Okay, okay, "soon-ish" can be interpreted relatively loosely, but it's still been a pretty ridiculously long time since I've written. To be fair, my computer, which has always been somewhat passive aggressive, and prone to crapping out at the worst possible times, has stubbornly refused to turn on since about the last time that I've written-which has been almost a month. After multiple shipments from back home (a new battery, a new adapter), we know, by the process of elimination, that the problem is "internal," a scary word which conjures up thoughts of several hundred dollar repair bills, and potentially weeks of waiting. :( But the only other option that I have is to buy a new laptop (just after buying a new camera, and covering what this summer will cost me-although, luckily, study abroad grants will pay for most of it), so I still haven't decided what to do - but I have to do something.
What's been going on the past month? Well, needless to say, I've been settling into a routine, while having new experiences at the same time. My roommates and I have been tourist-ing it up on the weekends, and have so far seen: ONE of the Smithsonians (the Natural History museum), the shops and restaurants in Old Alexandria (which is a very cute 'genteel' district within walking distance of our apartment), dinner and a movie (the Sex and the City movie, no less) at Union Station, and the campus of Georgetown University (which is surrounded by the shopping district of Georgetown, including a two-store stationary store that I am officially in love with!). It has also been unbelievably,ridiculously hot lately (hello, cool 100 in the shade-see? I'm learning Fahrenheit!), so we've also spent a lot of time inside, just hanging out.
I've also been taking advantage of the academic and professional opportunities (there's a few-I guess this is the 'capital' or something). The Washington Center's been pretty helpful in this respect. Not only do they have you put together a 'portfolio' for the summer, which includes things like an updated resume, bi-monthly journal entries, a statement of academic, professional, civic and personal goals for the summer, an essay about your 'civic engagement project,' an 'internship defense letter' to your home university...yeah, you get the picture. It's annoying to have projects to complete on top of deadlines for work, and assignments for class, but I think that some of the assignments really contribute to making this experience a worthwhile one, particularly in the professional sense.
It's not all drudgery, though: the Washington Center facilitates a lecture series that all interns attend on Monday afternoons. So far, the International Affairs program has heard from the heads of nonprofits, a former foreign service officer and ambassador, and a gentleman who founded a peace movement in Darfur. My Washington Center advisor also sends out daily email updates about all of the other events (panel discussions, lectures, dinners, conferences) that are on offer in DC, some designed specifically for the enormous intern population here. So far, I've attended a graduate school reception hosted by some of my top grad schools (including Johns Hopkins, Columbia, and Georgetown), where there actually was wine and cheese (all of the grad school fairs in Canada, take note!), and a panel discussion on the south Sudan peace agreement hosted by the Brookings institute. Next week, there's a Harvard admissions session, followed by a conference on the 8th where I'm hearing Ryan Gosling and Senator John Edwards. I know, I know - but someone has to do it. :)
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