More fun!

Hello from very chilly DC!

This past week has been a whirlwind of amazing experiences. Work continues to be very busy, but that is the way I like it. We are still in the process of endorsing women candidates which creates a lot of work for me, but my day goes by so quickly. Classes last week were also fantastic. Thursday night I went to a reception for a newly elected Congresswoman. I met a lot of fantastic people and had great food! After leaving the reception, we had tickets to the theatre. We saw a play entitled "Time Stands Still." It was a heart-wrenching drama, but I sincerely enjoyed it. We are so fortunate to have the opportunity to see such wonderful works of art...for free!

The weekend was probably my favorite weekend thus far. Friday evening we had a housemate dinner then ventured to the pub next door. Union Pub has grown to become one of our very favorite places in the city. :) Saturday, my housemate, Tricia, and I spent Saturday at the Newseum. There was so much information, we couldn't possibly tackle in one day! It also snowed on Saturday which is always a treat...sortof. We were exhausted by Saturday evening, but didn't want to miss an opportunity to explore the city! We ventured to 18th Street Lounge. A lounge only known by locals (my boss let me in on this well-kept secret). They don't advertise and there is no sign on the door, or anywhere for that matter. What an incredible spot! We will definitely visit again soon!

Sunday was spent writing a paper for class and preparing for another work week!

Yesterday (Monday) and today were so exciting at the office. NWPC president, Linda Young, was in town. She is a 5'0 southern firecracker of a woman. Loved her! She let me spend the day with her...traveling around the city, shaking important hands, eating nice lunches. It was an INCREDIBLE experience.

The rest of the week should be sufficiently exhausting! Can't wait for the weekend, but time is passing so quickly this semester...maybe I want the weeks to slow down!

Love across the miles! :)

Catching Up!

Wow!! Please forgive me for not staying up to date on this blog. It has been two weeks since my last blog, but it feels like it has maybe been two days!

So let's go back to the week of the 23rd. This was the week we started classes. That really changed all of our schedules. We have class twice a week most weeks and three times every other week. On Tuesday we started our "Debating Washington Issues." The class is taught by two lawyers that went to Yale. They are actually married and are an awesome DC power couple. Of course, I LOVE learning from them and am really enjoying the class. After class that Tuesday, we had a SOTU party at the house. It was such a unique experience to watch the SOTU in the house. There were 15 people with 15 very different but educated opinions. It was a great experience! The rest of the week was a typical work week with our theatre class on Thursday. Some of the the theatre classes will be actual classes while some will actually be at the theatre. Although this isn't an area I thought I was interested in, the class really drew me in!

Once it was finally Friday our roommates planned a fun filled weekend. We spent the days relaxing, finding great brunch spots, and hanging out together. We spent the nights exploring new spots in the DC area. This town is certainly never boring!!!

This past week was incredibly exciting! My job never ceases to be exciting and fulfilling. I am so blessed to have a boss that has taken a personal interest in me. She shows me great places in the city and makes the office environment so enjoyable. I have gotten to meet some AMAZING women! It is so nice to be around super intelligent, highly motivated women all day! They also take me to lots of lunch meetings...which is a major plus! :)

My Tuesday class was very interesting. We spent our class talking about public speaking and oral advocacy, certainly a skill that we aspiring politicians can use! Thursday's class was SO much fun! As our "assignment" we went to see Hairspray! The performance was incredible and everyone had a blast. The play was in Arlington, VA so getting there was fun in itself. We metroed, cabbed, bussed, and even got a little lost. We didn't get home until after midnight, so Friday was a drag at work. Below is a picture of our group at theatre!

This weekend my Maybre came to visit! It was the first time I'd seen her since I left and we had so much fun! She and my friend Pete came to spend some time with me here. They both loved the city! I wish the weekend would have never ended. I miss my Maybre WAY too much! Luckily, she is coming back in March! Below is a picture of us at a great spot in Chinatown called Clydes!

Today was a long day at work! I think I was still tired from the weekend, but because I love my boss/job/office, I made it through just fine!!!

I promise not to let it be 2 more weeks before I blog again!

All my love!

My First Weekend of Flurries!

Hi again!

