The End of an Era (and by era I mean internship)

I will be finishing up at the Embassy of Mexico tomorrow and will be leaving behind a big project I’ve been working on. I really wish I could see it through, but I guess its time to pass the torch to the next set of interns…touching I know.

I definitely took advantage of my last weekend in DC and was able to hit up all the final attractions I had yet to visit. I spent Saturday at the National Archives and the National Museum of the American Indian, both of which are very cool. At the American Indian museum the cafeteria is divided by different Indian groups, and each one serves the typical food of the group…..it was pretty awesome. At the archives I was able to see the actual constitution, and bill of rights. It’s crazy to be able to see signatures like George Washington’s.

The Declaration of Independence…but mostly, it’s John Hancock’s John Hancock. Hahahaha. I’m sure that’s the first time that joke has been made.

Unfortunately, my Saturday ended on not such a good note when I returned home to hear that my roommate had been robbed at gunpoint the previous night in Columbia Heights. I felt quite upset for her, and think I realized how much you are distanced from when you live in such a nice area like Bethesda. My view of DC has been one where I have not once felt in danger, even walking home from the Metro alone at night. I guess I’ve been pretty isolated from some of the other areas of DC which aren’t so safe. Luckily, she's ok. We both stayed in Saturday night, ordered pizza, and I think she was feeling a lot better after talking to her family and getting over the initial shock.

Sunday I took the Capital Crescent Trail from Bethesda into Georgetown in order to prep for my half marathon when I get home. I survived!

Unfortunately, I didn’t want to run with a camera, so I have yet to get any photos of the pathway which is seriously the most beautiful thing I’ve seen since living here. Hopefully I will have some time to take a quick walk on Saturday before I leave and document the area.

Monday was our final TWC speaker and commencement ceremony. It was a good day, but was definitely sad to say goodbye to the people in my program.

It’s very cool to now have some friends all throughout the Americas so hopefully soon I will meet them again on my travels. The commencement ceremony was great as well. We were able to hear quite a few stories of what other interns had accomplished this semester, and there were some pretty amazing stories!

The Global Trade and Regional Integration Program crew. Oh the good times we’ve had...

Now it’s just down to my last internship days, combined with a little packing, and I’m outta here. I’ve finally figured out my travel plans, and will be heading to Wilmington, NC on Saturday for a few days, and then SC for a few more visiting friends along the way. It should be a fun time, but I am definitely getting excited to get home on May 26th. It will be great to see my friends and family, and arrive just in time for some nice Canadian summer weather.

Paz.

Comida Mexicana!

I’ve just got one more week of interning here in DC, and this past one has been focused on trying to get my projects done at work. I’m not gonna lie, I have been working on some research (still regarding the trucking dispute, which I am pretty much obsessed with by this point) and am “supposed” to have it completed by the end of my internship next week, but I’m feeling a little stressed out because I really don’t think it’s possible….but of course, I will try.

Also this week I’ve experienced the rainy season of DC. I’m not really sure if there is such a thing, but I’m gonna take it and roll with it because it’s seriously been 8 days of straight rain. Honestly, it’s actually a nice change considering in Calgary it’s normally snow or nothing; but really, 8 days? Come on. It let up today which was nice so a couple of other interns from the Embassy and I were able to return to our local lunch spot (Quizno’s of course, 4 dollar sub…can you blame us?) and sit outside.

On Thursday I took a break from work and went to a Naturalization Ceremony that was held on the Mall. A Naturalization Ceremony is the ceremony done where immigrants actually become American citizens. I thought it was a pretty crazy concept….to be able to witness the moment when somebody, who possibly has spent years and gone through unimaginable circumstances to become an American. I did happen to show up late, and missed the actual oaths that are taken by the people, BUT I still got to see them all afterwards hugging their families and taking pictures, which I thought was pretty touching. I was probably the creepy random at the back of the crowd watching them, but whatever, it was a cool moment to “creep” on.

New American citizens at the Naturalization Ceremony

Another stellar thing that happened this week was a lunchtime getaway. One of the employees at the Embassy took me and the two other NAFTA interns outside of DC to Maryland for comida Mexicana (Mexican food!!!) It was quite a ways away, but sooooo worth it. I haven’t had authentic Mexican food since my student exchange in Mexico a few years ago, and I can honestly say that it is amazing. The place where we went was located in an area with a large Latino population, and was even in a strip mall with a Panaderia (selling pan dulce – Mexican sweet bread), which I was also pretty excited about. Basically the whole trip was spent with the Mexicans laughing at me because I was so ridiculously excited to eat the food that they get every day back home. Oh how lucky they are.

So pumped for Pan Dulce!

