Hey TWC,

We are nearing the halfway mark of the internship. Hard to believe, eh?

America: also spelled “Ammericuh” or “-Mericuh”

Last week, I posted about how I was starting to get the feel for Washington and the United States. Of course, my experience is, while unstructured and based on my own initiative, very limited, and I do recognize that. However, it has been an incredible learning experience for me so far.

Americans aren’t type-A personalities; type-A personalities are Americans. While this can be very overwhelming for me at times, the strength of character of the American people, whether good or bad, has consistently impressed me. This has been both a difficult and enlightening experience.

Regardless, some Americanisms have rubbed off on me. As part of a project at my internship placement, I made a phone call to a Canadian government department and spoke with several civil servants. Speaking to Ottawans (i.e. people from Ottawa, my hometown), it was a big shock to hear a Canadian accent on the other end of the phone. Being able to discern the Canadian accent suggests I might have been out of the country a little too long. Some other Americanisms I’ve picked up are saying “y’all” occasionally, which is probably a by-product of living in Virginia, part of the Southern United States as well as interacting with some Southerners. My roommate is from North Carolina, and he’s probably to blame more than anything. A specific terminological shift was my unwitting usage of “college” and “university” interchangeably, something Canadians don’t do because colleges and universities are distinct types of institutions in Canada.

I have done my best to stay in touch with my Canadian roots, ensuring to inject the interrogative “eh?” into every sentence no less than three times. Whenever I feel truly disheartened with my predicament of being surrounded by Americans, I go onto YouTube and watch Sidney Crosby score the Golden Goal at the 2010 Winter Olympics. A Canadian flag is now prominently hung in our living room across from my roommate’s Boston Celtics flag, although I get the feeling that after the NBA finals my flag lifts spirits far more than his does.

Fortunately, I’ve largely avoided notoriously unhealthy Southern cuisine and soul food. It’s almost exclusively pork, which I don’t eat, but is always deep fried. I’ll leave out the details, but if you’re interested go look up things like chitlins, fatback, pig’s knuckles, and ham hock. Fried chicken and chicken-fried steak remains delicious, though, as does the Americans’ impeccable skill to barbecue anything to delicious perfection. In the American’s defence (spelled with a ‘c’), an infamous French-Canadian dish known as poutine (chips with cheese curd and beef gravy) that perhaps rivals soul food in its unhealthiness will be making an appearance at our Canada Day party this weekend. Many thanks to the state of Wisconsin for producing cheese curd in bulk and shipping it overnight to Virginia.

The Chinatown gate in DC, which I may or may not have added to break up the long section of text in a colourful and distracting way.

Football in America, but not American football

Football (ok, soccer. Happy?) is a burgeoning sport in North America (ok, Canada and the United States) and Major League Soccer is becoming more popular. I really enjoy soccer, and I’m happy that the World Cup is making Americans more interested in it. Major American companies are seeing the commercial value in soccer as well. Budweiser being the official beer of the World Cup is a massive sign of what’s to come for America’s involvement in the sport (especially considering the European beer culture and tradition).

The District and some of the interns have been fairly caught up in soccer.  Saturday and Sunday afternoons have been dominated by the game in my apartment, and the city is no different. Many bars in DC and Virginia have been open for 7am matches, and the USA games were publicly screened at Dupont Circle. Even though the United States has been defeated by this point, people are still watching.

Aside from FIFA, Washington has its own MLS team, DC United, which is considered to be among the best in the league. DC United played the El Salvador national men’s team last Saturday, ending in a 1-0 win for United. Alexandria has an extremely large El Salvadorian population for some reason, and as a result, the crowd was largely rooting for them. When it became clear that El Salvador was not going to win, a few scuffles in the crowd broke out between El Salvadorian fans and a few ran out onto the field thus proving the official pastimes of Latin America are futbol and irrational emotion.

DC United will be playing Seattle Sounders FC next month with discounted ($15) tickets for college students, so I hope to see all interns out and cheering for United. Landon Donovan, team USA’s star player and a man commonly considered to be the best American soccer player of all time, will be making an appearance with LA Galaxy the week after.

DC United and El Salvador on the pitch

The few brave souls cheering for DC United

Anyways, that’s it for now, TWC. Hope you’re “enjoying” the heat (it was 110 degrees on Sunday) and until next time, stay classy.

