't know that politics will EVER be for me, but it is all a learning experience I suppose and I'm trying to keep my head up. Hopefully once I start volunteering I'll feel like I have more of a purpose. But at the moment I can't complain because well, the office is on (but why is it a repeat tonight?) and I have the good company of my lovely roommate Andrea and John Montgomery, a Dickinson buddy who lives upstairs. and Andrea made us muddy buddies... yum! Also, everyone should make a twitter! Go to twitter.com and find me, my name is 'fuchsie'. Basically I just talk to John on it about our awesome office lives, but you can all post little things about your day and keep in touch :)
Oh but here are pictures that one of the people I went with took of the Pelosi press conference on his iPhone; front row view baby!
I added some other pics throughout the blog, and I'll get a better clip of the press conference soon. Adding pics to facebook has been unsuccessful for some reason.
I really miss my fam (on vacation without me. meh) and all of my home and Dickinson friends... the city is still new and exciting, but I just hope I can keep meeting new people and feel more productive at my internship.. feel free to shoot me an email or leave me some comments because I am thinking of all of you...
My roommate, Andrea, has also discovered a hilarious newspaper called The Onion; and said this article about race reminded her of me, and I promise it isn't boring, as I quote, "more than 92 percent of African-Americans have noticed a dramatic increase in the number of beaming Caucasians in their vicinity." I also found another one that pretty much summarizes one of my life fears: Head Lice Going Around Senate ... I mean if I get lice when I go to Capital Hill I'll flip..... kidding. But seriously lice is my #2 fear besides pink eye, which I also thought I had recently, but it was a fluke. Lack of sleep and waking up at 7 am will cause pink-eye like symptoms. But it isn't pink eye because it doesn't itch. Alright so moving away from my life paranoia...
I was planning on leaving a depressing blog post because work has really just been boring and awful and I don't know that politics will EVER be for me, but it is all a learning experience I suppose and I'm trying to keep my head up. Hopefully once I start volunteering I'll feel like I have more of a purpose. But at the moment I can't complain because well, the office is on (but why is it a repeat tonight?) and I have the good company of my lovely roommate Andrea and John Montgomery, a Dickinson buddy who lives upstairs. and Andrea made us muddy buddies... yum! Also, everyone should make a twitter! Go to twitter.com and find me, my name is 'fuchsie'. Basically I just talk to John on it about our awesome office lives, but you can all post little things about your day and keep in touch :)
Oh but here are pictures that one of the people I went with took of the Pelosi press conference on his iPhone; front row view baby!
I added some other pics throughout the blog, and I'll get a better clip of the press conference soon. Adding pics to facebook has been unsuccessful for some reason.I really miss my fam (on vacation without me. meh) and all of my home and Dickinson friends... the city is still new and exciting, but I just hope I can keep meeting new people and feel more productive at my internship.. feel free to shoot me an email or leave me some comments because I am thinking of all of you...
Friday, February 13, 2009
So on Friday I got to sit in on a press conference with Nancy Pelosi announcing that the stimulus bill had passed in the house (basically celebrating the democrat vote winning). It was a completely exciting and overwhelming experience... It was all very motivational and positive! Some may be rolling their eyes at this, but I was really proud in that moment to be a democrat, or at least to feel like there were people in our government who are trying to make a change that I believe in. Pelosi emphasized how amazing it is that Obama is passing this bill in such a short amount of time. Hearing some of the leaders of our country take such a positive spin at a major transition time in US history was just priceless to me. There was a little bit of tension when questions were asked about her feelings on the fact that no republicans supported the bill, but the politics of it weren't important to me. Tony told me I'm an "idealist" because I said it shouldn't matter what party they are, if they want to vote a certain way they should (when discussing the three republicans who are voting with the democrats in the senate). Apparently I still don't understand the significance of this whole party rivalry... but "idealist" doesn't sound bad to me...
But really people, you should have seen me, I was a mess of excitement (aka overwhelmed with positive energy): I was tearing up, I was drooling, I was grinning so wide my face hurt, but all the while trying to make sure I sat up straight in case the cameras were on me!! (there were a lot of cameras) I went up to Tony (my co-worker who brought me) as we walked out of the room, practically brushing shoulders with one of the congressmen who spoke, "I not even kidding I think I'm going to fall over" Of course he had no idea how to respond, but I figured you would all find that amusing. This is a video of the event, it sucks, but it was the only one I could find for now. I was sitting in the front row, on the left side... in a bright blue sweater if you happen to catch it at some point haha.
But really people, you should have seen me, I was a mess of excitement (aka overwhelmed with positive energy): I was tearing up, I was drooling, I was grinning so wide my face hurt, but all the while trying to make sure I sat up straight in case the cameras were on me!! (there were a lot of cameras) I went up to Tony (my co-worker who brought me) as we walked out of the room, practically brushing shoulders with one of the congressmen who spoke, "I not even kidding I think I'm going to fall over" Of course he had no idea how to respond, but I figured you would all find that amusing. This is a video of the event, it sucks, but it was the only one I could find for now. I was sitting in the front row, on the left side... in a bright blue sweater if you happen to catch it at some point haha.
And after when we went back to the office, I got to eat cake that my boss had. It was pretty sweet. I've pretty much just accepted that the office has a way slower productivity than I'm used to. This city in general is much slower than my NY mentality, but like I said before, this can only be good for me. Not that I was able to concentrate on work anyway... I was a mess of emotions the entire day. There was an announcement that morning that another Dickinson student passed away. I'll admit I hadn't been in recent contact with Catherine, but I did enjoy hanging out with her and she always had a great sense of humor. She will definitely be missed. I'd prefer not to comment on it too much, but I do want to emphasize that it really puts in perspective how much we need to appreciate every moment we are given; RIP Catherine.
