An update after two weeks in DC

I arrived in Washington DC 2 weeks, but I’m already in love with the city. There’s so much excitement and it seems like everyone I meet has a really cool job!

I’m working three days per week at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in the Department of Outreach and Communication. On my first day I sat in on a company's proposal to redisign the Center's website. They have really cool speakers and events everyday and I've been to:
-"Preventing and Rebuilding Failed States Amid Global Economic Crisis: What are realistic options for U.S. Policy?"
-"Renewing the Partnership between the U.S. and Mexico: Shared Responsibility and Shared Strategies"

-"Hijacked Justice: Dealing with the Past in the Balkans"

One of my jobs is to go to these events then write an event summary to post on the website. I'm still getting the hang of it. I also got to go with our director to the Woodrow Wilson House (Wilson's house after the presidency, now a museum) to pick out one of his top hats and a jacket to display at the Wilson Center :-)

The other two days per week I'm doing pubilc affairs in the Disaster Operations Center of the American Red Cross. During a disaster, public affairs of the DOC is reponsible for responding to national media inquiries and coaching local chapters on how to respond to local media. The first few days I helped to edit a new volunteer disaster handbook. Now I'm working to update a list of communications directors at each local chapter so we can send out a survey to determine each chapter's communication capabilites. Both jobs arepretty neat and everyone is really nice and helpful :-)

I’m living in a hostel in northern DC and I’m meeting a lot of other cool students who are here for summer internships. The hostel is a large 3-story townhouse with a common TV room and kitchen downstairs with bedrooms upstairs. Each bedroom has 4 bunkbeds with 8 total people, so it's kind of crowded trying get ready in the morning, but other than that it's fine. There's a basketball court and park across the street so it's fun to get some exercise there.

Other news:

-I went to a benefit dinner at the State Department on Tuesday night that was really cool. Check out the picture: it was super fancy and there were even some celebrities there. Former American Idol contestant, David Archelleta, performed "Imagine" and "Prayer of the Children;" he was really good.

-Earlier this week I heard General Petraeus, head of US Central Command, give a speech about our progress in Iraq, Arganistan, and Pakistan...pretty neat.

I've been pretty busy, so I'm planning on relaxing tomorrow. Until next time...See ya!

Awesome Florida Trip: knife juggling, tarpon bites, and crocs

My trip to Florida was awesome. We saw so much in just two weeks! Here’s a quick summary:

After driving 2.5 days, we finally made it to Key West from Nashville. On our first night we walked to Mallory Square to watch the sunset. While watching a street performer do tricks, and I was chosen to be a part of the show! He told me to lay flat on my back while he walked on a tightrope held up like a tug-of-rope by more volunteers. Then, he started juggled knives right over me. Whew! Also while in Key West, we sailed to a reef and snorkeled with tons of beautiful fish, had some awesome lemonade from a local named Izzy, almost went spear fishing with Captain Upchuck, and ate a “Cheeseburger in Paradise” from Jimmy Buffet’s original Margaritaville.

Next we headed to John Pennekamp State Park in Key Largo to do some camping. We went snorkeling and saw a barracuda, did a kayak trip through the mangrove swamps, but the most exciting thing was the tarpon experience…After finishing our kayak trip, the locals encouraged us to feed the tarpon, a very large game fish that can grow up to 6 feet long and weigh up to 350 lbs. We bought a bucket of fish and took it out to the dock where approximately 150 tarpon were swimming. They told us to hold the fish in our hands right over the water and the tarpon would jump out of the water and bite our arms until we let go of the fish. They assured us that unlike sharks, tarpon have sandpaper mouths instead of sharp teeth and it wouldn’t hurt. We did as they said, and sure enough the tarpon leaped out of the water, bit our arms, then slid down taking the fish with them…wow! Check out the video here:

After Key Largo, we headed to the everglades. On our first day, we took a ranger-guided boardwalk tour and saw over 20 alligators in the swamp right under the boardwalk! The next day, we took a boat ride and saw a crocodile and some small sharks too. Here’s a video of some wildlife We also discovered that McDonalds in Florida sells cheeseburgers for $.60 a piece on Tuesdays. Naturally, my roommate and I decided to buy 33 cheeseburgers and eat as many as we could…it turned out to be not as good of an idea as it initially sounded.

After the everglades we continued onto Miami, our final destination. The walking tour of South Beach was cool, especially the interesting Art Deco architecture. We visited a famous tattoo parlor where they film the show “Miami Ink” on TLC. Little Havana was interesting and we ate some great Cuban sandwiches, bought some Spanish CDs, and found a cool cigar shop. On our last day, we visited a “fronton” where the interesting sport of “Ja-Alai” is played. Read a description of the sport here: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jai_alai) Tons of locals were gambling and yelling at the players and it was really exciting.

After returning from my trip I thought I would have time to relax, but instead my cousin Rachael had just graduated high school and my relatives were in town to help celebrate. We had a great time catching up, laughing, and eating good food.

I fly to Washington DC on Monday, June 1 and Thursday is my first day at the Woodrow Wilson Center internship. I’ll keep you posted!

An exciting summer ahead: Florida, DC, Argentina - subscribe to my blog!

I’ve just finished exams at UT Knoxville and I’ve got an exciting summer coming up. My last exam was May 5, and on May 8 I’m headed to south Florida for a two-week vacation with some friends. We’ll be spending time in Key West, Key Largo, the Everglades, and Miami.

On June 1, I’ll be flying to Washington D.C. for a summer internship from June 1-July 10. I am working 3 days per week in the Department of Outreach and Communication at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, and I’m working 2 days per week doing communications at the American Red Cross. I’ll be living at a youth hostel called “Loftstel,” that way I can save money on rent and hopefully meet some cool people. I’m really excited about being in Washington D.C. for the 4th of July.

After my internship ends on July 10, I’m headed back home to Nashville to relax for a bit. Then on July 20, I’m taking off to Buenos Aires, Argentina where I’ll be studying abroad for the fall 2009 semester. I’m participating in a Spanish immersion program at the “Universidad del Salvador,” a 9,000-student, Jesuit school in downtown Buenos Aires. Classes end on November 10 (because southern hemisphere schools have a reversed calendar), and I’ll hopefully get to travel around South America until mid-December.

I’m planning to blog bi-weekly about my internship and study abroad experience on this blog! So, stay tuned for more postings.

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