If variety is indeed the spice of life, then I am in good shape.  These past few days have been a series of completely random and disconnected events.  So welcome to A.D.D. central…

First off, I forgot in my last blog post to discuss the civic engagement portion of TWC program.  My fellow Wake Forest students will have no problem with this component, as it is simple pro humanitate.  I heard students from other schools complaining about the need to do this portion of the portfolio, and while I find it bizarre that it is required, I understand that some would not participate in this without it being part of their final grade.  I have chosen to participate with a group called Greater D.C. Cares that has an extremely wide variety of volunteering opportunities.  I am particularly interested in working with special needs children, and this group has a program for teaching sports to special needs children. 

The overall program could not have been easier--it was a 20 minute walk from my apartment building, and everyone was extremely welcoming.  I played with two autistic boys who were extremely sweet and enjoyed simply exploring the gym.  After volunteering with them for a full 3 hours, I was tired out!! 

Also, by a stroke of good luck I discovered a local community lacrosse team that was playing outside the Greater D.C. Cares volunteer location.  After talking to the head of the program, I suddenly became an assistant coach for a 7th and 8th grade team.  So now my schedule is even more complicated since the last blog entry I wrote because Friday evenings I have lacrosse practice and Sunday afternoons I have games.  But I could not be any more excited about this opportunity!

So, beyond all the parts of TWC program that keep me busy, I am still finding time to explore the city.  This weekend was the Smithsonian’s Kite Festival.  And that is exactly what it sounds like--a bunch of kites flying around in the air for hours.  This took place on the mall around the Washington Monument, so I went into the city on Saturday with my co-worker, Christine, to fly some kites and watch some of the shows. 

As part of the day, they had kite flying competitions that were judged based off of crowd response.  I never knew that people could have such control over kites.  Personally, my favorite activity was watching the public’s individual kites.  There were the traditional kite-shaped kites, but there were also turtles, elephants, Barbies, planes, ships, and more!  Very cool:

A view of the location- with all the kites in the air!

Another view of the kites

Our Kite!

 One of the coolest kites there (with the cherry blossoms in the background)

As another completely random yet very cool event, I went to the Supreme Court on Monday morning.  This might have been the coolest experience I have had in D.C.  Almost makes me want to be a lawyer (but don’t worry Dad, it's not going to happen)!!!  I had received a pass through Justice Thomas’ chambers through my interviewee, and so I got a seat on the floor of the courtroom. 

The nutshell of the events:  the first five seconds were action packed--someone banged the gavel, the people (including myself) literally jumped to our feet, the curtains folded backwards and the justices all flowed in and took their seats.  All within the first 5 seconds (and I swear I am not exaggerating).  And the way that the justices entered was almost like a scene from Harry Potter--robes flowing behind them as they seemed to just apparate into the room.  Then about 10 people were sworn into the bar for the Supreme Court.  Then the arguments started. 

For the record, I have no idea why anyone would want to plead a case in front of these justices.  After the lawyer got as far as possible through his initial arguments, the justices proceed to interrupt and ask questions for the next 25 minutes.  I almost felt badly for the lawyers, but to me it was like watching some sort of tennis match, so I was well amused.

I listened to two oral arguments, and then the justices exited the exact same way they came--within 5 seconds of flowing robes. 

So sorry for the disjointed thoughts in the blog.  But as always…

Que Sera Sera.

For me, D.C. is the city that never sleeps. 

Along with writing this blog and participating in my internship, The Washington Center keeps me plenty busy.  Since I have not explained many of the specifics of the program, this post explains more specifically the logistics of what the program entails.

As part of TWC program, we have Monday programming in the afternoons. This is where we will listen to a variety of lectures given by businessmen/politicians in D.C.  We usually meet in different parts of the city in different buildings.  For example, this past Monday we listened to James Steinberg, the Deputy Secretary of State at the Department of the Interior.  After giving the lecture on the topic du jour, the speaker generously takes questions from the students. 
 
Words of Wisdom for participating in Monday programming: Listen carefully because the speakers are usually very important people with a variety of experiences.  And also breathe deeply when your long-winded peers stand up to ask a question.  Remember that they deserve some respect for standing up in front of a microphone and asking a question in front of a few hundred people...regardless of how long it takes them to ask it.