With another NAFTA intern, Hector from Mexico, outside the Mexican restaurant.

One more cool DC experience I had this week – Passport DC. It’s an event that happens every year where about 30 Embassies all around the city open their doors for a day, and have things like food, drinks, music and dance.

I was able to hit up a few Embassies during the event last weekend, including Colombia, Haiti, and the Bahamas. At the Colombia Embassy we got FREE Juan Valdez coffee, which is amazing! At the Haitian Embassy we then chased the coffee with rum punch which was also delicious. My favorite stop was the Bahamas, where they had people playing bongos and singing and dancing, as well as coconut milk. It was a great time, and I couldn’t believe how many people were out and about for it.

Music and dance at the Embassy of the Bahamas for Passport DC

This weekend is my last one in DC. I’m gonna try to hit up the last few sights I still have on my list, and RELAX because my portfolio is done!

PAZ!

Portfolio. Check.

This past week I got an email from my home university telling me that they needed all of my TWC stuff as soon as possible in order for me to be eligible for graduation in June….this was a COMPLETE surprise for me seeing as my semester here will be extra credit so I didn’t think the timing of my grades from TWC was all that important. Basically I thought I had two weeks to complete the massive TWC portfolio, but that was condensed into about 4 days. Good times!

I was pretty stressed out, but had thankfully already started on it so it wasn’t completely crazy. I ended up finishing it and getting it all fancy bound at FedEx and am super happy with it. It is pretty much a complete overview of my entire semester in DC and includes work samples from my internship, a research paper, civic engagement report, and a whole lot more. I made myself a copy as well (even though I definitely could have saved the money) because I know it will be great to have when I get home.

Now I am feeling completely relieved to have my portfolio done, and will be able to fully enjoy my last two weeks in DC without stressing out. Also, it rained all weekend so as I was working on it I wasn’t feeling like I was missing all that much.

Last week (before the stress of the portfolio) my sister came to visit which was a ton of fun. She’s not all that into history and museums and I was happy about this because I think I’m getting to point of being “museum-ed out,” if you catch my drift. Anyways, we spent most of our time in all the different neighborhoods just exploring and walking around.

We even took the Capital Crescent Trail into Georgetown from Bethesda which is amazing! It’s as if you are in the middle of the forest even though it’s so close to the city. We spent some time in Alexandria as well wandering around the waterfront, and also through Dupont. It was a really good visit, but now I’m feeling very nostalgic and missing my family quite a bit…yep, I’m a Debbie Downer. But seriously, I think that when I get back home it will be great to see everyone again.

My sister hangin’ out on the beautiful streets on Alexandria, VA

Just a glimpse of the Smithsonian gardens located around the National Mall

I just have two more weeks of interning left and received some big projects to complete so I’m sure the time will fly by. I’m also in the process of planning a short trip south after my internship and before I head home. I have a few friends dispersed throughout the Carolinas and a cousin in Florida so hopefully I will be able to see them all before I head back to reality of job searching back in Calgary.

Paz for now amigos!

Sarah

Life After DC?

Last week one of the other interns at the NAFTA Desk of the Embassy finished her internship. She wasn’t a student with TWC but rather got her internship directly through her university so her schedule was a little different than the rest of ours…but really that’s beside the point. Basically after seeing her pack up her things and finish her last assignment, I realized how little time I have left. BUT it’s not the time thing that’s depressing me because I am excited to continue on from my DC experience (not that is hasn’t been amazing, but everyone seems to reach that stage with everything they do in life), what’s depressing me is worrying about how different things may be when I get back home to Calgary. I’m pretty worried that a lot of the stuff I’ve learned and want to talk/debate about will be completely uninteresting to my friends, and honestly they probably won’t know anything about it – which isn’t a bad thing because if I hadn’t come here I wouldn’t have known any more either…

Seriously though, the Mexican-US trucking dispute is probably not receiving much coverage in Canada (nor is it really in the US), and I’m pretty sure most of my friends from Latin America living in Calgary didn’t even notice the Summit of the Americas happened a few weeks ago. Again, it’s not anybody’s fault, but I guess I am just finding myself worrying that all the knowledge I’ve gained and insight from DC may end up fading away when I get back to Calgary due to a lack of continuous events and other interns who are always up for discussions. I guess the main thing for me will be making sure that I stay involved…the think tanks here in DC do post all of their events online via live newsfeed, and there are a few organizations in Calgary that I may be knocking on the doors of seeing how I can help. I’m also hoping to continue my civic engagement at the HI Hostel in Calgary so I’ll see how that goes.

