A Taste of the City

I have a few exciting news updates to report. First, and most exciting is that I have an internship! It's with Jubilee USA Network which I was already familiar with their great work on international debt relief through Student Global AIDS Campaign. I start on Tuesday, so much more about that to come. I do have to say that the best part about this internship is that it's barely a block behind the Capitol. It's such a cool commute right in the heart of the city and part of my internship will involve lobbying on Capitol Hill, especially in light of all that needs to be done to relieve Haiti's debt.

Yesterday, our adventure was at Art & Soul Restaurant owned by Chef Art also known as former chef to OPRAH! I was so excited to experience first hand all my love for Top Chef and the Food Network. We were able to have such a fancy lunch because of DC's Restaurant Week. Many DC restaurants participated in $20.10 three course meals- a steal even my mom would be proud of. I ordered butternut squash soup with creme fraiche, butternut squash filled ravioli in an incredible citrus oil sauce, and finally almond cheesecake with fresh raspberry drizzle. Much to the dismay of my friends, I commented on every bite and pretended to be at the judge's table for Iron Chef. All I can say is that it was absolutely divine! I ate everything which is probably one of a handful of times in my life when I didn't have leftovers to bring home. This was definitely an unexpected gem of DC.

Speaking of the unexpected. I have a confession to make. Now please consider that we are not in New England any longer, but I have definitely been frequenting Starbucks more than Dunkins out of pure convenience. It's really just because they are all over the place, but now I've become one of those customers that has an "order." My new favorite treat is a tall skinny vanilla latte and the honey & granola greek yogurt. Yes, I know this could happen anywhere, but it is a nugget of happiness I have discovered in DC.

Back to DC, I also need to write about Monument Day. No, this isn't a DC-wide thing, just a Kate & Kim's awesome idea thing. Well, the idea should be credited to the lovely Leah because it was at her request that we buy an "I <3 DC" shirt and take pictures at the monuments. I guess this was necessary to get out of our systems so we can fully cross the threshold between tourist and local. Here's a taste of our ultra-touristy day.

Fitting In

Before I get into what I really want to talk about, the strangest thing happened to me today. We went to the World Bank to hear a speaker Joseph Stiglitz who won the Nobel Prize for Economics. Nothing about the words bank, economics, or stiglitz appealed to me, but today I was PLEASANTLY surprised. First, I knew what he was talking about! Globalization, bad investments, deregulation. These are very important people and I blend into the crowd!? This was very cool. Second, and more importantly, I agreed with him! Yes, someone from the World Bank! Shocking! He made the brilliant argument that it is not a matter of having the money but rather directing the money into the right kind of investments. And for him, the best global investment was in development and the alleviation of poverty. He argued that building other countries up actually helps us out. "Externalities" is the fancy term for it. That's your education lesson for today and I STRONGLY encourage you to look him up.


But anywho, what I have really been meaning to write about is something that has become essential to my DC experience so far- the METRO! There are so many things I love about the Metro in that weird way where you love going to someplace that is just so ordinary it makes it extraordinary.

People Watching: Depending on the time of day, very different vibes are given off by the people around you. My least favorite would obviously be rush hour. This isn't ideal for any 5'3 claustrophobic ladies. But when you can see farther than the person's jacket in front of you, there is always an interesting crowd. I know I'm starting to fit in hear when I prefer riding with many business, single people on the week days than the chatty, clueless tourists on the weekend.

"The Metro Shuffle": This is that special skill I am starting to master where you do a little balance dance as the train comes to a stop. This is how you really tell the tourists from the locals. It's an art and I would probably be better at it if I could reach the ceiling bars, but I'm getting better.

The Escalators!: You have not seen an escalator until you've gone into a Metro tunnel in DC. Think of the steepness of a black diamond ski slope only made of metal and moving at a speed out of your control. The AU/Tenley stop has an extra steep/ long one which you can barely see the sky from. Oh yea, these are super long stairs UNDERGROUND with arches of CEMENT surrounding you. Also awesome for my claustrophobia. But we have come to the conclusion the red line must be farthest underground so they can torture the college students the most. They also squeak with a sound that can only be compared to dying elephants. it's great.