Also, as part of TWC program the students turn in a portfolio that includes various assignments to be completed throughout the semester.  For example, we have an “Individual Development Plan” that outlines our life goals and our goals for our time here.  Similarly, we write an updated resume and cover letter for future use which is reviewed by our advisors at The Washington Center.  Also as part of this portfolio, we include a summary of an informational interview with someone from D.C. who is of interest.  The person I interviewed (who will remain nameless for the sake of privacy) gave me some great life advice over lunch, and he was even so kind as to get me a ticket to see the Supreme Court in action on March 29.

Words of Wisdom: This entire portfolio is what you make of it.  So it is probably easy to slack off and make up goals for the Individual Development Plan and to interview the guy on the Metro just because he is sitting next to you.  But it is equally easy to approach the portfolio with the attitude that you can use the assignments to sort through what career path truly interests you.   

In addition to these aspects of the program, academic courses are offered through TWC as well.  Wake requires that its students take one evening course, so mine is on Tuesdays from 6-9 p.m.  TWC offers a variety of courses, and the courses here are often taught by professionals in their fields who can give great insights to the students.  I am taking “Peaceful Solutions” with Colman McCarthy, a former writer for the Washington Post.  The class itself is not extremely rigorous (which I appreciate given the amount of time that my internship takes up), but the perspectives in the class are widely varying and different from any perspectives that I would get at WFU. 

Words of Wisdom: Pick a topic that interests you, and then your course session will be some of the best 3 hours of your week. 

For all you Wake Forest students reading this, we also are required to do an independent study/directed reading with a WFU professor.  This can be anything you want it to be--I’m doing a study on the separation of church and state and I’m communicating via email with my professor.  I am writing 3 papers and I am writing weekly reflections on readings.  Also, I am going to lectures that are related to my topic and writing a summary of the event as a "participation" aspect of the directed reading. 

My Words of Wisdom to the Wake kids: pick a professor who understands that this independent study is not your primary focus of your time in D.C.  Luckily the professor who is working with me is very understanding of the program and has been very flexible with me, and I really do not know what I would do if I needed to spend extended periods of time on this independent study.

Well, that’s the program in a nutshell.  My next blog will be back to more details on my adventures.  Until then, I’ll be staying very, very busy.  But as my mom says, a busy girl’s a happy girl!

So sorry to those of you who are reading my blog expecting to hear of more of my experiences in D.C., but I wanted to make sure to discuss the nitpicky details of TWC program. 

Que Sera Sera. 

Did you watch CNN this weekend?  If so, then you probably saw me on TV.

I was the little speck in the brown sweater at Obama's health care speech at George Mason University last Thursday.  So maybe you didn't see me per se, but I was there!!! 

Obviously politics is just humming with talks about the new health care bill.  I'm getting emails from senators and congressmen telling me to either help or hinder this bill.  The Express newspaper that is free to the public at the Metro stops has headline after headline about the bill.  And my supervisor got an email inviting him to the speech that Obama was giving for one last push on the bill.

I will not disclose my political views, but regardless of if I am or am not in favor of the bill, the atmosphere in the GMU basketball arena was very cool.  The line to get into the building was 4 blocks long, and although I didn't wait in the line, I quickly realized that there was not a bad seat in the house.  Along the giant line, people with signs and coordinating tee-shirts protested the health care bill.  But for the most part, everyone was very respectful to Obama during his speech.

A view of Obama and the crowd

I sat, as you can tell from the pictures, not too far up and to the back right of Obama.  He waved in my direction a few times. 

Close up on my angle of watching Obama’s speech

It is only appropriate that if I spend 3 months in the nation's capital that I see the President of the United States!

On Friday my office had yet another event with the Francophonie festival.  This time it was a discotheque.  It took place in the National Postal Museum which was really cool to see the museum morph into a club at night.  So we had the DJ “make the girl dance” come from Paris to perform for everyone. 

A view of the stage with the DJs

The exhibits inside the museum were still open despite the fact that the place had turned into a giant dance party.  Because we are too nerdy to pass up a quick tour of the free museum, Anne and I took a look around the exhibits.  Seeing the progress of the mail service over time is surprisingly impressive.  Although maybe it was just seeing it with the techno beats of the DJ that made it especially unique. 

