It's been a while (to say the least), so an update if you will. First, I must warn you that this post will be blissfully and wonderfully unedited, unrevised, and at times grammatically incorrect as I am on my one-year sabbatical from academic writing :o)
I feel like I'm finally settled into DC, my job, and life enough to move out "on my own!" I spent a good chunk of the summer traveling back to Iowa for both planned and unplanned trips surrounding weddings, funerals, birthdays, and the State Fair, and on the weekends I didn't fly west, I'd tour the East Coast (NYC, Philly) or host visitors in DC or find a new mountain to hike or river to raft - I absolutely loved it all! BUT now that's it's fall, I'm feeling less like a tourist and more like a real person who gets exhausted trying to see all the sites all the time! I've been living with a relative in Montgomery Co, MD, who is absolutely wonderful - I couldn't have asked for a better housemate and feel very comfortable here, but the commute is wearing on me (it takes less time to drive from Ames to Des Moines, than it does to get from my house to my office no matter whether I drive, bus, or metro, even though it's only half the distance), so as of yesterday I found an apartment in a rowhouse on the Hill and I'm excited to sign the lease (mainly because it's month to month, so still manageable with my uncertain plans). It's also the same neighborhood as a number of my friend and coworkers, which will make me feel more like I live in a community and not another state (to be fair, at the moment, I do).
I attended a regional conference on International Education in Richmond, VA, last weekend. I really enjoyed learning more about the field and found that I was most drawn to the sessions regarding advising students in an on-campus setting (no surprise there - I really enjoyed working in the Study Abroad Center last year and doing the peer advising). I feel like my knowledge of Iowa State - the academic process, the people, the locations abroad - would enable me to be quite effective if I worked at ISU right now, certainly a lot more effective than I am here in this position in DC, but I am very happy here. It was strange to attend a conference and 1) simply attend without being in charge of anything (I liked being "in the know" at World Food Prize and Lectures) and 2) not know anyone or have any network established yet - rest assured that I'm fixing that!
All in all, life is good. I'm trying to take full advantage of the city's offerings while I can - from theater events to museum exhibits to the night class I took for the past two months on Catholic Social Teaching and Immigration Policy taught by a Georgetown professor. I think my next agenda item will be to join Young Professionals in Foreign Policy. Stay posted...and for more regular communication, email is best!
Showing posts with label DC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DC. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
DC Living
Today marks one month since I moved to DC for the summer and I am happy to report that my job is going well and the city is a blast. I am very appreciative of public transportation as the gas prices keep rising. Other people are too I think because the metro keeps getting more and more crowded - I watched 3 trains go by before I managed to sneak on to one this morning to get to work.
I live in a great location so the commute isn't bad. I walk about a mile to the metro station (or take the bus if I'm late - which actually doesn't happen very often, surprisingly enough) and then ride the Red Line to Union Station and walk a few more blocks to get to work. I'm actually on Capitol Hill and work just about 10 blocks from the Capitol. I spend most days staring at a computer screen, but have gotten out to lobby twice. So far I've been working a lot with the press (we had two press conferences this month!) and also on creating a record of how Senators have voted on torture-related issues. That should be up on the website in the next couple of days (www.nrcatactionfund.org). I get to do fun public policy things like that because that's campaign work which comes from a separate pool of funding (not tax deductible) and we don't have enough to pay any other member of the staff to do it :) It's a small office so we're always busy which can get hectic, but keeps things exciting.
As for when I'm not at work, I have had a great time getting out and seeing the city. There's always something going on. I took a sight-seeing tour by bus when I first arrived and visited the National Cathedral, the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, the WWII Memorial and the Korean and Vietnam Memorials. I have also been to the National Gallery, the American Indian Museum, the International Spy Museum and the Newseum (a museum about the press). My favorite thing in any of the museums by far was the photo display in the Newseum of every Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph - they were breathtaking.
My aunt and uncle (who I live with) have been very hospitable - sending me to the ballet and the military tattoo (where the navy comes and does their fancy marching and gun-twirling) at the Iwo Jima memorial among other places. Living with 7 dogs and a cat is a little different than two cats (that's right, there are 7: one German Shepard, one St. Bernard, two labs, a bulldog, a pomeranian, and one other one that howls). I have now successfully made one trip from my room on the 3rd floor out the door on the first floor without causing a bark or a howl (once one starts, they all do!) so I am hopeful that this will happen with slightly more frequency in the coming month. On the plus side, I never need to announce my own presence when entering the house because the dogs take care this for me.
I've had a few visitors too which has been nice. Ramya and Rani came out for her Odyssey of the Mind National Competition and I joined the group of elementary schoolers and parents on a night tour of the city which was beautiful. It was quite the journey given the shoes I was wearing (wedges are supposed to be much more comfortable than that!) Amy's mom Kathy has also been out to visit for National History Day and we enjoyed a nice meal together as well - and she convinced me to buy a great new dress! And while Katharina was in town, we visited Alexandria and enjoyed a Red Cross Festival that was going on.
One month to go!
I live in a great location so the commute isn't bad. I walk about a mile to the metro station (or take the bus if I'm late - which actually doesn't happen very often, surprisingly enough) and then ride the Red Line to Union Station and walk a few more blocks to get to work. I'm actually on Capitol Hill and work just about 10 blocks from the Capitol. I spend most days staring at a computer screen, but have gotten out to lobby twice. So far I've been working a lot with the press (we had two press conferences this month!) and also on creating a record of how Senators have voted on torture-related issues. That should be up on the website in the next couple of days (www.nrcatactionfund.org). I get to do fun public policy things like that because that's campaign work which comes from a separate pool of funding (not tax deductible) and we don't have enough to pay any other member of the staff to do it :) It's a small office so we're always busy which can get hectic, but keeps things exciting.
As for when I'm not at work, I have had a great time getting out and seeing the city. There's always something going on. I took a sight-seeing tour by bus when I first arrived and visited the National Cathedral, the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, the WWII Memorial and the Korean and Vietnam Memorials. I have also been to the National Gallery, the American Indian Museum, the International Spy Museum and the Newseum (a museum about the press). My favorite thing in any of the museums by far was the photo display in the Newseum of every Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph - they were breathtaking.
My aunt and uncle (who I live with) have been very hospitable - sending me to the ballet and the military tattoo (where the navy comes and does their fancy marching and gun-twirling) at the Iwo Jima memorial among other places. Living with 7 dogs and a cat is a little different than two cats (that's right, there are 7: one German Shepard, one St. Bernard, two labs, a bulldog, a pomeranian, and one other one that howls). I have now successfully made one trip from my room on the 3rd floor out the door on the first floor without causing a bark or a howl (once one starts, they all do!) so I am hopeful that this will happen with slightly more frequency in the coming month. On the plus side, I never need to announce my own presence when entering the house because the dogs take care this for me.
I've had a few visitors too which has been nice. Ramya and Rani came out for her Odyssey of the Mind National Competition and I joined the group of elementary schoolers and parents on a night tour of the city which was beautiful. It was quite the journey given the shoes I was wearing (wedges are supposed to be much more comfortable than that!) Amy's mom Kathy has also been out to visit for National History Day and we enjoyed a nice meal together as well - and she convinced me to buy a great new dress! And while Katharina was in town, we visited Alexandria and enjoyed a Red Cross Festival that was going on.
One month to go!
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