Friday was a great day at work! My boss was actually out of the office all day, so I held the fort down like the young professional I am trying to be! :)

I was EXHAUSTED after a week of work, but the housemates had made big plans for the weekend! We spent Friday night at Dupont Circle at one of my favorites spots-Mad Hatter! To make the night even more memorable it was snowing! I've never been out and about during the snow and it was quite an experience! Only one housemate took a tumble due to the

weather and it wasn't me! I was SO proud of myself! Below is me just hanging out in the snow-like a champ!

It pretty much flurried all weekend, and I loved it. The stairs in front of my house are quite the challenge and it takes me a good five minutes to get down all four of them. :)

Saturday morning, one of my housemates and I went to brunch at a great little spot called Beach Bar and Grill. They had a delicious brunch buffet!

On Saturday afternoon, a CofC friend came to visit. He was in his hometown of Richmond before he departs on his semester adventure to Amsterdam! We bundled up and explored the city, once again in the snow! The things I get to see on a daily basis are postcard worthy! This city looks just beautiful dusted in snow!

Saturday night we spent a bit more time celebrating the birthday of one of the housemates. We had a blast!

Sunday we cleaned up the house--it doesn't take too long to make a disaster of this place with 15 of us here. I did my laundry, cleaned my room, and prepared for the week.

It is an exciting week here in the house! We start class this week. Tuesday nights are "Debating Issues in Washington" classes while Thursdays are "Theatre in Washington, DC." We are all hardly adjusted to the 9-5 day schedule so it will certainly be interested to add a 7-9pm commitment on top of that! I think we are all excited though!

Tomorrow is the State of the Union address. We are having pizza and watching it all together. A presidential party if you will!

We have an assignment due on Friday so I am off to do that! Love and miss you all!

3 days in....

Hi again everybody!

I feel like so much has happened since Tuesday morning! My first few days of work have been incredible! This is my first experience at a 9-5 desk job, so it is certainly different than what I am used to, but I find myself smiling all during the day.

Though I can't share specific details of my job, I can tell you a bit about my internship. I get to spend the first hour of my day drinking coffee and catching up on the news of the morning and the evening before. My supervisor stresses the importance of being up to date on all news since I am working in a climate that is politics, politics, politics! I love this part of my day! It is a nice transition from sleepy morning metro rides to the hype of the work day!

Other than that, I spend my days putting together newsletters and email blasts to go out to members of NWPC. I even got to write my own "Intern Spotlight" for my upcoming feature in the newsletter! :)

My main duty for now is to identify women running for office in 2012, contact their campaigns, and get them the appropriate materials for potential NWPC endorsement! I keep a running list of our currently endorsed candidates and track their campaigns!

Alongside of that, I do basic secretarial work, answering phones, taking messages, taking notes on conference calls, etc.

I LOVE MY JOB!

I have nothing else too exciting to share! I've been exhausted after getting home so I haven't done too much else.

Last night was a meet and greet with Washington Semester Program Alum. They say that a large percentage of students that come through this program end up back in DC. A few of the alum were lawyers, a few were staffers on the Hill, and a few worked in careers completely separate from politics! It was so exciting to see where their careers headed after their semester in Washington! They all said it was their best semester and that it was a life-changing experience!

I've also started practicing yoga again with a few housemates! Its an amazing way to unwind after work and stretch after being in a chair all day!

I am SO excited for the weekend! I need to get my nails done, go grocery shopping, sleep, and have a bit of fun!

Goodnight everyone! Sleep sweet!

Early Morning

Good morning everyone!

This is an incredibly exciting for me and a few a of my housemates! It is our first day of work!

Just to catch you up-I spent my Sunday with a group of housemates that went to church together. We found an AMAZING church less than a mile from our house! It was so great to find fellowship right in my own house and neighborhood! Made me feel just right! Afterwards, our group had brunch and then ventured to explore Chinatown a little further.

Sunday night we decided to go out in celebration of one of the two days we have off this semester (MLK)! We spent a bit of time in Dupont Circle when I became tired, and some of us came home! Little did I know, I was missing the real fun at the house! It was a late night so I needed to catch up on sleep!

I got much needed sleep on Monday until about 11am. Our house had tickets to the Wizards (NBA) game at 2pm so I got up, made myself lunch, and prepared to watch the game. I know the Wizards are certainly not the most stellar team in the NBA, but it was a great way to enjoy the city together.

