Hello Washington!

Well, where do I begin. It's been one week in Washington, D.C. and I feel like I've already learned so much. I intern with Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and they were not shy about putting me to work right away. From drafting press releases and letters to the editor, to compiling information to put in databases, or calling reporters to pitch a media event to them (participating in Sen. Brown's weekly conference call), I have needless to say, been quite busy. I'm happy about this though because when you spend 8 hrs in an office, I feel it can be easy to become bored, but thankfully, I typically always have something to do. What my favorite part about last week was though, was definitely what happened on Thursday. First thing Thursday morning, I was sent off to a Constituent coffee with Sen. Brown for any Ohioans in the DC area. It gives them the opportunity to meet him, chat, and visit with other Ohio constituents over coffee in the Capitol building, for a little less than an hour. At first, I was uncertain as to what I should be doing. I stuck around some people I recognized from Sen. Brown’s office for awhile, adn got to know them a bit better. But eventually, I branched off and met some other people. I walked up to a group of Taiwanese people (two females, one male.) Two of them are currently in school in California, while the other is working in Indiana. They’re apart of a an organization focused on Taiwan-U.S. relations, a cause Sen. Brown cares a lot about. Anyway, I met a few of them (there were about 25 or so in the group) and they were fantastic. These people are incredibly smart, driven, and some of the most humble people I have ever met. I loved talking with them and truly connecting to them. For the first time I handed someone my business card, but this was only because I told them I’d love to travel to Taiwan one day, so they said “we know a lot of people” (obviously) and thus took my contact information.. just in case. Connecting with people is definitely the bes tpart of th ejob, and working in an office nearly all day doesn't always allow for such connections to be made, which makes me really happy I was able to attend the Constituent coffee.

The other highlight of the week was visiting the Library of Congress. I can not explain how excited I am to be able to do research there (yes, I, a college student am excited to go to a library and do research there) But to be honest, any person who spends even five minutes in the Lib. of Congress would share my excitement. It's a beautiful place. I wish my camera did a better job at capturing the beauty within the halls of that building because it's breathtaking.

What else is breathtaking is the botanical garden. I visited it this weekend and I fell in love. It's gorgeous in there and I recommend people go there if they haven't already.

Well that is all for now. I'm looking forward to week 2 in D.C. With the 4th of July being this weekend, I can only imagine all of the incredible festivities that will occur in our nation's capital as we celebrate America's birthday :)

-AEO