So all in all, a very eventful two days.  Who knows what's in stock for the future!  Its cheesy, but its true.

Que Sera Sera.

D.C. is a cultural hub.  Look beyond the fact that I’m living with two girls from around the world.  Or that the morning Metro ride is full of physically diverse people.   Look, for example, at the involvement in the city to celebrate Saint Patrick’s holiday.

Previous to this weekend, this is what I thought of when I heard the word bagpipes:

But after the St. Patty’s Day events going on throughout the city, let’s just say that  my knowledge and taste have become more refined. 

Sunday, March 14 kicked off the celebration. Constitution Avenue from 7th street to 17th street was lined with Irish and American flags.  And for three hours military men, police officials, bands (military, bagpipers, students, etc), floats, Irish and step dancers lined the streets. 

Because a picture is worth a thousand words, here are photos from the event:

Obviously this is the Irish flag- these were on all the light posts

The grand marshal maybe? 

One of the floats all decked out in green

The band made up of members of different branches of the military

I don’t really know why these were in the parade but I WANT ONE

Aren’t bagpipes technically Scottish?

Anne and I with the parade behind us

(Please note our amazing headgear!!!!!!)

Then St. Patty’s Day finally arrived.  March 17.  The morning Metro was a sea of green.  The security guard greeted me with “top o' the morning.”  And I avoided getting pinched all day. 

The coolest part of the day had to be the bagpipes that played at 4:30 pm.  Apparently there someone who is so passionate about St. Patrick’s Day that they arrange for a bagpipe to be played over McPherson Square for about a half hour every March 17.


And then of course there is the usual rowdiness at the bars in the evening.  Every bar that I know of had some sort of special on drinks for the evening.  From the stories I have heard I can safely say that bars and restaurants from Woodley Park to King Street were filled to the brim with people dressed in green to celebrate.  That is obviously not unique to DC, but it still made for quite an affair.

I can’t wait until the next parade and cultural celebration.  And with the Cherry Blossom Festival coming soon, I won’t have to wait long!

Que Sera Sera.

News Flash: D.C is about to mildew.

But all the rain (and I mean ALL the rain) has not stopped me from exploring the city.  My mom and Aunt came in town so we made a point of ignoring the rising river and constant mist to see the sights. 

While I was at work they explored sights such as the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, the many national monuments on the mall, and the Newseum.  I was able meet up with them during lunch on Thursday so we walked to the Lafayette Plaza and took the ever-necessary White House picture.  This was pre-rain.

My mom and I taking the ultimate touristy picture.  Done and done. 

And then the rain started.  But regardless, on Saturday we still visited all the necessary sights.  First we went to the American History Museum, which was definitely worth our time.  We spend the morning going from display to display.  We saw Michelle Obama’s inauguration ball gown (among other first ladies’ gowns), a hand stitched gigantic American flag, Julia Child’s kitchen, and more.  By lunch I had hit my museum limit and I was overwhelmed with information. 

Mom and I in front of the American History Museum.  Doesn’t look like much on the outside, but it’s cool inside!

Since it was still raining, we decided to go to the National Geographic Museum next since we wanted to stay inside.  Anne joined us for this museum and we all eagerly waited for the Terra Cotta Warriors.  Unfortunately, however, all the tickets are sold out for the Terra Cotta Warriors, but their public museum was AMAZING.  The gallery lined with photograph after photograph of water themed scenes was nothing short of stunning.  I’m pretty sure that Anne and I are going to run away and become National Geographic photographers--sorry to both of our families in advance.  But in all seriousness, this was easily the best museum I’ve visited thus far in D.C.

And despite the fact that the rain was becoming steadier, we visited the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.  Be forewarned, it was a hike.  And the rain made it even longer.  With raincoats on and umbrellas up, we walked along the Tidal Basin and made it to the monument.  This monument is one of my favorite places so far, and honestly I cannot really explain why--there was just an air about the place that I really liked.  And I know once the cherry blossoms come out it will be gorgeous. 