The Red Line: Of course we are on the line with the reputation of having the most mechanical problems, and they have earned that title already. This weekend there were 15 minute delays which doesn't seem much but at 1:30 am for this girl that likes her sleep, it does! We've also had a few freaky moments and had to transfer in the middle of two stations because our train was "Undergoing mechanical difficulties. Everyone must exit the train immediately." It's always an adventure and it keeps you on your toes. I am not quite at ease enough to read a book or magazine yet. But I've started with headphones and am taking baby steps.


The thesis of this post is essentially that I am definitely feeling that transition mode from stranger to regular in the city. I'm fitting in at the World Bank and have yet to be squished by the Metro doors. Overall, I'd call that a great success!

In the News...

I feel like this post is long overdue, but it's really just because so much is going on that I always have too much to say! This was our first full week, which for me consists of Mon/Tues internship days and Wed/Thur/Fri class days. For now, I'll just focus on Thursday.

The morning started with class about the underlying themes of the semester- International Environment and Development. The class is half environment and half development, but really one can never separate the two. We discussed questions such as "what does development look like?" "what is sustainable over time?" "what should be our priorities?" and "what, if any, are our responsibilities?" Tough stuff for day two. Classes fly by here though, and as much as I love all the great field trips we go on, I love the classes just as much. Weird, I know.

So after class we were off to the Newseum (News Museum, obv). This is said to be the "best museum in DC" and I agree that it is definitely worth checking out. The heavy hitter exhibits include the largest part of the Berlin Wall outside of Germany and a piece of the antenna from the World Trade Center. Both exhibits are very powerful and unlike typical exhibits very personal because these events happened in our lifetime. The whole museum is very modern and I have to say has some of the nicest DC employees I have met so far. The top floor has a terrace that overlooks Penn. Ave. with an incredible view of the Capitol. Up there is a section of front page newspapers from THAT DAY all over the country. They also have the Day's headlines from places like Japan, France, and Russia. I have no idea how they pull that off, but its wicked cool. The Newseum doesn't directly relate to IED class, but they had an exhibit with the Pulitzer Prize photos that did relate and, like the rest of the museum, are definitely worth checking out.

In a class about Environment and Development, we could not ignore the breaking news of Haiti's earthquake. My professor has a lot of connections to Haiti and quite obviously it is a case study for understanding the many challenges that come with development work. Under the best circumstances, Haiti could finally receive enough donations to build their country's infrastructure to a level they never had before. Not to mention rebuild the many hospitals and schools that did exist and are now part of the rubble. That kind of relief is only possible with all of our support though.

To put in prospective the amount of aid that is actually being sent to Haiti, consider this: As of Thursday the total WORLD donations to Haiti was about $120 million. The US Department of Defense spends $120 million every 20 minutes.

As much as I'm going to love this semester, my class is bound to be a depressing one. On Friday we discussed Activism which A- I am a pro at and B- is very fun to learn about. If we turn our sadness into action then I can be hopeful. Speaking of, I have a group project to raise money/ supplies for a school we will be visiting in Ghana. Updates to come!

Mammals, Spies, and Archives... Oh My!

First weekend in DC is officially over. And what a great weekend it was! I'm trying to take advantage of all the city has to offer, especially since most of it is free! My trusty travel companion Kim and I jumped on the metro and just followed our guts with no plan for each day. On Saturday, our neighbor and honorary third roommate Ted(named after our favorite senator of course!) joined us. Here's where we ended up:


Museum of Natural History- Kim and I discovered that we both share a love for elephants, so it was only natural that our feet took us to this museum first. We jumped up and down like we were in Disney World when we saw the mammals exhibit. As you can see, the HUGE giraffe was a fan favorite. Some other highlights were the gem exhibits where I saw some amazingly beautiful rocks from the D.R. Congo and the soil room where we got a private demonstration on quicksand. It was awesome.


The Post Office Tower- We first went into this gorgeous building on Friday for lunch. Then on Saturday Ted told us its real attraction is the bell tower you can climb and get a 360 degree view of the city. Although it was freezing and windy, The views were great. One of the greatest things about DC is that no building can be taller than the Washington Monument. This basically means you always have a great view.