The latter part of my Monday was spent wandering around Georgetown, and yes-we did stop by Georgetown Cupcake. There was about a 15 minute wait to get in the door, AND they had a bouncer outside to keep things under control. What an experience!!!! I had a mint chocolate cupcake that was nothing less than delectable.

I got into bed around 10pm last night to prepare for my early morning. In a house of 15-time and hot water is rather limited so I decided to take first shower at 6am. I'm off to get ready and make myself breakfast! I should be at the metro station by 8:30am so I need to get my day started!

I cannot wait to update the blog with details of my first day! I couldn't be more excited!

Have an incredible day everyone!

Tourist Action

So when I last left you, I was so exhausted from the day long scavenger hunt. I am now rested and recovered so I'll catch you all up on the last few days!

Good news-my team actually WON the scavenger hunt! We won Itunes giftcards, the exemption of one class assignment, and of course, bragging rights! :)

On Wednesday my housemates and I spent the day between touring Library of Congress and the Holocaust Museum. The Library of Congress was absolutely stunning! We saw things like a Guttenburg Bible, the contents of Lincoln's pockets the night he was assassinated, and the remaining books from Thomas Jefferson's library.

The Holocaust Museum was one of the most interesting experiences I have ever encountered. In what seemed just like a few minutes we walked through the museum. After 4 hours in the musuem, we were all emotionally exhausted. I would venture to say this is one of DC's finest museums and a must-experience when you are in the area.

That evening we had an intern reception hosted by our housing company. Putting over 100 interns in the same place was a bonding experience for us all!

The next morning we went as a group to the Smithsonian American History Museum. We met with one of the head curators that gave us some behind the scenes information of the museums. Certainly a perspective I had never considered, but it made me view museum exhibitions a bit differently.

Friday was the first day of work for most of the people in the house. My first day of work is Tuesday the 17th so I used my Friday for R&R (as if I hadn't had enough already) and a bit of exploring! I walked to my work and explored the area a little further. Friday night was my frist real night out in DC! It was fun to say the least! The nightlife here goes later than what I am used to which caused me to be super tired all day today!

Off to watch more football with the housemates.

Enjoy your Saturday evening!

Phew!

Hello!

I am EXHAUSTED to say the least. Today, as a part of orientation, we had a day-long scavenger hunt ALL OVER the DC area! Beginning this morning, myself and two guys from my program, strategized a plan and set out on our adventure. Some highlights from the day are below:

-The Kennedy Center-at the Foggy Bottom metro stop we took a shuttle to the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. The venue was absolutely beautiful. The bust of JFK was a bronze sculpture that was truly overwhelming! Also, there was a roof terrace that was breathtaking. The view of Georgetown from the terrace was probably my favorite of the day.

-We also visited Ford Theater (site of Lincoln's Assassination). Though this was never a place that I had thought about visiting, it was an eerily exciting feeling to be there. This once again reminded me of what a politically charged city that I am living in!

-Embassies of Greece, Cameroon, and Japan were also on the scavenger hunt. The row of embassy after embassy made me think of how important DC is internationally. I live in the capitol of the entire country-WOAH! On our mission to find the embassies, we ran into a statue of Ghandi which was also a highlight! :)

-We ventured through Chinatown, found Mama Ayesha's famous mid-eastern restaurant, strolled through the Church of the Presidents (St. John's Episcopal), sat on the lap of Albert Einstein, visited Monica Lewinsky's favorite bookstore (Kramerbooks & Afterwords), stood on the steps of The Real World DC House (no, not the house that I live in) and so much more!

Even though I feel like I just ran a marathon, I certainly learned lessons!

-Escalator etiquette is crucial-you will get shoved and probably cursed at!

-The metro just takes practice, but carry hand sanitizer!

-DC WALKS, and they walk FAST! This city is constantly moving!

-Happy Hour starts at 3:30 here.

-Google can help you with almost anything!

-Being in a state beyond the point of exhaustion is certainly a bonding experience!

-I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this city!!!!

I am currently in a room not much larger than my bedroom watching "Storage Wars" with my fellow interns...so I will say goodnight for now! Enjoy the pictures!