I have a feeling that the TWC/internship/DC experience is overall a great one for every student, but that the real challenge tends to come afterwards. I think that probably half of the students go home and fall right back into their old routines and conversations….whereas the other half take what they’ve learned and keep trying to build on it. At this point I’m feeling quite motivated, so hopefully I can be in the second half.

The Home Stretch…..Already?

So I’ve checked my calendar, and BOOM, all of a sudden I am down to my last month in Washington. Say what?

I’m not gonna lie, I have been going through a little bit of a semi-homesick stage this past little while, mostly just missing my family and friends – BUT I have pushed those feelings aside because I am 100% sure that after about 3 days back home I will be wishing I was back in DC. Happens every time.

Anyways, I’ve concluded that the time has flown by because, continuing with the theme of the semester, I’ve been keeping myself very busy. My internship has been full of projects including a huge report I completed on the honey market in the United States….sounds kind of weird, I know, but it was surprisingly interesting. Plus, now I am an expert on honey which is probably something I will only ever be able to use once in about 5 years when I’m playing Trivial Pursuit and get a super random question about honey….but hey, someone playing will be impressed. I’ve just started working on a summary of Obama’s visit to Mexico and researching the speeches that were made which is pretty cool as well.

Class and TWC programming have also kept me busy. We’ve visited some really awesome organizations and even did a simulation last week at the World Bank. All the class members were assigned a different position, such as the president of the country (which was a make believe eastern European country), or the IMF. I played a lobby group, “EU For All,” and pretty much tried to convince everyone that integration policies were the best. It’s hard to explain, but it was very cool, and helped to show how all the “players” of the world interact and what their positions are.

My programming group met yesterday to discuss the final portfolios which are due in a few weeks. There will be a lot of work involved, but at the same time I’m really happy I will be able to leave DC with a tangible representation of all I’ve been doing. With that being said, I really need to get started on it because I have no doubt the deadline will approach faster than I imagine.

I’m feeling rather depressed that my actual class, which I have every Monday night, is winding down to an end. I can honestly say it is the best class I have ever had and I have learned so much. Every week I am impressed with my professor and his knowledge. He seems to have the history of the Americas down to a tee, and is able to relate it to every topic. Basically, and this is cheesy I know, but he has inspired to become a history machine and that is my new life goal.

Speaking of life goals, I’ve also been spending this past week looking into Masters programs on Latin American Studies. I met with a professor from Georgetown today, and have a meeting with the Director of the Latin American Studies and Western Hemisphere Affairs program at George Washington University tomorrow. I really think that DC would be the perfect place to do a Masters, in anything really, simply because of the crazy amount of resources available here. Anyways, hopefully I can make a good impression tomorrow because so far the George Washington program is my top choice.

Sniper on top of The White House...oooooo

So close to the Casa Blanca with some amazing girls from my program; Yohanna from Brazil and Dalia from Mexico

Oh, and how could I forget? The sightseeing has still been continuing and this weekend I did a garden tour at The White House! It was very cool. I’m assuming I will never be so close to the White House again, and I definitely wanted to rush the secret service (who were EVERYWHERE) and try to get inside…but, alas, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. They only give the tours twice a year so there were a ton of people and we were up WAY too early on a Sunday to get tickets; but it was worth it. I also ended the weekend with a pretty stellar sunburn, which means the weather is now beautiful here in DC, so I am not complaining about it.

Paz a fuera!

Holy Sightseeing!

I know I’ve been in DC now for a while, but I still have yet to see everything. I have definitely been trying though, and these past few weeks I’ve got in a lot of the major sites.

I felt like I was neglecting my hood of Bethesda because I tended to spend every weekend going into DC….sooo I’ve done a lot of wandering and realized that Bethesda is awesome! I know I’ve said it before, but this time I’m 100% sure. The downtown area is great, and this past weekend my dad was in town so (like all unpaid interns) I took advantage of the parent visiting and ate at a ton of the amazing restaurants in Bethesda.

I also stumbled on an outdoor market, and have been spending a lot of time at Bethesda Lane, which reminds me of Europe and is just a few blocks from where I'm living.

Europe? NOPE It’s Bethesda Lane, folks.

As for DC, I’ve also been trying my best to take advantage of all the sites. One of my favorites in the National Portrait Gallery…I’ve been there a few times and still want to return. I really love the President’s Hall where they have portraits of all the presidents and explanations about what each of them is remembered for. My American history isn’t all that great so this has really helped me with that!

I also have visited Eastern Market several times, which is an outdoor market near the Capitol. Its one of the more expensive outdoor markets I’ve been to (considering most of the rest have been in Mexico), but there is some really cool stuff and a TON of free samples. Who doesn’t love that?