Some weekend highlights:
1. Well, Friday night I was grumpy...
2. Three day weekend -- I forgot how Dickinson robs us of these "National holiday" things.
3. National Portrait Gallery (amazing, I went twice!) They also had a special event where they had made a portrait of Lincoln and Obama out of CUPCAKES, and we got to eat them. SO cool.
4. Free art show on Valentines Day; with free wine and I even got a kiss "for peace" that night... hehe
5. Seeing the Oscar nominated short films tonight with two of my new and amazing friends Kevin and Jen! (Kevin is going to teach me how to meditate, he has peace studies with me and has really awesome views on life -- Jen is a women's studies major from TCNJ and we were both technically supposed to be in other countries right now -- she was going to go to Africa -- but besides that we just had immediate chemistry and she is awesome hehe)
These are cupcakes!!!
Alright friends, well I'm looking forward to a brand new week :) I hope that this finds everyone with a smile on their face and know that I am missing you...
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Happy Hour Observations... I'm a Big Girl Now
Ok -- so I know I just posted last night, but I need to gush! The happy hour scene is so fun! I met a bunch of new people tonight, and tried out the whole networking thing successfully! I got three business cards! (Well, one guy was handing out scraps of paper with his name and email on it... but I'm still counting it haha) The first guy I talked to was named Steve, he was a nice Jewish boy (now Brian don't be jealous... hehe) and has worked at an education reform think tank and offered to send me all of these "meet other Jewish people" websites (interesting..), as well as one about education events offered in DC, and to hook me up with a summer internship if I wanted! Despite how thrilled I was that he was so friendly, he was a talker, and I realized that I had no idea how to get out of the conversation, but finally some other girl came over to mingle and I just found someone else to talk to. But I'm pretty sure this mingling business was made for me. I just need to be taller. And I need better business cards, the Dickinson ones are kindof embarassing lol. AND people kept asking me where I had graduated from, and it was kindof awkward to be like ummm I still go to college (slash sometimes I didn't tell them? haha) I felt so young... but it was cool because everyone was into non-profit issues, which was lucky for my education interest. Other highlights: I met a fellow American Studies major (he admitted to also not being able to watch TV anymore haha) and I met a guy who is hoping to go teach in China!
Things I learned:
1. I am very short -- I need to wear heels at every singly happy hour because I felt so tiny :(
2. Martini is not the best happy hour choice (the glass is awkward to drink from while having a conversation... slash I hope my mom is not reading this...)
3. It is very unfortunate that I am working for an organization with such a long name, try saying "National Association of Federally Impacted Schools" 10 times in one night.
4. Older people are confident, enough of this awkward college student business.
I miss you all!! ... and I know you are all reading, so leave me comments (besides my creeper roommate... who was making fun of my last post btw with her comments, as hopefully you caught on)!
Things I learned:
1. I am very short -- I need to wear heels at every singly happy hour because I felt so tiny :(
2. Martini is not the best happy hour choice (the glass is awkward to drink from while having a conversation... slash I hope my mom is not reading this...)
3. It is very unfortunate that I am working for an organization with such a long name, try saying "National Association of Federally Impacted Schools" 10 times in one night.
4. Older people are confident, enough of this awkward college student business.
I miss you all!! ... and I know you are all reading, so leave me comments (besides my creeper roommate... who was making fun of my last post btw with her comments, as hopefully you caught on)!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Over the Hump Day!
If anyone is looking for a new Pandora station, I recommend the "MGMT" station. It is fabulous and getting me through this over the hump day! Fun, upbeat tunes -- check it out :)
Tomorrow after work I'm most-likely going to my first happy hour! Some non-profit networking thing, but it should be interesting to check out the young professional scene and meet some cool people -- wish me luck! I did actually get a Valentine's Day date for the weekend, but I wound up cancelling because for the first time in forever I'm actually single on this strange (and tragically AMERICAN) hallmark-holiday and I think it's about time I embrace that. Single and fabulous has to be celebrated, right? ;-) We shall see... all of my roommates, and pretty much everyone else here is in some sort of serious relationship, which has been an interesting "test" for me. But really, I've been thinking how fortunate I am to have such dear friends in my life to love and to feel loved back by... maybe that's all I need right now.
To leave you on an amusing and random note: We already have a spoon stuck in our garbage disposal (it's bad).
I've been talking with some of you about how I've been uneasy about the internship so far, but today I gained some confidence that this is really going to work out and my strengths are going to be put to good use here. I also know I will be learning a lot! It is so hard to sum all that I am learning about into a short version to talk to people about, but then again talking about anything that I'm passionate about has never been done in a few sentences! This morning my boss and I started talking about different education issues and he told me about a project a few interns started a couple of years ago and never finished that I could pick up on. It sounds really cool... basically I'm going to surveying/interviewing Native American school districts on what works for their district in terms of best performance rates. I'm going to be putting together how they successfully achieve good test scores (and other things; I have to research first) as well as what they are doing to help maintain their native culture. I have witnessed first hand how culture is being lost on reservations, so I think this will be an interesting project. After all of my research and feedback from the districts my work is going to be put on the NAFIS website so that all of the districts have access to the information. I hope it works out! I really like the idea of the districts being able to help eachother out, after reading some articles today I thought about how a dominant theme in our country is still to compete to be the best. I don't understand why we can't just learn from eachother instead of being competetive, and in the case of education, I think it would be beneficial to learn from other education systems, rather than just trying to strive above them. On Friday I was at the Air and Space museum and was re-learning about the Space Race and how it was such a big deal that America be the first in everything (even though we seriously failed) and today listening to a speech from the new Secretary of Education Arne Duncan he talked about how schools still need to be aware of the fact that we are competing with India and China. Like why can't we talk about how more and more children in schools are becoming homeless because of the economy, and how schools are struggling to give them support... or how segregated our public school system still is (guaranteed you've heard that speech from me already). But seriously I think right now we need to get our own country together before we can worry about not being #1 anymore. In one of the books my Peace Studies prof wrote he talks about being a citizen of the world rather than being a citizen of a specific country, and how patriotism can breed violence. It was really interesting.
