Where has the time gone?

I wasn't very good with updating this yet again. Ugh. Why Jen why?

What has happened since I last posted? Thanksgiving weekend was fun. My friend Adrienne flew over from Boston so that I wouldn't spend Thanksgiving alone. We were originally supposed to meet up in New York with several other girls from our high school but that plan fell through. In the end, she was gonna stay in Boston and I was gonna stay in DC. Until her dad was like, "Why don't you just fly to DC and spend Thanksgiving with Jen there?" So instead of the two of us spending Thanksgiving alone in two separate cities, we had a very nice Thanksgiving weekend just the two of us together! Adrienne is one of the bestest friends I have, she and I are practically sisters. And because this Winter Break won't have many opportunities for us to meet up back home, and because she is looking to spend some of her summer break in Boston for an internship, having a few days together was great.

She got here on Wednesday and I got off work early to pick her up from the airport that afternoon. Then we went to eat Ethiopian food (YES!) and got to eat with out hands and it was spicy and it was good. We were both really glad that we had each other that weekend. We went to a nice Thanksgiving brunch at the LPQ in Dupont Circle (Organic bread basket with their different fruit and chocolate spreads? Yum!) before heading to the National Zoo for the day. Sadly, they don't have giraffes, but we got to see the afternoon feeding of the Giant Panda which was great. That day was the coldest day that weekend. It was mostly in the low 30s and high 20s but the wind chills dipped to the teens. For Thanksgiving dinner, we had made reservations at PJ Clarke's, a classic American cuisine restaurant. We chose not to do the traditional Thanksgiving spread. Instead we got comfort foods--french onion soups, a huge tub of baked macaroni and cheese with bacon and peas, and these short rib spring rolls that had mashed potatoes, short ribs, and green onions inside and which we dipped into a horseradish sauce. And of course, we had pumpkin pie for dessert and some tea! It was a nice dinner and we both felt sad that we were 5,000 miles away from home and family but we were definitely both very thankful that we were together. 

The bad part was I woke up with a cold on Thursday, which meant I was sick for the weekend. Going out every day did not help at all. 

On Black Friday, we slept in and trekked over to Rosslyn, Virginia to visit an awesome pho place called Pho 75. It was heaven. Oh my god, and I thought Pho 14 in Columbia Heights was money! This was better. After the pho warmed us up and made me feel a bit better because of my cold, we walked across the Key Bridge over the Potomac River to go to Georgetown. Now, Georgetown is a shopping destination. It is very much like Waikiki strip, only older and with a different kind of charm. So, of course, M Street was packed with people. But we weren't there for the shopping. We were there for the cupcakes!

DC is one of the first cities that started the whole cupcake craze. In fact, Sprinkles Cupcakes on M Street is one of the very first cupcake bakeries that skyrockethed the whole thing. And right down the street is Georgetown Cupcakes, known for their show on TLC. There is another cupcake place in the area called Baked and Wired, known mostly for their granola/crunola concoction which they call "Hippie Crack." Anyway, we wanted to do the ultimate taste test and finally figure out which cupcake bakery was the best. We both have heard people say that it is Georgetown Cupcakes hands down, but some have pointed out that the mere size of Baked and Wired cupcakes make them more worth your money. And of course, there are people who stick to Sprinkles because they are the ones who started it all. We wanted to find out! Our plan was to visit each cupcake bakery and to order a red velvet cupcake from each, along with one of their seasonal special flavors. The red velvet would be able to tell us which one does cupcakes best--it is a classic, and plus, we were sure that all three would have that flavor. 

So we hit Georgetown Cupcakes first and as usual, the line was out the door, around the corner, and up the street. We were prepared though--we hit Starbucks in Rosslyn first to get some drinks that would warm us up as we stood in line in the cold. It was well worth the wait I think. The cupcakes were adorable. Our seasonal pick was the caramel apple, so we walked away with that and the red velvet cupcake in a cute little box.

Next stop? Sprinkles! It was not crowded at all. Like, at all. There was practically no one there. But that did not deter us. We ordered our staple red velvet and then chose the cranberry orange cupcake as our seasonal flavor. Sprinkles cupcakes are all topped with these circular decorations with colors that indicate the flavor of the cupcake. It was different from Georgetown's colorful and creative sprinkles, shapes, frosting, and more. But again, we knew it would all come down to the taste.