So here are a series of pictures from our soggy weekend:

My Aunt and I in front of the Washington Monument

Anne and I showing off Thomas Jefferson

Mom, Aunt Barbara, and I in front of Jefferson

And although my Aunt and Mom had to leave on Sunday, the rain continued for another two days. 

Too bad it wasn’t raining men.  If only.  Alleluia. 
 

Que Sera Sera.

With all the walking and moving around the city, it’s hard to gain weight here in D.C.  But somehow I feel like I gained close to 5 pounds this weekend.

Note:  I, by the way, and not a food critic, do not pretend to be a food critic, and therefore I do not pretend to write like one.  Keep that in mind as you read my ramblings on the deliciousness of my weekend. 

First off, Georgetown Cupcakes are absolutely heavenly.  By far the best cupcakes I’ve had in my life.  And although it sounds like I’m exaggerating, I swear that I’m not.  The icing is creamy, and it complements the cake part of the cupcake wonderfully.  It is inexplicably thick yet light.  There are so many different flavors and variations of cupcakes that there is something for everyone.  Personally, I chose the vanilla iced chocolate cupcake. I would have taken a picture of it in the giant box of cup cakes, but unfortunately I ate it too fast.  No joke.  So here is a picture of Anne’s cupcake and the cute box it came in:

She had a chocolate cupcake with chocolate icing and chocolate sprinkles.  Yummmm.

Check out this website to vicariously indulge: http://georgetowncupcake.com/

My second delicious dining experience of the weekend took place Sunday morning at Martin’s Tavern. Located on the streets of Georgetown, this place holds both history and great food. 

My cousin, Leigh, lives directly south of the city by Old Town Alexandria, but she loves to frequent this restaurant for their fun brunches.  Because her brother/my cousin, Will, was visiting D.C. this weekend, we all decided to meet up.  Martin’s was the perfect place for this. 

Upon arriving in the busy restaurant Leigh pointed out the booth where John F. Kennedy proposed to Jackie Kennedy.  How romantic!  This restaurant is clearly well known and popular, but each time we have met for brunch the tables open up quickly.  The small dining room is cozy, yet comfortable.  And their brunch food is quite good, but then again its hard to go wrong with French toast, pancakes, or omelets. 

Here is a view from our booth of the restaurant. 

 
Finally, my last eating experience of the weekend was Sunday night dinner.  My apartment tries to have dinner together on Sunday night.  This is usually pasta night (Eun-Hye has never needed to cook in the past so we are teaching her the “art” of boiling pasta), but recently we had a new addition to our apartment.  Raquel is our newest apartment-mate who showed up about a month later than us and will leave about a month later than us.  She is on a slightly different program than the rest of us, but she is still here on The Washington Center program. 

Raquel is from Vera Cruz, Mexico and does not speak or understand English--this makes it a bit challenging for me (since I can only speak English and French) and Eun-Hye (who can only speak English and Korean).  But luckily Anne saves the day since she can speak Spanish!  So with a lot of smiling and charades, we explained our Sunday evening apartment dinner tradition to Raquel.  She wanted to take part and to share some of her culture with us.

This Sunday, Raquel made tacos.  They were easily the spiciest tacos I’ve ever eaten.  My throat was sweating, Eun-Hye’s mouth was on fire, and Anne’s nose started to run.  And Raquel didn’t even think that was spicy!  Mental note not to ever eat anything that she considers spicy.  But the food was delicious, and despite the perspiration I ate every single bite. 

Our Sunday evening dinner! (from left to right--Raquel, Anne, Eun-Hye)

The desert Raquel and Anne made--chocolate cupcakes with cranberries and chocolate chips.  almost as good as Georgetown Cupcakes.

So thus I ate my way through the weekend. 

Que Sera Sera.

I know we are well into Lent and that Mardi Gras already seems a distant ways away as our Lenten promises quickly start to fail, but the theme of my week was nothing short of LAISSEZ LES BON TEMPS ROULER!!!

Throughout the month of March and into early April my office is helping to run the Francophonie Cultural Festival of 2010. This is where different French-speaking nations come together and celebrate their different cultures. And since this is the first week of March, that means that it was the first week of the Francophonie Festival!