Just letting you know, this is going to be a novel. Though I'm sure you've caught on...
Just letting you know, this is going to be a novel. Though I'm sure you've caught on...
Some have been asking about what DC is like right now with everything changing so quickly. Being here during the stimulus bill drama is pretty cool. Yesterday Tony and I went to capital hill just to drop off thank you notes (sending letters takes a ridiculously long time after security increases after 9/11 and the anthrax scare); and we wound up running into some people from an education reform group that Impact Aid is involved in and we last minute got in on a meeting with Virginia representative Bobby Scott. It was soo cool! But I was so mad at myself because a) I didn't have my business cards to hand out! b) I had nothing to take notes with! c) I didn't have my 30-second "this is who I am" planned out (we had a meeting about networking at The Washington Center the other day and they said we should really make one up). So I'm putting together an "emergency capital hill" kit (I told Tony this too, he seemed amused) that has my camera in it (for famous sightings), pen, paper, and my business cards for networking. As for my 30-second gig, I'm going to have to leave that to mirror practice. Tomorrow we're headed to the hill to sit in on a hearing. I'm still really struggling to understand everything about the politics of these issues...
Soo what else... weekend highlights include going to my first and last sketchy DC club. It was called Fur. I'm not kidding. We met up with some Dickinson kids though (Richard and Will), which was the point of that in the first place. But it was fun to dance. Saturday we ventured to Target and hosted our first dinner party. A successful pot luck if I do say so myself. But overall I feel like the weekend was a lot of "college partying" and I think that I'm looking for more of a mature scene this semester. Sunday I went to the Hirshorn art and sculpture museum. I will definitely be returning, it was awesome. My roomie and I also went to see Abe (as in Lincoln), and found a great place to watch the sunset, another place I'll be returning to (picture below). Speaking of my roomie, she is great. We're in love and have great chemistry. Right Andrea? Fortunately or unfortunately for me, my life here is being tagged on facebook quite a bit.
Oh, America.... sunset overlooking a highway
Soo what else... weekend highlights include going to my first and last sketchy DC club. It was called Fur. I'm not kidding. We met up with some Dickinson kids though (Richard and Will), which was the point of that in the first place. But it was fun to dance. Saturday we ventured to Target and hosted our first dinner party. A successful pot luck if I do say so myself. But overall I feel like the weekend was a lot of "college partying" and I think that I'm looking for more of a mature scene this semester. Sunday I went to the Hirshorn art and sculpture museum. I will definitely be returning, it was awesome. My roomie and I also went to see Abe (as in Lincoln), and found a great place to watch the sunset, another place I'll be returning to (picture below). Speaking of my roomie, she is great. We're in love and have great chemistry. Right Andrea? Fortunately or unfortunately for me, my life here is being tagged on facebook quite a bit.
Oh, America.... sunset overlooking a highway
Tomorrow after work I'm most-likely going to my first happy hour! Some non-profit networking thing, but it should be interesting to check out the young professional scene and meet some cool people -- wish me luck! I did actually get a Valentine's Day date for the weekend, but I wound up cancelling because for the first time in forever I'm actually single on this strange (and tragically AMERICAN) hallmark-holiday and I think it's about time I embrace that. Single and fabulous has to be celebrated, right? ;-) We shall see... all of my roommates, and pretty much everyone else here is in some sort of serious relationship, which has been an interesting "test" for me. But really, I've been thinking how fortunate I am to have such dear friends in my life to love and to feel loved back by... maybe that's all I need right now.
Me and my roomie :)
To leave you on an amusing and random note: We already have a spoon stuck in our garbage disposal (it's bad).
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
This Internship Thang...
Hey friends. So here I am at my internship. It has been an interesting start, and I'm still sort of figuring out how I feel about everything. Monday was a really long day because I had my internship and then my class! But it was all very exciting. I have been pretty exhausted the entire time I've been here... we had to wake up pretty early for orientation stuff, and over the weekend I had some trouble sleeping probably just because it is a new bed, etc. (A pretty comfortable bed, though!) Anyway, TWC made it clear that being on time to your internship the first day was actually deemed as late. So, after rushing out of the apartment and trying not to vom all over the metro because I was so nervous, I wound up getting there so early that no one was even there yet. Most of the interns I talked to had the same experience so I didn't feel too bad about it, but it was amusing just standing outside the door waiting. My boss John showed up at about 8:50 and we just sat down and talked a lot about how the office works, what I'll be getting from the experience, and met the other people in the office. I felt bad because my sinuses were really acting up and lack of sleep made me pretty much a walking zombie, but I tried my best to stay attentive. The office is really tiny, just me, John, and three other people. They are all very nice and have emphasized that they want to include me so that I'm not just "the intern." John gave me a lot of reading to do on Impact Aid so I can really learn what it is about and how it works. For those of you who don't know I chose to place at a non-profit called NAFIS (National Association of Federally Impacted Schools). I'm still figuring it all out myself, but basically they work to get money for specific school districts that don't recieve proper tax funding. More specifically, Native American reservations, military bases, and low-income housing areas. Since these are usually federal grounds and don't pay taxes, the schools really need Impact Aid to make sure that they can function properly and keep up with government standards like No Child Left Behind. So, it is pretty interesting. Most of you already know I'm really passionate about education and I've been to a Native American reservation and have seen how much the children really need good schools. Yesterday I got to talk to the President of the board of the organization and he told me all about the problems that a lot of the military bases have. There is a lot going on, I'm not sure if you all want to hear it.. but the war is really stressful for army families, obviously, but Impact Aid really helps them continue couseling services. And most of the districts we work with all really need Impact Aid for reconstruction since most of the buildings haven't been renovated or fixed for as far back as 1994 and sometimes even longer. I talked to him about how I want to teach, but I feel like NCLB is holding teachers to unrealistic expectations in terms of test scores and how I generally hate test-taking. He seems to think NCLB is going to change very soon, I do hope so. But did you know that NCLB has been up for reauthorization for about two years now? What is the delay? It has only been about three days here, but I feel like I am learning a lot already. This is an awkward week though, because everyone in the office went to a conference and I'm pretty much here on my own manning the phones. After Monday everyone besides one of my co-workers, Tony, left for the conference, and then even he left this morning. I'm off Friday though! I'm going to take advantage of that tourist-wise.