So we walked over down to Baked and Wired and got in line for our cupcakes. Baked and Wired didn't have a line out the door but that is because they have a bigger space than Georgetown. Past the first room where you can get your cupcakes and other goodies (they are not strictly cupcakes, they have cookies, biscottie, brownies, and their granola stuff as well), there is also a separate room for you to get coffee and another one with bookshelves, lounge chairs and an entire wall filled with written-on napkins. It was very cool. We got the red velvet of course, but their seasonal flavor was pumpkin. And because we had already gotten pumpkin pie the night before, we chose to get their german chocolate cupcake with coconut and pecan frosting instead.

By that time, it was already 5ish and we had to rush over to the metro station in Rosslyn to go to the Tree Lighting at Old Town Alexandria in Virginia. It was another cute and charming little town, and we would have liked to stroll down King Street during the day but it was all right. The Tree Lighting was at Market Square which was packed! There were so many kids with their parents. Onstage were a town choir and they led the crowd in singing carols. We watched the mayor interview Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus onstage and it was just adorable how the kids ate up all of their words. It was cute. And after, the big finale, Santa and the mayor lit up the tree! It was heartwarming and Aid and I were both thinking of the Honolulu City Lights and our own trees back home. Again, we felt that sadness that we weren't home but we also felt glad that we weren't alone. 

After the tree-lighting, we made our way to the very packed Starbucks on King Street and found a table. It was time for our taste test! Now, the size of the cupcakes were a notable thing. Baked and Wired cupcakes were by far the largest, they were bigger than my fists. And the Georgetown cupcake was the littlest one, it was so cute. We tasted each one, evaluating the richness of the cake and the taste of the cream cheese frostin on each one. We both agreed that the Georgetown cupcake was the best red velvet, though it was small and it disappeared quickly. Its cake was the richest and its frosting the lightest, really airy. Both the Sprinkles and B&W cakes were pretty rich but they also had a weird texture, possibly because of their size. They were good, but pretty dense. As for the frosting, I think Aid said she liked the Sprinkles frosting better than the B&W one, but I disagreed. The Sprinkles frosting to me was just too much, it was hard, and it overpowered the cake. 

As for the seasonal flavors? We didn't eat those until the day after, but hands down the German Chocolate from B&W was the best. Georgetown's caramel apple was delightful, it had bits of apple in the  cake and the buttercream frosting was drizzled with caramle. As for the Sprinkles cranberry orange, the cake was also good but the frosting was nothing special at all. The German chocolate one was our favorite by far, it was probs even better than Georgetown's red velvet!

Saturday was a lazy day. We woke up late then went over to Eastern Market. We shared a plate of crabcakes and deep fried oysters at Market Lunch, and walked around the farmers market and the flea market. They were selling Christmas trees and the smell of them made me think of how much I love the holidays. We bought and split a gigantic Asian pear and munched on that as we looked at the crafts and vegetables there. We also visited my favorite coffeeshop in that area, Peregrine Expresso, to grab warm drinks. We spent quite a bit of time exploring Capitol Hill Books with its crazy unorganized-but-really-very-organized stacks and shelves of books. Three levels of just books and books in every corner, every shelf, from floor to ceiling, covered in books and these clever labels that help people find books. It was great. There were even books in the bathroom! All the language books were in there. And we found a huge copy of the seventh Harry Potter book with a label on it that said "Ron Dies." I always have a great time just browsing through Capitol Hill books. We ended the day with more Starbucks and then metroed back to school for more sweet and salty snacks and Korean Dramas. 

Adrienne's flight departed early the next day so we woke up very early and metroed to the airport where we had a Dunkin Donuts breakfast after she said goodbye. It was very lonely after having her with me for several days, even lonelier than I felt before she even got to DC for the weekend. But I was sick and all I could do was sleep all day, so I did, which helped not only my cold but also the gnawing silence that filled and surrounded me, like there was an empty space that Adrienne had left that was bigger than the space she had come to fill. It was a sad Sunday for me, and an equally sad Monday as I had to call in sick at work. I was just not feeling good from the no-rest weekend, so having a day extra off was helpful. I was also really gross and I didn't want the Congresswoman to get sick.

