Guess Who's Going to Ghana?

I've been meaning to post about my upcoming trip to Ghana, April 5th- 23rd. Maybe you have noticed my facebook badge on the blog and wondered what that is about. Well, now I'll tell you.

For part of my class, we have been broken into small groups to fundraise for various projects we will be visiting in Ghana. I am assigned, along with my classmates Ben and Natalia, to get donations for the Mole (Mo-lay) school and health clinic. Mole is the location of the largest and most visited national park in Ghana. The school serves about 500 students, many of whom have parents that work in the park.

My professor visited the school last year and saw its great potential. The health clinic specializes in maternal health, which is a critical development issue in many places with such high infant mortality rates. The school and clinic have the infrastructure and capacity, but what they lack are basic supplies. Last year, the 500 students (age 5-12) had no school books, and the only sports equipment was 5 old soccer balls donated over 8 years ago

We have been tasked with raising money for new soccer balls, a weigh scale and blood pressure cuffs for the health clinic, and of course children's books. If the resources are available, my group wanted to also bring supplies like chalk, colored pencils, inflatable globes, and jump ropes.

We decided to select books that have a "green" theme because the students have the great environmental resource of the national park next door. The more they learn about the importance of the park, the better apt they are to preserve the animals and care for it. In Ghana, as in many parts of Africa, a combination of Climate Change and poachers have destroyed much of the landscape and habitats of what we traditionally think of as the Safari.

I put together an Amazon.com Wish List for people to virtually donate to me while I'm in DC. It works like a wedding registry- the bill goes to you, the shipping comes to me.

So far, I have already received 2 soccer balls, about 12 books, 2 jump ropes, 2 colored pencil boxes, and chalk. Thank you to everyone that has already helped me out! One thing we really need more of is the Children's Atlas, and we tried to make all the items under $10.

I can't wait to visit Ghana and of course write all about it here. Here are some pictures taken by my professor on her visit to Mole last year.

A Mole Classroom!A delivery table in the health clinicOutside the health clinic.

Look for pictures and stories in April after I visit the school and donate the supplies myself! I'm hopefully going to talk more about what I will be seeing in Ghana and about it's history as the time approaches. I want to include a small glimpse of my class in these posts. I'll post again soon!

Escape to NYC, Home in DC

Happy President's Day!

It's the final day of my unexpected snowpocalypse vacation. Yep, I have not been in school since February 5th. I would say lucky me but this was probably the only semester of my life that I didn't want a snow day. Oh well, I'm ready to move on from the snow, think spring, and talk about the other things going on in life- Most recently, New York!

My class, International Environment and Development, went with the two sections of International Law and Organizations. My professor told us on the first day that IED and ILO students are very different. ILO students are the go-getters, cut-throat, Rise to the top type. IED people like teamwork, working with people, and sharing ideas. It's pretty funny to see these characteristics come out, but it was very true that IED kids liked to stick together. I have good friends in the ILO classes, no hard feelings guys. I'm just definitely a proud IED girl.

The United Nations tour was fun. You can see the picture of me in the General Assembly room. It's really cool comparing the UN to the US Capitol. I feel like the UN is a group of IEDers and the Capitol is a bunch of ILOers. The UN has all these really great ideas and potential, but it will always be overshadowed by it's feisty southern brother in Washington. The people we met at the UN do not have the ego stroking importance of DC's finest. You would think people that represent the entire world in one place would feel a little more powerful. In DC, it's said that everyone thinks they are a little more important than they actually are. At the UN, even the Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon is less cocky then the Leahy Staffers!

New York City in general is very different from Washington, DC. This my not be that shocking to people, but you definitely look at cities differently when you already live in one than when you go to a city from your small town bubble. The metro is the best example, after making the DC metro a part of my life you would think the NYC subway would be an easy transition. Not at all. The NYC subway is dark and scary and full of strange noises and smells that I am satisfied never suffering through again.

I came to DC hoping my life would be tested as a "city girl." I really do love DC, but one city does not transfer into all cities! Speaking of cities. On a totally separate note, I am loving all the attention Vancouver and Canada are getting during the Olympics. I hope everyone got to see the NBC footage of the importance of Canada to the US. Maybe I'll write more about that coming up. But I could definitely be an any Canadian city girl.

Coming Up!
As requested by mom, Rachael, and others- my next post will focus on my trip to Ghana in just over a month now. I am fundraising for a school and health clinic. I will explain all about my trip, and hopefully some of my loyal readers can help me out!

P.S... It just started to snow again.

SNOW-POCALYPSE!

I wish I could write all about NYC, but I will save that for my next post and tell you a little story about the time when the NORTH POLE fell on Washington, DC.

It all started Thursday night: A snowstorm of epic proportions was coming. Before a flake even hit the ground whole counties and districts were canceling school, work, and everything else. 20 inches, 30 inches, maybe 4 feet!

