A week into living in Washington DC, I’ve been lost more times than I can count. You would think that since the streets are arranged in ascending numbers and letters I would stand a chance, but even such sensible logic can’t help the extreme directionally challenged. My biggest problem is that I often have gut feelings about which way is the right way to go, but such feelings are always wrong.
Getting lost can be a good thing when you’re trying to explore a new city, just not when walking home from the metro stop late at night or carrying heavy bags of groceries. But I’m getting craftier: Today I got off at the stop for the National Shrine to go to mass, had absolutely no idea how to get there, and then stealthily followed a guy carrying a Bible right up to the doors of the church. Whatever works, right?
Apart from constantly getting lost, I’ve settled into life in DC pretty easily. I have enjoyed my walks to and from work, except when it has rained – I often wondered this past week if I were back in Scotland. But now the weather is just how I like it: sunny, sunny, sunny and hot, hot, hot. And getting hotter!
My walks take me past the White House, and while I haven’t laid eyes on Mr. President yet, I’m pretty sure I saw David Axelrod one morning (or maybe it was wishful thinking, having watched the NBC special about the Obama White House the night before). I’ll update again if I have any more “celebrity” sightings – they’re my celebrities anyway! I was pretty excited.
My internship is going well; It has been fun getting to know the other interns and the kitchens are well-stocked with tons of drinks and AEI’s homemade cookies to break up what can feel like pretty long days. I think I have a better understanding now of what a think tank is (or at least what AEI is): The scholars, who are the very well educated top dogs, research and write about different areas of public policy. Then, their findings make their way into the public sphere and often into the hands of people who actually draft policy. AEI lets its scholars have free reign to work on topics that interest them, and to present whatever conclusions they want to make. Our HR rep told us at orientation that AEI has its fair share of liberals, conservatives, and “raging moderates.” It’s definitely been interesting so far and an overall nice place to work. We had our company picnic this afternoon, complete with a dessert contest - I didn’t participate, I just “judged.”
I’ve been having fun traipsing through DC in my free time and just getting to know the city. After an a.m. fire alarm went off at the dorm yesterday (woo hoo for microwave fires!), I walked from GW to the National Mall and visited the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian. I have to say I was a bit disappointed – I’m not a museum person anyway, but this one just seemed to be lacking overall. I may just be jaded, though, because there is nothing quite like experiencing the culture firsthand. I’m planning to hit up the American History Museum, the Natural History Museum , and the Newseum (all about journalism and the news) in the coming weeks.
One other thing: July 15 can’t come soon enough! We youngsters have managed to find some places to go out, but this town just isn’t that friendly to the under-21 crowd. I’m hoping my GRE score will make up for it, though (aka I haven’t started studying yet). I will be one appreciative 21-year-old, that’s for sure. Luckily there are enough restaurants to try, places to walk to, and free concerts to get me there.
Guten nacht from the District of Crime and here’s hoping I don’t show up here.
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