But I went back to work on Tuesday and it slowly began hitting me that I was gonna be leaving soon. The office work was the same, except I kept thinking of everything as one of my last tasks. I was able to go on a second Dome Tour after having gone my first time in the beginning of the semester. It was a good full circle--I first got to DC in the summer with a huge and nice view of the city at nighttime at our hotel. And now as my time is ending, I was able to do a full 360 again from the very top of the center of the nation's capital. I did not linger at any point of my view except for the perfect view of Cannon on the southeast side of the Capitol. Again with the mixed feelings: I am glad to be going home, but saddened that my time here is ending. Yesterday, I gave my last Capitol tour ever and it went great--I took them on the Speaker's balcony, all the Hawaii marks in the Capitol, straying from the path that the Redcoats prescribe, and also the House floor and the "secret" prayer room on the House side. 

I am coming home with so many stories, much more than I can really tell people. I am also coming home a different Jen, I think. This is a Jen that has experienced loneliness and sadness that I have never before felt. This is a Jen who has grown much in the past several months. This is a Jen who is, I hope, more mature, learned, independent, stronger. A lot has tested me throughout this semester and here I am. At the same time, there were many high moments this semester both in and out of the office. None of them would have been possible if not for the people I met along the way, the opportunities that presented themselves, and the endless support I got from back home. 

I am getting ready to leave DC, and I know I want to come back, and I will. I may not know how exactly just yet. But I think I will. As I say goodbye to this city on the 14th when I fly back home, I am confident that I will be very happy with what I got out of it, perfectly content with what DC has given me over the months I spent here. 

Note: This post can also be found in my other blog.

I ruin DC Nature Shots

It is here! My week’s update, albeit late, is here!

Since I last posted, I have been in the Philippines Embassy not just once, but twice. Like. What even? The events in the Philippines have definitely put lots of organizations and powerful individuals into action. My first visit there was for a discussion between Filipino American leaders regarding a concerted relief effort to help and support those in the Philippines. It was cool, extremely so, to see the genuine care and passion that these leaders from different backgrounds had to help their fellow man. The Filipino idea of pakikipagkapwatao was definitely apparent throughout.

I was there again last night, this time for a Philippine-made furniture showcase. It reminded me of Rebecca and her and her architecture class’ furniture project.

I have been keeping busy in the office as usual but I also have renewed my efforts to have fun through it all. Last Saturday, I went with Guthrie, a high school friend who goes to Georgetown now, to Roosevelt Island where we walked through the forests and the mud and also visited TR’s memorial. So appropriate that he is commemorated in the very nature that he loved (Yeah TR and his big stick and refusal to live the life of ignoble ease but instead to embody the strenuous life!).

As my usual outings with Guthrie goes, the trip turned into a photoshoot. He has a nice camera and this is the first time anyone’s agreed to be his photo subject so Guthrie kinda really directs. As in “I don’t like your bow, it ruins the shot, take it off!” or “Move your hand on this side!” or “Lean this way, not over there!” type of direction. We were on the edge of the island near the side of the Key Bridge and Georgetown University and he told me to stand as close as I could to these low-hanging orange leaves above these slippery rocks in the water. I was wearing my boots that were definitely not slip-resistant and the rocks were covered with mud which made them even more slippery. We knew the water below me, though not very deep because they were covered with jagged rocks, was freezing cold. And he took his time taking shot after shot, pausing in between to change the settings to make sure the lighting was just right, too.

I appreciate him taking the time to take photos and stuff and have no problem helping him but once my feet started aching, I was already complaining, “But I don’t want to model, I just want to go to law school!” to which Guthrie replied, “Well you know law students have creative ways of finding the money to pay for law school…” Really now.

Nevertheless, I did not fall in (yes!) so it was still a fun time. See the pictures I have included below!

The fall is slowly making its way out and winter is creeping in. Winter is coming! That was definitely apparent this morning. The temperatures were the same as before, it has not significantly dipped in a while, but the winds! The winds make it bitterly cold. I like the cold temperature just fine, but when the strong wind chills make it worse, oh boy.