Yesterday Tony took me along with him to Capital Hill. I was so excited and I think he was really confused as to why, but he does this all the time so it is nothing new to him. My office is a block from the capital building and it is really cool getting off the metro every morning and seeing it. To get to "The Hill" (we went to the House side... I'm still figuring out all of this government business) we had to walk right by the Capital and Library of Congress. Pretty cool stuff. I think I definitely came off as an idiot because I was asking SO many questions about everything, but hopefully he didn't mind. Anyway, the whole lobbying process isn't as glam as you all made it sound, but I appreciate everyone encouraging this experience and being excited with me. So how it works is you basically walk into different offices and talk with different representatives of congress or the house or whatever (I told you, I'm still figuring it out). But the offices are very tiny, and I kid you not, everyone is no more than 5 years older than me. It is crazy. We had three meetings to "lobby" and how it worked is we sat down at a table with someone and Tony told them about Impact Aid and what we do and why we are important. Everyone we spoke to was a young woman no older than 30. So they go back to their bosses and Impact Aid gets a mention and if we ever need them to vote for a specific bill or something we go back and talk to them again. I was the awkward and mute intern, but it will be cool if they actually let me talk to someone about Impact Aid and why it is important by the end. I think I could be good at it. But I'm not going to lie, I was really tired and might have been dozing off a little... I hope no one noticed. Once I adjust to this whole 9am-5pm business I hope I gain some more energy. It is really hard waking up so early! I feel a little isolated being in the office alone, and I really haven't met a lot of people yet since everyone has their own apartment and their own busy schedlues... but it is only the first week and I'm sure that once I start going out and having a social life things will be fine. And obviously I will get a better grasp on the internship once everyone in my office comes back. But for now... "Impact Aid associataion, this is Ariel, how can I help you?" ;-) hehe.
Last but not least, I do need to talk about my class. Because I already know it is going to change my life! It is with a Professor named Colman McCarthy and you all need to go out and read some of his stuff. He basically started "Peace Studies" and he was so convincing even in one class that I wanted to go up and give him a hug after. I'll admit his thinking isn't for everyone, but my class is all about non-violence and conflict resolution on a personal and worldly level which I think is interesting. I'll keep you guys posted but one of the books I am leafing through right now is called "I'd Rather Teach Peace," but just google his name or something. He said he spoke at Dickinson once and they sent a limo to pick him up, I quote, "that was probably your tuition money!" I wouldn't be too surprised... anyway friends, I have a lot ahead of me to learn and experience, I'm hoping for the best! This first week is going to be laid back, but I'm realizing that a pace-change in my life is necessary. This is no New York City, that is for sure. Miss you all, please update me all on your lives ... I am pretty internet accessible during the day :)
Yesterday Tony took me along with him to Capital Hill. I was so excited and I think he was really confused as to why, but he does this all the time so it is nothing new to him. My office is a block from the capital building and it is really cool getting off the metro every morning and seeing it. To get to "The Hill" (we went to the House side... I'm still figuring out all of this government business) we had to walk right by the Capital and Library of Congress. Pretty cool stuff. I think I definitely came off as an idiot because I was asking SO many questions about everything, but hopefully he didn't mind. Anyway, the whole lobbying process isn't as glam as you all made it sound, but I appreciate everyone encouraging this experience and being excited with me. So how it works is you basically walk into different offices and talk with different representatives of congress or the house or whatever (I told you, I'm still figuring it out). But the offices are very tiny, and I kid you not, everyone is no more than 5 years older than me. It is crazy. We had three meetings to "lobby" and how it worked is we sat down at a table with someone and Tony told them about Impact Aid and what we do and why we are important. Everyone we spoke to was a young woman no older than 30. So they go back to their bosses and Impact Aid gets a mention and if we ever need them to vote for a specific bill or something we go back and talk to them again. I was the awkward and mute intern, but it will be cool if they actually let me talk to someone about Impact Aid and why it is important by the end. I think I could be good at it. But I'm not going to lie, I was really tired and might have been dozing off a little... I hope no one noticed. Once I adjust to this whole 9am-5pm business I hope I gain some more energy. It is really hard waking up so early! I feel a little isolated being in the office alone, and I really haven't met a lot of people yet since everyone has their own apartment and their own busy schedlues... but it is only the first week and I'm sure that once I start going out and having a social life things will be fine. And obviously I will get a better grasp on the internship once everyone in my office comes back. But for now... "Impact Aid associataion, this is Ariel, how can I help you?" ;-) hehe.