Friday: Campus closed at noon. The snow started around 10:30. As Momma Bailey and the Native Americans always say, "little flakes, big snow. Big flakes, small snow." Little flakes were falling. My night consisted of a few Woodchuck's Hard Ciders and the game of LIFE (I was a lawyer in the mansion with 6 kids.)

Saturday: Emails were flying about whether we would be able to leave for NYC the following day. DC was gracing the covers of international headlines, and as the snow fell we saw leaf blowers, construction tractors, and Jeep Wranglers with snow plows as tools for snow removal. Now granted, we got 30 inches of snow here and that's a lot even by Vermont standards. The difference is that in VT, once the snow stops life goes on and routine clean up occurs. Here, once the snow stops panic mode turns on and DC residents are afraid to leave their house. My professor informs us that she is stuck in her neighborhood where cars are fully buried and there is 2 feet of snow untouched in the roads. She remains stuck.

Sunday: We decide to embark on our trip to NYC. By this point main roads are decent and our street is the White House evacuation route so we see things like salt and snow blowers for the first time.

Yay! In NYC... oh wait. Monday night I get the call from Professor Heckel that we will be leaving the city early Tuesday now instead of Wednesday to, of course, avoid the coming storm.

Tuesday: we leave NYC. No snow is falling. It starts once we get back to DC around 4:30. The snow even stops that night and we are hopeful that this was just more DC exaggeration.

Wednesday: I open my eyes and peel back the curtains with fingers crossed that the snow never started back up. The snow was so thick I couldn't even see out my window. This storm was windier and fluffier than the last causing nearly impossible visibility and the true feeling of cabin fever. It was brutal.

The snow stopped mid-afternoon, but the roads, former sidewalks, and everything else remains blanketed with ice and slush. The plows don't exactly have a lot of room to move the snow, so there are four feet snow rows fencing in all the paths around town. Sidewalks go from slushy puddles to snow-packed paths to normal and back to snow mountains to climb through. It's an adventure.

The worst part is that literally the entire city is closed down. Metros only run every 30 mins and every restaurant but Guapo's Mexican food still bares "Closed" signs today.

The best part was the Glee marathon and the excuse to stay in my PJ's all day. Apparently New England weather followed me here and home is dry and sunny! I guess I should have brought my snow pants and Uggs after all.

It makes for a great story. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope I won't be recounting a snowpocalypse part three anytime soon. Be careful what you wish for when you pray for snow days!

My Life as a DC Intern

I officially survived my first three days of interning! So far I am liking the overall experience. I have nothing but great things to say about Jubilee USA and of course my great supervisor, Hayley (who hopefully is reading this!) It is definitely an experience interning in DC, and especially right on Capitol Hill. (I'm technically a block behind, but it's pretty darn close.)

Highlight of intern life: feeling "in the loop"

So far I have been sitting in on a lot of meetings, which may not seem that appealing, but I really enjoy meeting new people and talking about all these exciting issues. It's been particularly busy for Jubilee because we have been getting a lot of attention around Haiti's debt relief. Debt relief is important not just in the wake of Haiti's earthquake, but also for all developing nations to keep their resources in their country for things like education, healthcare, and economic development. It's great being around people that care about the same issues I do, are knowledgeable about it, and have the same passion for advocacy.

And my favorite accomplishment from this week was getting to post on Jubilee's Blog! Check it out here: http://jubileeusa.typepad.com/

Lowlight of intern life: commuting

Ok, maybe to say it is a complete low of interning is an overstatement. I do have a beautiful 10 minute walk from the metro past the Supreme Court, Capitol Hill, and Library of Congress. But today especially made it an adventure that always keeps me on my toes. From my last post you know the ups and downs of the metro, which is just part of the whole commute experience. Today there was a ton of police with sniff dogs all over the place when I got off at Union Station. It's hard getting used to security everywhere, but I have to remind myself that it's good to have them around and there supposed to be there or whatever.

But the real reason why commuting is not enjoyable is CROSSING THE STREET! Ok, laugh at me for being a small-town girl. but today I was legit HIT BY A PRIUS! I was crossing with the walk sign on and at least 10 seconds left. This Prius (which I'm sure was a very nice person) starts pulling out to make a right turn on red. It just sort of pushed my legs and I banged on the hood saying "Hello!" The lady felt really bad and I was totally fine and just kept walking. Just another day in the life.

So those are my thoughts so far. We are getting our second snowstorm in a week here. Not cool mid-atlantic region! But the good news is my professor declared a SNOW DAY! Unfortunately my plans will mostly consist of my research paper, but it'll be a nice break.

My next post will probably be after my trip to NEW YORK CITY this Sunday- Wednesday! Hopefully I will have some great pictures and cool stories to share!

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!