Number of times I've been hit on: 8

People here in DC have mistaken me for the following ethnicities:

Vietnamese (by a Vietnamese lady who owned a food truck)

Korean (the owner of the dry cleaning place I go to for my blazers, by a random guy on the metro, and the lady at the grocery store)

Chinese and Japanese (by the 10 Chinese journalists I took on a Capitol tour)

Two people stopped me last night to ask if I was Filipino! I m ean, it was probably because I was near the Philippine Embassy and because I had a nametag with the Filipino flag on it from the event I attended, but, I mean, it still counts right?

Pictures!

Chili 'Cause It's Chilly and a Cold in the Cold

Hello all!

Since I've posted, I have visited a couple of key places. I got into the White House! Tours are back on and were announced sometime mid-October and my intern coordinator requested for me to get approved to visit the House. He put down all the days that I have left here in DC as the office was willing to let me go during work hours. I got a spot on the first day, this past Tuesday, and the wait out in the cold may have been long, but it was worth it. Visitors are only allowed in the East Wing and though the First Family was home (save for the President who was in Bethesda, MD at the time), I did not glimpse any of them. The Red Room was my favorite by far. It was so warm and bright.

On Wednesday, I visited the Supreme Court and saw the latter half of an oral argument. By far the coolest thing I have seen here in DC. It was a case about class action lawsuits. Just seeing all the justices on the high bench gave me chills. Some seemed to be just lounging, which was funny, but some were pretty attentive to the attorney on the podium. There were a couple of jokes here and there too which was unexpected but appreciated.

Tours were hectic in the office because of the number of people who flew up for the football game. On Saturday, we got up early--like 5:30am early--so that we could get on the metro to Branch Ave in Maryland where we were getting picked up by UH Alum so we could drive to the stadium. The tailgate hosted by the UHAA wasn't like your typical tailgate--catered food, green-and-white-tablecoth covered round tables underneath a huge white tent, live entertainment, and of course alcohol. We helped out with registration and check-in and also got to have some free BBQ-style food. We watched the Naval Academy march into the stadium from our seats then went over to the Navy side where the Midship Men stood. 

We lost the game, which was sad because so many people flew all the way up here, but oh well. I spent the entire day out in the cold and despite my thick jacket with the fluffy fur-lined hood, I still felt the aftereffects of doing so yesterday. I didn't get up until 4pm, having slept all day due to a slight cold. But I am all better now, luckily! It is getting colder and colder and the forecast actually predicts a 40 percent chance of snow flurries in the morning tomorrow! I am keeping my gloved fingers crossed and am wearing my white coat in celebration!

I am excited for the snow but am hoping that the leaves will stick around for a while longer. It seems that fall is more short-lived here in DC compared to other places, mostly because we are in the mid-Atlantic and closer to the south.

I am keeping busy in the office, of course, and am enjoying every bit of it--even the irate phone calls all of the Congressional offices are getting these days. Yikes, yes, but still makes up an awesome experience.

Number of times I've been hit on: 8
Okay, so #7 happened on my way to the grocery store when a construction worker came up to me and said, "Hi can I buy you lunch?" I politely declined and went on my way. #8 happened on the same day on my way back from the grocery store where a man who was walking towards me stopped in front of me to stay, "Wow...you are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen..." to which I responded, "I doubt it...but thanks, I guess" and kept on walking. 

People here in DC have mistaken me for the following ethnicities: 
Vietnamese (by a Vietnamese lady who owned a food truck)
Korean (the owner of the dry cleaning place I go to for my blazers, by a random guy on the metro, and the lady at the grocery store)
Chinese and Japanese (by the 10 Chinese journalists I took on a Capitol tour) 
Earlier today, the cashier at the grocery store mistook me for a Korean. She asked if I was gonna carry all of my grocery bags all by myself, I said yes, and she was all, "Aww you Korean girls. You may be tiny, but you sure are strong. You don't mess with Korean girls!" I was too flattered to correct her...

This is Happening

Things have finally settled down, in the most (and best) "unsettled down" way possible.

The first ten weeks or so here in DC have been rough and settling in got to be a challenge at times. There was the whole "Moving In and Buying Everything at Target" part, and the "Learning the Ropes and Getting Used to the Office" portion, then the "I Am Terribly Homesick" phase, and the whole "Bed Bug Fiasco" kind of put a stop and damper on things. And after that the "I Broke My Galaxy S3 Because I Dropped It" was saddening, leading to the "I Have to Buy a Not-So-Good Smartphone" event. And then the government shut down and then the shutdown ended and the office had to do a little bit of catch-up work, and now I think I can finally say, "Ok, I think I am good...! Whew!"