Last but not least, I do need to talk about my class. Because I already know it is going to change my life! It is with a Professor named Colman McCarthy and you all need to go out and read some of his stuff. He basically started "Peace Studies" and he was so convincing even in one class that I wanted to go up and give him a hug after. I'll admit his thinking isn't for everyone, but my class is all about non-violence and conflict resolution on a personal and worldly level which I think is interesting. I'll keep you guys posted but one of the books I am leafing through right now is called "I'd Rather Teach Peace," but just google his name or something. He said he spoke at Dickinson once and they sent a limo to pick him up, I quote, "that was probably your tuition money!" I wouldn't be too surprised... anyway friends, I have a lot ahead of me to learn and experience, I'm hoping for the best! This first week is going to be laid back, but I'm realizing that a pace-change in my life is necessary. This is no New York City, that is for sure. Miss you all, please update me all on your lives ... I am pretty internet accessible during the day :)
Friday, January 30, 2009
Responsibility!
Thursday we woke up bright and early to go to another orientation session with all 400 of the Washington Center interns. We had to dress up in "business" clothes. I tried my best, and I already have blisters on my feet to prove it. I think I'm going to have to be one of those people who brings shoes to wear at work and wears sneakers for the commute... tragic in the fashion department I'm sure. So at orientation we heard a lot of great motivational speakers. One interesting quote from the TWC president that I liked was something along the lines of, "if you are given a lot, you have a lot to give back." Like, if you are given the priviledge to get a college education, and specifically to be interning at TWC this semester, you have the ability to do a lot of good and give a lot back. One thing that became clear was that we are going to gain an extensive amount of knowledge this semester and it is our responsibility to make good use of the information we learn. I hope I can do that with my portfolio, or my independent study, which are the two major academic pieces that are required for this program. We also have to do a civic engagement project which is basically a community service component, and I want to make sure I do something really meaningful. I guess a semester of studying white privilege has gone to my head a little, but I sometimes feel a little guilty that the process of going to college was such an easy and expected process for me. It made me feel a little better to realize that with good fortune comes responsibility to share what I learn and to try to make a difference from the opportunities and resources I have.
"Don't feel guilty, feel responsible" -Colman McCarthy
For the superbowl we went to one of the other apartments upstairs, it was really nice to meet some other interns! I did my typical asking everyone their phone numbers, so hopefully they will all remember me. I didn't watch much of the game, obvi. Except wasn't it so AMERICAN to honor the plane crew as heroes at the beginning? I thought so. Since Obama I feel like we are living in a completely different country where people are actually proud of fellow Americans and our country in general. Although, all of you skeptics who didn't get caught up in that Obama hope juice should be interested in the media already being over praising him. People in Washington read 5 newspapers a day to try and see all angles of every situation. It is so intense, too bad I'm a slow reader.
"Don't feel guilty, feel responsible" -Colman McCarthy
For the superbowl we went to one of the other apartments upstairs, it was really nice to meet some other interns! I did my typical asking everyone their phone numbers, so hopefully they will all remember me. I didn't watch much of the game, obvi. Except wasn't it so AMERICAN to honor the plane crew as heroes at the beginning? I thought so. Since Obama I feel like we are living in a completely different country where people are actually proud of fellow Americans and our country in general. Although, all of you skeptics who didn't get caught up in that Obama hope juice should be interested in the media already being over praising him. People in Washington read 5 newspapers a day to try and see all angles of every situation. It is so intense, too bad I'm a slow reader.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
I'm here! AND SO IS OBAMA!
Hello friends! I have arrived, and so far it has been fabulous! My trip here was of course eventful, because let's be honest, with me there is always a story to tell! First of all, when I woke up there was so much snow that Bart (my little brother)'s school had a delayed opening. Then, my cab didn't show up and 10 minutes before my train to NYC left I had to call my neighbor to drive me. I thought in the end it was meant for her to drive me because she kept referring to my time in DC as an adventure and talking about how exciting it was. And I realized that she was right and there was no reason for me to be nervous! But then I was a little overwhelmed with positive energy to the point I almost started to talk to strangers (Grandma Shirley style for those of you who know the stories!) and tell them that I was on an adventure to DC! Ok so Amtrak was relatively uneventful, so I get to DC and I'm in a cab finally at Union Station and I give the driver the address of my apartment and he doesn't know where it is. So I proceed to get into an argument with him (the new yorker in me of course!) which results in me ditching the cab and roughing the metro with my huge bag (the blue one that I actually fit into), my backpack, and my laptop! It took me like ten minutes to figure out how to buy a metro ticket (but I had directions so besides that it was okay)! And this is the best part: in DC when you leave the metro you have to re-enter your ticket (it charges you when you leave the metro), and NO ONE TOLD ME THIS. So I'm like trying to buy ANOTHER ticket to exit the metro and I really stood there forever just watching other people and trying to figure it out. I'm sure if you don't know the DC metro this means nothing to you, but I'm trying to amuse my good friend Alyssa who is abroad in Denmark and goes to GW. So Alyssa, how pathetic? Please tell me. But I think we all know my city smarts anyway.
