Fresh Meat in Town

Embrace it.  That's the phrase I keep telling myself on a daily basis since my arrival in the district a week ago. From always getting slightly lost to being caught in a rain shower hauling my groceries home to traveling in a very obnoxious 12 pack on a Friday night, I will never be able to recreate these experiences of being the new kid. 

Figuring my way around my spectacular new neighborhood of course comes with its bumps but it's an easy adjustment. I miss being a pro at using public transportation like I am with COTA back in Columbus but I know it will get smoother over time. My first week in DC has given me plenty of new experiences and mini challenges that again, I am choosing to embrace and soak it all in. Here's a quick list of my learning and "embracing" moments:

• We overshot the walk to orientation and learned a valuable lesson of the three or more street intersections of DC but hey, I walk past our nation's capitol to get to the WAIP classroom.

• This city definitely tests my ability to recall the alphabet and my sense of direction. Every day I always get turned around commuting to the office but now I know the area around Farragut North & West metro stops very well and granted, I tried a different route/ method going to and from work everyday.

• No, I don't live around the corner from Kroger anymore but I do live moderately close to Eastern Market which is way cooler. Saturday morning grocery trips are enormously much more enjoyable now.

• I don't have wifi at work and gmail is blocked but I do get to intern for a federal agency, sit in an enormous office cubicle, and get a snazzy government ID badge.

• I have the most patriotic mornings as I start my days jogging past Capitol Hill, the Supreme Court, and the Library of Congress.

• My roomies are very involved with Planned Parenthood and I attended my first PP rally in Virginia today with them. It was an awesome experience and I got to meet Virginia Senator Janet Howell, who proposed about seven months ago an amendment that would require men to take rectal exams and cardiac stress tests prior to receiving prescriptions for erectile dysfunction medication. Regardless however you stand on the mandatory ultrasound bill prior to an abortion you gotta give this woman credit, along with the many others such as Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner, who have the leadership to stand up for sexual health equity.

• Finding the local music scene is a bit tricky when most blogs online gets clouded with tourist tips but I can definitely still use that information and picking up the local papers helps out a lot.

Looking forward to another week in the district!

- Amber Seira