Last-last week was my ninth week in the office and I have experienced both of the drastically different "out-of-session" and "in-session" atmospheres of the workplace. I have settled into a sort of groove into the office workflow and pace, gotten used to the characteristics of staff members and the dynamics between everyone in the office, and am continuing to get to know everyone around me better. But there is still so much to learn!

I have been irresponsible in updating this blog--which is a shame because there have been so many things going on every single day that I want to remember, but at the same time, because there are so many things going on every single day, I couldn't keep up. But here I am trying to make amends and trying to be better (yeah, like, halfway into the semester...). 

Let me start by trying to paint a picture of what my life has been like for the past several weeks. 

I get up early in the morning--as early as 6:30 if I was not responsible the night before and have yet to prepare my bag, choose and/or iron my outfit for the day, and/or make breakfast and/or lunch, but as late as 7:10 when I go to sleep the night before with everything prepared! The mornings are now the coldest times--right now, the mornings are usually in the low 40s, sometimes high 30s. And it is bound to get at the very least 15 degrees colder while I am here, according to my coworkers!

I take the 8am shuttle (it runs every 20 minutes) from school to the nearest metro station (about a 20 minute walk away), and then get on the (usually) 8:10ish train towards Downtown DC area. I live on the northeast side of DC. Before the past couple of weeks, I was able to walk outside with just my work blazer and a scarf, even a skirt or dress without any leggings or tights on. But now, I have to wear leggings underneath my skirts and dresses and have a coat to keep warm during the walk, in addition to my scarf. And boots when it is raining! The leaves have not fully changed yet, but they are getting there! There were still tons of green this past week, but there are definitely more trees here and there that have completely turned to a golden orange. I can't wait for it to be completely like this--all the reds and oranges and golds and yellows!

My commute involves me transferring trains once and the whole trip takes about 35-45 minutes. I always get to work really early so that, in case there are delays on the metro, I am never late to the office. I start work at 9am and work until 5pm when Congress is not in session and untill 6pm when it is. Basically, most of my intern duties are in the morning--make coffee and prepare the coffee things on the table, make sure printers are all set with paper, check the messages on the phone voicemail, make sure our staff gets the daily newspapers (there are about four daily publications on the Capitol) on their desks. I have my own desk and computer and comfy chair and phone right by the door. I am literally the first thing that people see when they come in the office--well, when I am sitting on my desk, that is. 

During the day, I answer the phone. We have calls from other offices around the Hill, from different organizations, and from constituents. Hawaii callers don't start phoning us until after noon because of the time difference. I handle basic questions on the phone from who on our staff is in charge of a specific issue area to various constituent services like logging down people's opinions and making sure the Congresswoman and staff get these messages from people back home. 

I also open, sort, and log mail that comes in the office. Some are mail from constituents, some are publications, some are mail for our legislative staff. We also do a lot of constituent mail--the Congresswoman replies to every piece of mail that we get from constituents whether she agrees with the writer's opinion or not. So, naturally, I do a lot of formatting letters on Word, printing, folding, envelope-stuffing, and sending of mail.

I also do Capitol tours. When visitors from Hawaii come to DC, Capitol tours are available through the Congressional offices. They come in the office and we show them around, depending on whether there are meetings going on in our rooms or not. Then I take the group (I've taken 10 at the most and as little as just one person) and show them the rotunda in our building. Then we go to the basement and go through the tunnel system (the office buildings, the Capitol, and the Library of Congress are all connected through tunnels so I never really go outside when I am running around the entire Hill) and I take them to the Capitol Visitor Center where King Kamehameha has a statue. Then we head to the Capitol and I show them several key rooms and statues and paintings and we also make sure to take our visitors to Hawaii-specific things like the Father Damien statue, two Hawaii paintings in one of the Capitol hallways, the Senate Appropriations committee room where Senator Inouye used to be, etc. Tours last a little less than two hours and we get them in waves. Sometimes I will have a week packed with tours (like, next week will be packed because people who are coming up for the UH game are all here!), but sometimes we will have no tours in a week, so it varies. 