The INTERNATIONAL SPY MUSEUM!- Ok, no picture for this one because obviously I can't reveal anything about its identity. But trust me, it's awesome. The museum seems really new and innovative with a lot of great interactive exhibits. Fun fact, they have a whole room dedicated to pigeon travel which apparently really does exist and has a 95% success rate! Crazy. My favorite part was taking on a "cover" of someone else and getting asked questions in order to complete your secret mission. Even though this is one of the few museums you have to pay for, it's totally worth it.

The National Archives- Today, other than people watching and searching for spies all around us, we thought it was necessary to check out the historical big 3- Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. The documents were obviously really neat, but my favorite part was actually the public archives which have different rooms dedicated to the phrases of the Preamble. In the picture, I designed my very own state seal. Brownie points to anyone who knows the meanings of my symbols!


The Museum of American History- We stopped here for only about an hour after being wiped out from the Archives and walking around today. This sightseeing stuff is a lot of work!Even though I have seen this museum the last two times I was in the city, it’s different every time. We only saw the Star Spangled Banner and A Presidential Life exhibits, but they are some of the best parts for this American Studies nerd. Here I am giving the Kennedy inaugural address. Typical Sunday afternoon.

Tomorrow starts my week of classes and internship search. More to come about the Metro experience, interviewing, and the Newseum on Thursday!

I'm Here/ Alive!

Well, this should be a happy-loving life- awesome first post and originally I planned to have posted at least twice before now. But alas, this is the first time in four days I can get on the internet from my laptop, and of course my laptop isn't charging and could possibly die at any minute. Yay for staying in a first world country and still not having technology!

I've been in DC since Tuesday night (moved in since Wednesday) and other than computer problems everything else is going WONDERFULLY! I don't even know where to begin- life at AU, my semester program, the beautiful city, gahh there's just too much. I will post about AU life so far and, I'll post about DC exploration after more adventures tomorrow (and tonight).

Sooo I live on Tenley Campus, which is about 3 blocks away from the main campus of American University. We have our own dining hall that is surprisingly an upgrade from Alliot at St. Mike's. They have signs everywhere about their goals for local, organic food and they make all their own sauces and dressings from scratch (delicious!) I also found out that they have made-to-order eggs for breakfast, my favorite part of Alliot, so I'm glad I won't have to sacrifice that!

My Dorm! Well living with Kim from St. Mike's has been very enjoyable! We found out we have a lot of fabulous things in common like music by Imogen Heap, favorite animals like elephants and big puppies, and obsessively quoting Jersey Shore. The other people on our floor are great. One downside is that the majority of people I have met are from NEW ENGLAND! What the heck? My neighbor is from Nashua and two UVM girls live down the hall! Oh and speaking of down the hall.. another BIG downside to my dorm is the girl's bathroom is no joke 5 miles away. I have to go around three corners! It's a hike. But the buildings on Tenley have a lot of character, especially where we live in Capital Hall because it has a giant marble staircase.


Yesterday we had a bunch of meetings to learn about campus and our specific programs. As much as I had trouble giving up studying abroad in the "normal" sense, I'm starting to see that the Washington Semester Program is a perfect fit for me. We have field trips and speakers all over the city as well as to NYC next month! (and Ghana in April)Professor Heckle is amazing and emphasizes how we are going to see the whole spectrum of development/environment issues- from DC to NYC to Ghana and everywhere in between. Bad news, I have to write a 45 page research paper. (Trish, yet another project to haunt me!) Good news, I go on a million field trips so I guess it's only fair I have some hard work. As my classes officially start I will talk more about the issues we discuss and the speakers I hear. Just be really excited for all that fun stuff to come.

I guess that's where I'll leave it today. I will definitely be blogging (hopefully) tomorrow and much more frequently from here on out. Moral of the story is I love DC and cannot wait to live up every moment of being here.

I'll leave you with probably the most boring pictures of DC- my dorm room- so you appreciate all the good ones to come!

Our room! That's Kim! It's an "L" shape so you can only see my side.

Almost like Pont 301? To the left is the window/desk and
Kim's bed is behind me to the right.

Our view! Not quite the green mountains but I'll take it.
To the left is St. Anne's Catholic Church and in front is Nebraska circle. (Yes, that's snow!)