Boiling Water

Alt. Title: My First Weekend as an Intern in Washington D.C.

Washington is hot. It's wet. It's full of energy. It's like a pot of boiling water, itching to overflow and scald an unsuspecting student walking by...


Ah, who am I kidding??? I'm not serious and dark all the time.


Washing isn't scary and won't burn you (well, the sun might, but that's besides the point). It's full of energy and people, rich and poor, senator and student, he and/or she, and we're all just trying to make it. To the big time, to the next meal, or through finals. It's a cacophony of wildly different ideals and goals intertwined with each other in a web of red string. It's chaos. It's harmony. It's... really, really, really weird.

But I like it.

Saturday, well, yesterday, I flew from Memphis to Atlanta to Washington D.C. and took a cab to my new dorm building. After unpacking and standing around for a bit, I set off to my first session and also to find food. Unsuccessful in the later and very nearly in the former, I sat my butt down in a seat of a crowded auditorium and tried my hardest to make at least one friend. I know from experience that when a group of strangers comes together they tend to stick to those they relate with or those they are comfortable with. I knew that if I didn't make friends early, I'd be unhappy, alone, and would hermit in my room because I don't like going out alone.

Thankfully for everyone, I was successful. Both friends (I count two so far) are in IEIA (institute on economics and int'l affairs) speak Chinese (limited proficiency all around) and are willingto go out and do stuff.

Sunday

This is a good thing, because the nearest Target is very far by metro, and the nearest supermarket is whole foods, which is very expensive, and seeing as I won a $25 Safeway Gift card for winning first place in icebreaker bingo (brought around by my deep, well-hidden love for bingo and ice breakers), I looked up the nearest Safeway.

It was one metro stop away. ONE. I could do it, right?

To make sure, I brought one of my friends.

It was, well, an experience.

But I got back with my totes and my Safeway membership card and had something to eat before trying and failing to get to another session on time (in my defense, I was given wrong directions), and running around for TWO HOURS playing scavenger hunt (see twitter handle @kenzietargaryen) I took a monuments tour. It was supposed to last from 7-9. At 8, the tour guide informed us that we would get off the bus and be walking for 45 to 60 minutes, and I couldn't do it. I just ran out of water. My head hurt, my feet hurt, I was cranky and tired and God knows what else-- that's when I realized something. Something convenient.

The Lincoln Memorial (where we were at) is connected by a straight line to my dorm. That line is a road. It was a ten minute walk. I know, because, with the permission and guidance of our PA (program advisor), we hitched it back to the apartment, just in time for me to miss Game of Thrones. Not a big deal. Overall, a great day. Everything is in walking distance, which just blows my mind. You can't really walk around like that in Memphis. There's no metro. City buses are, well, sketchy at best. It's amazing. It's amazing here.

Monday

Here starts my first week of DC. Monday is set aside for orientations, speaking stuff, info stuff, and then classes in the afternoon/evening. Then Tuesday, I start my internship. I'm very nervous and no matter how many times people tell me I'll do great, I won't feel better until it's actually happening and, no, this wasn't all some weird mistake!

Anyway, I think that's it for now. I'll be trying to update my blog more frequently to keep up with all the things that will inevitably happen. Pictures!