Those are all my regular intern duties. In addition to that, I am really thankful that our office staff has decided to trust me with bigger assignments early on in my internship. I attend staff briefings on behalf of our legislative staff and then write memos for them later on, summarizing what was discussed and/or presented in the briefing. I also attend hearings different presentations. Recently, my biggest assignment so far has been to research a specific bill that was brought to our attention because a lot of people back home wrote letters in support of it. So one of the legislative assistants told me to research the bill, its implications, analyze the details of it, and then to write him a memo as a way of reporting back to him. The idea was to make a recommendation at the end of my research and memo as to whether the Congresswoman should co-sponsor the bill or not. He said that if it was good enough, I could be the one to actually present the bill to the Congresswoman and pitch my recommendation to her. And sure enough, I got to do it! I was really nervous, which was weird because the Congresswoman is really nice and she is so warm and friendly. I knew that she was not going to give me a hard time, but still. I was nervous. At the end, she decided to go ahead with my recommendation and I was then given the task of contacting the committee in charge of the bill so that I can arrange for the Congresswoman to be placed as a co-sponsor. I was also then in charge of drafting a letter that will go out as a response to the constituents who wrote to us about the bill to let them know the good news that that Congresswoman will support it! It was a long process, but it was also strangely rewarding and very education. I basically did what a member of the legislative staff does regularly: research a bill, make a recommendation for the Congresswoman. It was pretty cool.

After I finish work, I head to the metro and go back to school. Sometimes, there will be places that I have to go after, but usually, because I finish late and it takes about an hour to get back home, all I wanna do is go back to the dorms. Sometimes I go to the gym, sometimes I go and buy a quick dinner and take it home. 

On the weekends, I try to do things and see the city. Almost everything is free in the city so I have only been doing those things. 

Such has been my life! I am trying to post photos on Facebook soon, but it won't be complete because one of my high school friends who goes to Georgetown here and is also doing an internship on the Hill has tons of pictures of our outings on hisnice camera and he is terrible at posting photos. He will post them though...one day!

As a way of making amends, starting with this post, I will now be blogging weekly for the rest of my time here. I promise you that, so check back on Mondays!

Cups of coffee/tea: I am going to stop counting this because really, I have about 2-3 cups a day in the office from our coffee machine. THIS IS BAD.
Number of times I've been hit on: 6
People here in DC have mistaken me for the following ethnicities: Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese (so far, no one has correctly guessed I am Filipino...)

A Buggy Problem

So. This week is proving to be a busy and eventful week. Not only has the Syria conflict been keeping our office phones ringing (subsequently resulting in me having to end later than usual at 6pm now), my roommate Kayla and I also have had our share of issues back here in the dorms.

We have bed bugs. Yep. I have never had a bed bug issue before, but people always tell me how terrible of a tragedy it is. When we first found out, and when everything was up in the air at first, yes, I can see why people would say that it is a tragedy. But right now, I don't think "tragic" would be the right word to use. "Inconvenient" is more fitting. However, the school has been very timely and accomodating to us and our situation. We have been moved to a different (and better!) room while our old room gets cleaned. 

The only issue, which really isn't anyone's fault except the bugs', is that we couldn't take very much from the old room--only the barest essentials. So when we transferred to the new room on Monday night, we were instructed to bring only a set of sleep clothes for that night, and an office outfit for work the next day. In addition to toiletries and electronics, that was all we had. I couldn't even take my purse, just what I needed from inside the purse. I ended up having to use the reusable shopping bag from Target that I used to carry my essentials to the new room to work the next day. We had to leave our groceries, all of our other clothes, shoes, etc. 

After we found out that we couldn't have access to the room until later, we had to go out and buy clothes just enough for two more days--work clothes and sleep clothes. We have also had to buy food daily since we don't have access to our groceries. The school has offered to reimburse us for these inconveniences though for which we are very thankful.

But still! What are the chances right? That this would happen to us this semester. Ahh we are weathering through it, day by day. We were told that a special facility is being set up as quickly as possible here on campus so that we can wash our clothes. Unfortunately we could not do it today since it was not ready yet apparently, so we are hoping for tomorrow. If not, then I will have to figure out some way of washing the clothes I have already bought because nice clothes for the office are expensive, man, even if these are considered the less formal clothes to work, and I can't really go out and buy another outfit (can I?).