Monday night was a grand affair--it was a reception for the different members of the francophone nations. So I met the ambassador of Haiti and Canada, and although others were present I merely saw them from afar. Needless to say, I--the intern--was the lowliest person in the room. The event took place in the Willard InterContinental Hotel in a HUGE room with marble and plush carpet. Delicious spreads of food as well as different drinks were scattered throughout the room. The entire evening was about 80% in French and 20% in English. It was quite the affair.

As well as the mingling and socializing and handshaking, speeches were given and awards were handed out. Like I said, quite the affair. And to top it off, just as I discovered the chocolate covered strawberries, a group of 4 boys started to frap. Nope, that wasn't a typo, frap is French rap. Now, while I can understand French, I can honestly say that I cannot understand a single word of frap. But the experience of hearing them and watching those at the reception bobbing their heads in approval to the beat of the song was entertaining enough.

Then Wednesday evening my office helped participate in yet another event. This event was the collaboration of the New York State Society, the Canadian Embassy, and the Quebec Government Office (my office). This event took place in the Canadian Embassy and was formatted similar to Monday evening. There was delicious spread of food, wine/soft drinks, and speeches. Congressmen from the State of New York, members of the Embassy of Canada, and the members of the Office of Quebec were present to celebrate the continuing partnership between Canada and New York. The only difference in the evening was that this event was 80% in English and 20% in French. Overall, it was quite a fancy event.

And finally, the week was concluded with the Grande Fete de la Francophonie. About 35 different French speaking nations lined tables around three huge rooms in the French embassy and handed out food and drink native to their nation. So I was pouring one of three different beers, some sort of maple sugar whisky, cheese, and meat--all of which came from Quebec. The number of people that came to this event is inexplicable. The rooms were totally and completely packed, and the it was a busy evening.

My supervisor and I wait behind our table for the Grande Fete to start! 

So all in all, that was the social part of my week. I can safely say that there never seems to be a down moment in D.C. And with the Cherry Blossom Festival around the corner, the city is only going to get busier!

Que Sera Sera.

I failed at being a spy. No seriously, I actually failed. Wake Forest would not be proud of me.

This past weekend, a few of my friends and I decided to check out the International Spy Museum over on the Chinatown Metro stop. Although the tickets were pricey (18 bucks!!!!), the museum is well worth the price. Upon entering the museum we had to assume a given identity- I was Greta Something from some part of Germany who was traveling to London on some sort of business. And now you see why I failed at being a spy, because I simply couldn’t even remember my cover story.

Anyways, as we continued through the museum with our individual undercover spy names, we saw room after room of spy gadgets. Even James Bond would be impressed with this museum. There were shoes with knives in the heel, microdots to transmit messages, wigs of different colors, cars with stowaway seats, and more! Propaganda lined the hallways about how “the walls have ears” and “silence keeps secrets.” To a certain extent, the museum was a sensory overload.

After spending about 2 hours inside I of course wanted to become a spy (just as how I always want to be a fighter pilot at the end of Top Gun). Unfortunately, we have to test our identities before leaving the museum, and I failed. It was a epic fail. The computer asked me who I was and to define my mission and all I could remember is that I was Greta and that I was 33 years old. Alot of good that did, so the computer told me that because I failed my mission I was tortured and killed. Oh joy.

On a different note, Wake Forest would have been proud of me for my nerdy adventure this weekend. Anne and I were interested in visiting the National Archives, and since this museum is a government related building it was free which made my wallet happy.

Picture courtesy of archives.gov

There, located in one extremely dark rotunda (kept dark to protect the documents) were the Magna Carta, Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. The documents themselves were only moderately legible given the amount of abuse they had taken over the years, but they were still impressive. It was weird to think that those were the very documents that the founding fathers signed! Like I said, it was a nerdy adventure.

To add to our busy weekend, Anne and I also went to the Vagina Monologues at UMD College Park with my coworker, Christine, and a friend of hers. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to the Vagina Monologues, but it might be worth going if not just for the overwhelming experience of hearing women talk about usually unapproachable topics. If anything, I got the opportunity to see yet another ACC school. Their facilities were nice and the redbrick and columns around the campus had a homey feel to it. My only critique concerns their mascot.

I mean, really, who can actually fear a Turtle?

Que Sera Sera.