Alright, so one last thing about the commute: I get off the metro and it is POURING and I have to walk with all my stuff in the rain to my apartment building which was not as close to the metro stop as they made it sound! But once I did the walk sans my suitcase and the rain it was actually quite pleasant and through a nice little park, which should be nice when it gets warmer. So I'm living in Bethesda, right outside of the actual city. It takes about 30 mins to get places in the city, but I think I'll get used to it. Besides that the apartment is AMAZING. I am seriously living in a hotel, you all need to come and visit there is plenty of room! My room is a good size and my roommate and I have our own bathroom and our own walk-in closet! It is crazy! And the whole apartment came with dishes and furniture, etc. We even have a huge window in our living room that gives beautiful natural light and a very nice view. I am really very lucky! Andrea, my roommate, and I arrived at the apartment at exactly the same time and we decided on a room and hit it off right away. She is really nice and down to earth, I'm excited to get to know her. She and her boyfriend are really big rock climbers! She is from Massachusetts and goes to UMass Amherst. There are two other roommates, one is also from Mass and one is from Dickinson! Tonight we went grocery shopping, set up the wireless in our apartment, and bonded over a macaroni&cheese and wine dinner (I cooked... hah!). It was a great way to relax after a tiring day, and tomorrow is also another early start.
Briefly, because I realize this is getting long... today we had orientation in the morning for my program Advocacy, Service, and Arts. I took the metro with a bunch of people but it still wound up being an ordeal getting metro tickets... I really need to get used to that! In the afternoon we were given a "scavenger hunt" to roam the city. My roommate is in my program so we went around with three other girls and roamed around Dupont Circle and somewhere close to the National Mall... ending with viewing the white house and swooning over the possibilty of running into Obama during our semester here. It was so awesome, all day we talked about politics and Obama! Obama's face is EVERYWHERE. It is so funny, and the city has a great vibe of positive energy after the inauguration. Highlight of the day: We attempted to go to Ben's Chilli Bowl (a historic fast food restaurant?) and we got interviewed by ABC7 news about the bill Obama signed today granting women the right to sue their employers if they aren't recieving pay that is equal to their male co-workers. It was very exciting, and I talked in my interview about how it is unfair that women are behind men in the workforce today, and how a lot of it has to do with the fact that women take off more time than men to raise children, etc. I mean, did you know that women only make 77 cents to the male dollar? How and why is that fair? It isn't! Unfortunately, our interviews didn't wind up airing (we were so dissappointed!) but how exciting to be stopped in the city and asked about Obama and his policies! Well friends, needless to say it is all very exciting so far, and I hope it doesn't die down any time soon... please comment, I miss you all so much!
Alright, so one last thing about the commute: I get off the metro and it is POURING and I have to walk with all my stuff in the rain to my apartment building which was not as close to the metro stop as they made it sound! But once I did the walk sans my suitcase and the rain it was actually quite pleasant and through a nice little park, which should be nice when it gets warmer. So I'm living in Bethesda, right outside of the actual city. It takes about 30 mins to get places in the city, but I think I'll get used to it. Besides that the apartment is AMAZING. I am seriously living in a hotel, you all need to come and visit there is plenty of room! My room is a good size and my roommate and I have our own bathroom and our own walk-in closet! It is crazy! And the whole apartment came with dishes and furniture, etc. We even have a huge window in our living room that gives beautiful natural light and a very nice view. I am really very lucky! Andrea, my roommate, and I arrived at the apartment at exactly the same time and we decided on a room and hit it off right away. She is really nice and down to earth, I'm excited to get to know her. She and her boyfriend are really big rock climbers! She is from Massachusetts and goes to UMass Amherst. There are two other roommates, one is also from Mass and one is from Dickinson! Tonight we went grocery shopping, set up the wireless in our apartment, and bonded over a macaroni&cheese and wine dinner (I cooked... hah!). It was a great way to relax after a tiring day, and tomorrow is also another early start.
Briefly, because I realize this is getting long... today we had orientation in the morning for my program Advocacy, Service, and Arts. I took the metro with a bunch of people but it still wound up being an ordeal getting metro tickets... I really need to get used to that! In the afternoon we were given a "scavenger hunt" to roam the city. My roommate is in my program so we went around with three other girls and roamed around Dupont Circle and somewhere close to the National Mall... ending with viewing the white house and swooning over the possibilty of running into Obama during our semester here. It was so awesome, all day we talked about politics and Obama! Obama's face is EVERYWHERE. It is so funny, and the city has a great vibe of positive energy after the inauguration. Highlight of the day: We attempted to go to Ben's Chilli Bowl (a historic fast food restaurant?) and we got interviewed by ABC7 news about the bill Obama signed today granting women the right to sue their employers if they aren't recieving pay that is equal to their male co-workers. It was very exciting, and I talked in my interview about how it is unfair that women are behind men in the workforce today, and how a lot of it has to do with the fact that women take off more time than men to raise children, etc. I mean, did you know that women only make 77 cents to the male dollar? How and why is that fair? It isn't! Unfortunately, our interviews didn't wind up airing (we were so dissappointed!) but how exciting to be stopped in the city and asked about Obama and his policies! Well friends, needless to say it is all very exciting so far, and I hope it doesn't die down any time soon... please comment, I miss you all so much!
Monday, January 26, 2009
Home, but not for long...
I see that I've picked up a few more "followers" .. exciting! I also added an "inspirational quote" to the side... so far I've liked them and I hope you do too! hehe :)
So tomorrow is my last day at home before I leave for Washington. I've got to say the break went a lot faster than I expected, and I'm looking forward to trying something new... but I'm getting extremely nervous. It's one of those situations where I've had too much time to be home and get comfortable. This is also so different from what I originally wanted to do with my semester abroad. I have to dress up everyday and basically have a JOB. 9am-5pm baby. I wanted to do something completely out of my comfort zone and learn about a new culture. Instead I'm pretty much going to learn about how things get done in America. Now that I'm comfortable at home I can't even imagine trying to prepare to go somewhere like India! Well, maybe... either way, this is what is on my plate and I've got to deal. The internship should be a good learning experience and I'm sure I'll be challenged in some way or another. However, I've been getting like 5 emails a day from my future co-workers and it is getting a little bit overwhelming already! Not only will I really have to pay attention to education issues for work, but the real world will be so much more REAL... aka our failing economy and the depressing state of other parts of the world. Think about it, at Dickinson you can get by with your meal plan and you go to your classes which might not be relevant to current events. It's really easy to become isolated in the Dickinson bubble from what's really going on. But lately I'm in that whole "I want to save the world" phase (and I know it's a phase haha), so paying attention to these issues can be pretty disheartening. I suppose that having a better understanding leads to making better and bigger change, but we shall see. I'll leave my "save the world" rant for another time, I guess.