Anyway, that is the biggest news for now. The Labor Day weekend was eventful and it involved food, museum-ing, a hot day out in Georgetown and lots more.

But I think this will do for now!

Cups of coffee/tea: 5 
Number of times a creepy guy has said hi to me: 3

Getting Used to Being Away

I am full. My tummy is full of pho and happiness but mostly pho. 

We just came back from dinner. We went to a Vietnamese restuarant out in Columbia Heights called Pho 14 and they supposedly have been voted "Best Pho in DC" so we went in with pretty high expectations. And they were met! The broth was good. It was good.

I have been getting better gradually over the past week or so in terms of homesickness. Work is still pretty slow but it has gotten lighter; I am not so nervous anymore. I know I will be later on as I continue to meet new people in the staff and once Congress gets back in session again. But that's ok. I am not heartbreakingly homesick anymore. I am still homesick, but nto as bad. Yesterday was actually the first day I didn't tear up even once at all ha! 

Work has generally been really mundane office work--answering phone calls from constituents, sorting and logging in mail, etc. I was so excited to be sent to buy cardstock at the Office Supply Store the other day, only to find out that I didn't need to anymore because we had some cardstock in the office so I ended up not going. This coming week, I want to make sure to go exploring the tunnel systems of the Capitol grounds. I mean, technically, there is nothing wrong with looking at maps as I go along on errands and stuff, but I wanna be comfortable with this place and really know it. 

As the homesickness subsides, my excitement is still here, if not increasing. Tomorrow, we're gonna go to the Museum of Natiral History and then eat at a Korean place at Chinatown during Happy Hour or something. I am excited--been craving kimchee! 

Huh. Food would be the thing that makes me feel better about being away from home...

Cups of coffee/tea: 3 (I have green tea bags here in my room, plus I finally went into the Union Station Starbucks...BUT THEY DIDN'T HAVE PEACH GREEN TEA! Sadness!)
Number of times a creepy guy has said hi to me: 3

Day One Done!

Done with the first day! Whoo! It hit me today that this is now school and the real world at the same time. Summer is OVER. I need to get crackin'.

The first day was pretty slow because Congress is still in August recess which means they are not in session. I got to leave early which I will be doing this first week so that I can go around and explore the Capitol grounds and the rest of DC for a little bit before the big jobs flow in. I didn't get to do that today because I had to do a Target run, but I will definitely make sure to bring either a change of clothes or a pair of comfortable shoes tomorrow so that I can go and visit the botanical gardens or something. That'd be neat.

I guess one thing that's been on my mind lately is home. I can't help but compare what I'm seeing here to what I've been used to seeing at home so of course I am homesick. I have never been this far away from home for this long amount of time before and when my dad texts me or I hear my mom's voice on the phone, I still tear up. 

But I know it will get better. The tricky thing is you THINK that thoughts of home will comfort you when you're homesick, but they don't. They make me more emotional. What works is when I'm listening to stories. Duk does that really well, so when I get to talk to him, he makes sure he goes on and on about his day so I don't have to think about mine too much and how far ahead and far away it is from home.

Okay, off to read! This semester is gonna be a lot of reading...

Cups of coffee/tea: 0
Number of times a creepy guy has said hi to me: 3 (REALLY NOW!)

This is it!

Well. Here I am. I just finished unpacking completley and setting aside the things I bought earlier today at Target. I am sitting at my desk in my dorm room in Washington, D.C. My internship starts tomorrow. 

Am I excited? Yes.

Am I nervous? DEFINITELY. More so than excited. 

I am terrified and doubtful and just scared in general because this is a new city and I am far away from home (4,953 miles to be exact, and yes, I looked it up). I am starting a new and very different semester which is not at all like school, it is more like a new job. This feels like the most real thing I have ever been thrown at in my scant nineteen years of living, so of course it terrifies me.

But this is another risk that I don't really get to choose to take, I know I have to take it. Because this will make me into the person I want to be: the world-changer I've always dreamed of being.

I am trying to psych myself out now so that I won't be so nervous tomorrow, but I can't. No matter what, I'll be scared and nervous the entire time on the inside, but I know I can't really show it. I just have to make sure I breathe, observe, and listen. And smile and remember how incredibly lucky I am to be where I am.

Cups of coffee: 0
Number of times a creepy guy has said hi to me: 2