The Newseum has been my favorite museum so far. Its all about the news and has front pages of newspapers for every year so you can read the original stories of huge events like JFK’s assassination and the Watergate scandal. They also have a 4-D movie which was very cool. Unfortunately, its one of the only museums in DC that isn’t free, but I assure you its worth it…which I honestly would not say if it wasn’t super stellar.

Cation: Canada is taking over! The view from the top of the Newseum (the Canadian Embassy is just next door)

This past weekend that my dad was here was the National Cherry Blossom Festival. INSANE! There were so many people and the tourists were not following the escalator rules of stand right, walk left, which drove me crazy. I think that might mean I’m almost a real DC’er. Anyways, the streets were packed, restaurants were crowded, and I honestly could not believe all the people. My dad was pretty stunned as well considering we come from a town of just 100 people, it was a little bit of a shock. We avoided the parade and went early to visit all the memorials, which was one of the best ideas we’ve ever had. We also did a boat cruise one night on the Potomac, which left from Washington Harbour. It was very cool and we happened to be the only ones on the boat….besides the bartender. How convenient! We also spent a night in the Navy Yard having dinner at my friends’ parents. I’ve been there a few times since getting here, but this time they gave us an awesome tour because my dad is super into all the navy history. It was really cool and I hope to go there again during the day to visit the ship they have docked there.

Just a small part of the Cherry Blossoms around the Tidal Basin

My dad and I also visited Arlington National Cemetery, which was amazing. The amount of grave sites is incredible and definitely very humbling. We saw the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, as well as JFK’s gravesite. The views from the cemetery of DC were amazing and I think it was the perfect last stop on the crazy weekend of touring with my dad.

Just a small part of the beautiful view from Arlington Cemetery

I’ve just got a few more weekends here in DC and still have several sites to check off my to do list…hopefully I can fit them all in before the end of my internship!

Paz amigos

Hangin’ With Ambassadors

Wahoo!!! I have a night with some time for a blog. It’s about time. This past little while has been pretty busy, and pretty stressful too. I’ve had some big projects to finish at my internship, and my class had our midterm this past week as well. But, alas, I have survived, and my dad is flying in tomorrow for the weekend so I can’t wait to see a familiar face and show him the ropes of DC.

My sightseeing adventures have been lacking lately, but I’ve definitely been taking advantage of all the conferences happening in the city. A tip for future TWCer’s, be sure to google “think tanks” before you head to DC and bookmark them….then check all of their events sections as much as you can and hit up all the conferences possible. I haven’t been to a bad one yet, and I swear there is something for absolutely every interest. With the Summit of the Americas happening, and all the press being given to Mexico, I’ve been able to find so many that I’ve had to pick and choose. It’s a sad life I live, I know.

One of my favorite ones that I’ve attended was with the Council of the Americas, and was regarding US/Mexico relations. The Ambassador of Mexico, Arturo Sarukhan, was one of the speakers and I swear his level of charisma is right up there with Obama’s. He is an extremely good speaker, and is one of those people you just want to listen to.

This past week I also went to a daylong event about NAFTA. There were about 5 sessions throughout the day and it was great. It got a little painful to sit there all day, but the speakers were all of such high quality, and included people who had been involved in the negotiations of NAFTA. AND, I also met the Canadian Ambassador, who was attending one of the sessions. I’m not gonna lie, it was kind of an awkward meeting because I introduced myself and then didn’t really have anything else to say……I’m so used to the whole “where are you from/how long have you been in DC/what organization are you with,” that I panicked with the Ambassador and pretty much gave a “nice to meet you” and got out of there. Good times.

I also was able to attend a committee meeting of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee. It was in the Rayburn building, which is super classy. Now I would recommend everyone to go to at least one of these meetings just to see how they work…..but to be honest, it was boring. It was about the Merida Initiative, which I generally find to be rather interesting, but the whole process of each Member stating their position, and then each witness presenting their stuff (all timed and “Mr. Chairman” formal) just isn’t my style I guess.; they also stopped halfway through to break for an hour and a half so I ended up leaving anyways and really not getting much out of it. The moral of the story is, at least I now know how it works and have went….even if that means I never wish to go again.

The next one I’m hoping to go to is this Friday at the CATO Institute. Its about drug decriminalization in Portugal, and how drugs have been legal there since 2003. Who knew? I sure didn’t. I think it should be interesting because a lot of the talk about the Mexico drug war touches on legalization, but no one seems to be ready to REALLY talk about it yet…plus I’m planning on taking my dad, so I’m excited to see what he thinks.

That’s all I got for now….I’m expecting my next post to be full of sightseeing adventures after this weekend so brace yourselves.

Paz.