This weekend I visited Dickinson and it was SO GREAT to see everyone. However, I think a semester away will be best. My car managed to die on the way up to campus and I had to call AAA for the first time! I cried and called like all of my girlfriends... pretty typical. But the ending of this story is fabulous because I managed to make friends with the guys in the auto shop my car got towed to (shout out to Superior Towing in Whitehouse Station, NJ!), and let's just say that it's good to know people, because despite my car being useless, I STILL got to campus. I called up a friend who was going to campus on the same route a few hours behind me and managed to get picked up right by the highway my car died on. Sooo after interrogating the Superior Towing night shift workers on whether or not I should take my car dying as a sign that I'm not supposed to go to school at all (their response was something along the lines of "go to college and get drunk" and none of them were superstitious, can you tell?), I sat in Clinton Station Diner for 2 hours, told the waitress my life story of course, and then squeezed in as the 5th person in a 4-passenger car. It was pretty crazy that it all worked out. We are only young and reckless once people!! I was just thinking the other day that I need to be more spontaneous anyway, hehe. Oh, but on the way to school we got a call that someone had been murdered in Carlisle 2 blocks from campus. Awesome. eeeek. Despite the daunting signs, the weekend was very nice and made me feel very loved because I got to see so many friends who are so dear to me!! I'm really going to miss everyone! But I've heard that as soon as you are comfortable somewhere you've got to move on... and senior year is still waiting :)
Check out this article about talking about race: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/15/fashion/15race.html?_r=1&scp=7&sq=race&st=cse
This is a topic I find really interesting and strangely enough had JUST emailed a professor about. How do YOU feel talking about race, do you think Obama will make it easier to talk about? Hmm... and oh! and I just finished the book "A Thousand Splendid Suns," it is a beautiful story, but I don't know how I feel about the end. Go read it though, it really makes you understand how different gender roles are in other countries.
Hope you are enjoying my spastic blog!
So tomorrow is my last day at home before I leave for Washington. I've got to say the break went a lot faster than I expected, and I'm looking forward to trying something new... but I'm getting extremely nervous. It's one of those situations where I've had too much time to be home and get comfortable. This is also so different from what I originally wanted to do with my semester abroad. I have to dress up everyday and basically have a JOB. 9am-5pm baby. I wanted to do something completely out of my comfort zone and learn about a new culture. Instead I'm pretty much going to learn about how things get done in America. Now that I'm comfortable at home I can't even imagine trying to prepare to go somewhere like India! Well, maybe... either way, this is what is on my plate and I've got to deal. The internship should be a good learning experience and I'm sure I'll be challenged in some way or another. However, I've been getting like 5 emails a day from my future co-workers and it is getting a little bit overwhelming already! Not only will I really have to pay attention to education issues for work, but the real world will be so much more REAL... aka our failing economy and the depressing state of other parts of the world. Think about it, at Dickinson you can get by with your meal plan and you go to your classes which might not be relevant to current events. It's really easy to become isolated in the Dickinson bubble from what's really going on. But lately I'm in that whole "I want to save the world" phase (and I know it's a phase haha), so paying attention to these issues can be pretty disheartening. I suppose that having a better understanding leads to making better and bigger change, but we shall see. I'll leave my "save the world" rant for another time, I guess.
This weekend I visited Dickinson and it was SO GREAT to see everyone. However, I think a semester away will be best. My car managed to die on the way up to campus and I had to call AAA for the first time! I cried and called like all of my girlfriends... pretty typical. But the ending of this story is fabulous because I managed to make friends with the guys in the auto shop my car got towed to (shout out to Superior Towing in Whitehouse Station, NJ!), and let's just say that it's good to know people, because despite my car being useless, I STILL got to campus. I called up a friend who was going to campus on the same route a few hours behind me and managed to get picked up right by the highway my car died on. Sooo after interrogating the Superior Towing night shift workers on whether or not I should take my car dying as a sign that I'm not supposed to go to school at all (their response was something along the lines of "go to college and get drunk" and none of them were superstitious, can you tell?), I sat in Clinton Station Diner for 2 hours, told the waitress my life story of course, and then squeezed in as the 5th person in a 4-passenger car. It was pretty crazy that it all worked out. We are only young and reckless once people!! I was just thinking the other day that I need to be more spontaneous anyway, hehe. Oh, but on the way to school we got a call that someone had been murdered in Carlisle 2 blocks from campus. Awesome. eeeek. Despite the daunting signs, the weekend was very nice and made me feel very loved because I got to see so many friends who are so dear to me!! I'm really going to miss everyone! But I've heard that as soon as you are comfortable somewhere you've got to move on... and senior year is still waiting :)
Check out this article about talking about race: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/15/fashion/15race.html?_r=1&scp=7&sq=race&st=cse
This is a topic I find really interesting and strangely enough had JUST emailed a professor about. How do YOU feel talking about race, do you think Obama will make it easier to talk about? Hmm... and oh! and I just finished the book "A Thousand Splendid Suns," it is a beautiful story, but I don't know how I feel about the end. Go read it though, it really makes you understand how different gender roles are in other countries.
