So I've been
terrible about keeping up for the past couple weeks, but I'll try and hit the
highlights.
Saturday: It takes a certain kind of person to
get out of bed at 6:45 on a Saturday morning. To specify, it takes a crazy
person. Call me crazy. Olivia, Alex, Robert and I all metro-ed down to Farragut
and then walked to the docks. It just so happens that you can take a river
cruise down? up? the Potomac to Mt. Vernon. The cruise itself lasts about an
hour and a half and takes you past navy yards and a series of other interesting
riverside spots. The notable landmarks are pointed out and explained by an
overhead narration, which was fairly educational. The cost of the ticket for
the river cruise also covers the admission fee for a tour of the house when you
reach Mt. Vernon. We had some time before our assigned tour time, so we
wandered past the slave graves, where they have a group of archaeologists (my
people!) working on temporary excavations, and through the kitchen gardens
before we went through the house. The house
tour is as brief as ever, but its always worth a spin through, if only
to admire the fabric used for the bed drapes and the set up of the dining room.
After the house tour we had enough time to catch the bus to another part of the
property for a quick tour of the grist mill and the distillery. I definitely
recommend leaving enough time for that if you're headed out there, but I would
also advise packing your own lunch. The cafeteria is not the most fabulous and
it is overrun with youths even on the weekend.
Monday: Back to the works, the only thing out
of the ordinary today was meeting up with Katy for coffee in the courtyard for
a catch-up talk. I grabbed some dumplings from Yumplings (food truck) before I
met Katy, and they're good, but nothing on Chinatown Express. The chat with
Katy was nice, we talked about my time in DC so far, and decisions I'd made as
to the future. The time I've spent here so far has been wonderful, and the
future remains hazy (but a little clearer!)
Tuesday: Katy was kind enough to pass my
information along to a friend of hers who works in cybersecurity analysis, and
I met up with her for coffee this afternoon. CJ is funny and whip smart and she
had a lot of valuable advice to give about DC, careers and life in general.
This evening we had the Excellence in Public Service event. The Excellence in
Public Service is an award given by the Glenn College to a member of the DC
community that they view as fulfilling that lofty description. The award giving
is accompanied by a little reception for networking and reconnecting. The
College was kind enough to extend invitations to the WAIP students, as well as
a few other Ohio State students in DC. Alongside eating copious quantities of
coconut shrimp, we heard from the Dean, Senator Portman, and Congressman Pat
Tibieri, this year's award recipient. It was a wonderful opportunity to watch
full-fledged adults in action, and to do a little networking.
Wednesday: I took the opportunity after work
today to check out a little jewelry shop that CJ recommended on Tuesday. Up off
of Dupont Circle, Bloom is cute and stuffed to the brim with both inexpensive
trendy pieces and a section of more unique imports from Turkey. Its on the
would-recommend list if you so happen to be suffering through brunch or
something nearby.
Friday: We had a double-whammy of study tours
today, starting out at the Federal
Reserve in the morning and moving to the EU delegation in the afternoon. The
Federal Reserve was a gem of a tour. It lined up perfectly with the book we
were reading for class this week (The Alchemists), and was highly educational.
Also they let us sit in the Board of Governor's chairs in their meeting room.
Original architectural details and furniture were a highlight for the part of
me that will always be an interior designer's daughter. After our official tour
Katy's husband, who works for the Federal Reserve was kind enough to take us to
one of the less intimidatingly important meeting rooms to answer our remaining
questions about the Fed and the finance sector in general. For lunch I dragged
a few of the girls, and a guy, in my wake to a line of food trucks that I'd
spotted while we were walking in early and we enjoyed bento boxes (Tokyo in the
City), bubble tea and fresh baked cookies (Captain Cookie) for lunch by an
exuberant fountain. The walk to the EU delegation's building was a good way to
start working of the cookies (which were amazing). While we didn’t get a tour
of the EU offices we spoke with a member of their delegation who came to the US
for first a semester of undergrad, and then grad school and never left after
that. They're also generous with the swag (hello new map of Europe) and I at
least, picked up some good info. For example, did you know the foreign service
has a officer posted at the EU's headquarters in Europe? #lifegoalsformoi.
After the EU I hightailed it back towards across the city to Paul, a French
bakery for an informational interview with an FBI employee. Though his
background is mostly religious, it was interesting to speak with him about his
rise through the FBI and the opportunities available there for undergraduate
grads versus people with master's degrees. He recommends the masters if you
want to get anywhere.
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