Hope you are enjoying my spastic blog!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
An Ode to Alyssa and MY FOLLOWER
Hello friends! So, after A LOT of contemplation, I'm doing the blog thing. We'll see how it goes. I'm going to be honest, I'm a little intimidated with the whole responsibility of "impressing my audience"! I had enough trouble even thinking of a name for the blog! Anyway... my dear friend Alyssa has convinced me that my life in Washington, DC this semester is going to be half interesting and hopefully I can keep anyone who cares (and Alyssa) updated with this blog. And Alyssa, you'd better read this and comment on it woman! So much for an ode.
Alright so onto an explanation of the title, those of you that know me (very well), you'll know that my major, American Studies, has pretty much taken over my life and completely changed how I look at the world around me. For example, I pretty much can't watch TV anymore without commenting on race, gender, or class issues that are present or the "misrepresentation" of something or someone based on one of those characteristics (My roommate LOVES this, let me tell you haha). So for example, calling Alyssa "woman" in the last paragraph... in a specific context this can be seen as condescending. Like when a man is talking to a woman and asks or orders her to do something and calls her "woman" instead of referring to her by name. This happens ALL the time on those family sit-coms. Why do we think this is funny? I know I think twice when that happens. By now, you all think I'm crazy, but it is a good way to explain my concept of "American Studies word vomit" ... I am not positive how to define it exactly, but I suppose you'll figure it out at some point.
Anyway, I leave for Washington, DC in exactly a week. This wasn't originally supposed to be my plan for the semester... I was supposed to be going to India. Long story short, after the Mumbai attacks my mom really wasn't comfortable with me going since everything seemed so "unstable" over there. I mean, I know I would have been fine, but it is what it is. Not going to lie, it's been difficult seeing all of my friends ship off to fun and different places, and "accidentally" finding pictures of the Dickinson students who are in India right now is also not very enjoyable. If you want the full saga, you can talk to me personally, but for blogging purposes I will spare you. This is one of the first times in my life something that I really wanted was "taken away", and I want to prove to myself that I can deal with change with a positive attitude. At least for me, it is going to be a challenge to take my own path of going to DC when I was anticipating to be able to have the same "abroad" experience as most of my classmates and friends. This may really sound silly, but if you are on my campus for a day and talk to people you'll realize that the vast majority of the students go abroad and very often for the entire year. In the bigger picture, I want to prove that I can successfully and proudly go on my own path and seriously get a grip on that thing called "independence." I might have said that last semester, but this time I have a public blog to haunt me. My inspiring quote to go along with this is one said by Buddha, 'find your own light,' because that is what I'm thinking is at the heart of what I'm looking for. So enjoy my life ephiphanies!
I'll leave on that note because I have to run to my beautification appointment... this is debatable. For the most part only women go to get their eyebrows waxed and take extra time to make sure that they look 'presentable'. This is common knowledge of course, but think about it. I can see some people rolling their eyes... but really, sometimes it really pisses me off that society holds us to specific standards in terms of our gender. Like why do only women have to shave their legs? Because people think it's gross if they don't!
Feel free to comment :)
PS. My current one and only follower is Aly! Congrats! Are you happy? comment on my blog now!
Alright so onto an explanation of the title, those of you that know me (very well), you'll know that my major, American Studies, has pretty much taken over my life and completely changed how I look at the world around me. For example, I pretty much can't watch TV anymore without commenting on race, gender, or class issues that are present or the "misrepresentation" of something or someone based on one of those characteristics (My roommate LOVES this, let me tell you haha). So for example, calling Alyssa "woman" in the last paragraph... in a specific context this can be seen as condescending. Like when a man is talking to a woman and asks or orders her to do something and calls her "woman" instead of referring to her by name. This happens ALL the time on those family sit-coms. Why do we think this is funny? I know I think twice when that happens. By now, you all think I'm crazy, but it is a good way to explain my concept of "American Studies word vomit" ... I am not positive how to define it exactly, but I suppose you'll figure it out at some point.
Anyway, I leave for Washington, DC in exactly a week. This wasn't originally supposed to be my plan for the semester... I was supposed to be going to India. Long story short, after the Mumbai attacks my mom really wasn't comfortable with me going since everything seemed so "unstable" over there. I mean, I know I would have been fine, but it is what it is. Not going to lie, it's been difficult seeing all of my friends ship off to fun and different places, and "accidentally" finding pictures of the Dickinson students who are in India right now is also not very enjoyable. If you want the full saga, you can talk to me personally, but for blogging purposes I will spare you. This is one of the first times in my life something that I really wanted was "taken away", and I want to prove to myself that I can deal with change with a positive attitude. At least for me, it is going to be a challenge to take my own path of going to DC when I was anticipating to be able to have the same "abroad" experience as most of my classmates and friends. This may really sound silly, but if you are on my campus for a day and talk to people you'll realize that the vast majority of the students go abroad and very often for the entire year. In the bigger picture, I want to prove that I can successfully and proudly go on my own path and seriously get a grip on that thing called "independence." I might have said that last semester, but this time I have a public blog to haunt me. My inspiring quote to go along with this is one said by Buddha, 'find your own light,' because that is what I'm thinking is at the heart of what I'm looking for. So enjoy my life ephiphanies!
I'll leave on that note because I have to run to my beautification appointment... this is debatable. For the most part only women go to get their eyebrows waxed and take extra time to make sure that they look 'presentable'. This is common knowledge of course, but think about it. I can see some people rolling their eyes... but really, sometimes it really pisses me off that society holds us to specific standards in terms of our gender. Like why do only women have to shave their legs? Because people think it's gross if they don't!
Feel free to comment :)
PS. My current one and only follower is Aly! Congrats! Are you happy? comment on my blog now!
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