-Hashem

Hey TWC,

We’re in week three of the internship, and I don’t know about you folks, but I’m starting to feel like a true Washingtonian. I thought I might start off this post with a little segment that reflects on what I have picked up or learned in The District.

You may be a Washingtonian if…

-you’ve sworn at a tourist for not staying to the right on an escalator in the Metro, especially at major stops like Dupont Circle or Chinatown 
-you’ve spoken glowingly about Stephen Strasburg, the Washington Nationals 21 year-old star pitcher, even if you don’t watch or like baseball
-you know not to order a regular-size hamburger at Five Guys, unless you’re REALLY hungry
-you have been offered/ have ordered one of many Dogfish Head Brewery’s stunningly creative beers
- you get used to the train being filled with soldiers, airmen, Marines and sailors going to work at the Pentagon if you take the Yellow/ Blue line trains
-you don’t get lost at Dupont Circle (I still do)
-the phenomenon known as “Swamp Butt” (and that’s the more polite term) becomes an unfortunate part of your life
-you are unsurprised by the amount of seersucker/bow ties worn by men along Pennsylvania Avenue
-you are banned from the DC Zoo (that’s a little more personal and a whole other story…)

I’m finding myself somewhat complacent with DC, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The other day, I was walking past the Capitol to the Rayburn Building to attend a committee as part of my internship placement. It struck me that I wasn’t immediately awed by the sheer magnitude of America’s magnificent capital. What struck me while looking at the Capitol was, “This is my job?” I had a similar experience when walking past the Parliament buildings in Ottawa about two years ago when I started to work there in the summer of 2008. It’s a surreal feeling when something as powerful of an image as the Capitol loses its almost romantic appeal and just becomes a task or a routine part of your life. Please don’t misunderstand me, I do not take it for granted. For the first time, I didn’t feel like a tourist and I felt like just one of many of The District’s denizens who call this awe-inspiring city home.

The Washington Center

By this point, we have been exposed to some of The Washington Center’s programming activities, assignments, and Presidential Lecture Series. Every other week or so, TWC interns must submit professional reflections to their program supervisor. The purpose of the professional reflections is implied in the name, but they are a surprisingly useful opportunity for interns to meditate on their progress thus far in DC and their goals and aspirations while working here. We had to submit a rough draft of our Individual Development Plan, which is a personal reflection on our strengths and weaknesses in five areas: academic development, professional development, civic engagement, leadership, and personal growth. I approached the assignment with a certain disdain and hesitancy towards completing it, but soon found myself actually thinking about what I wanted professionally out of the internship and how I wanted to better myself personally while in Washington.

The Presidential Lecture Series is put on by the Washington Center for all interns, and features discussions on various topics with panels of politicians, corporations, business leaders, community activists and varying other individuals discussing a various topics. This week’s PLS, titled “Private Sector Philanthropy and Community Engagement” featured representatives from HSBC, Microsoft, the Verizon Foundation, and the New York Life Foundation. They discussed how each corporation contributes to local communities through encouraging charity, community engagement, volunteerism and investment. It was interesting to hear from Microsoft and HSBC, two institutions with an arguably controversial public image (HSBC’s being less focused at them specifically but more generally related to the ongoing financial crisis), about how they contribute to communities.

The District

The temporal demands of my internship unfortunately leave me with little time to go out and explore the city, so I don’t have much of an update in that respect. However, I have been out a few times to the fun parts of Alexandria and Arlington (across the Potomac in Virginia). In Arlington, there is a great Irish pub called Ireland Four Courts. They have all the typical Irish fare and beers, but closer to my heart, I convinced them to make me a poutine. For those unfamiliar with poutine, it’s a French-Canadian “dish” of chips and cheese curd with heavy gravy poured over it, which melts the cheese and keeps the fries warm. The version I had, which I’ve called “Arlington poutine” used mozzarella instead and it had scallions, but it was delicious and reminded me of home. Pubs in general have felt like little slices of home because of their universal ambience and food and drink. One difference, however, is the usage of American pints (16oz) compared to imperial pints (20ozs), which is what I am used to as a subject of the Queen. Luckily for me, the bartender at Ireland Four Courts is actually Irish and thus could sympathize.

An Arlington poutine

King Street is the main shopping and socializing street in Alexandria. Murphy’s Irish Pub is just that, a pub, and thus doesn’t really need a description. They’re all the same, but Murphy’s has $.25 wings (that’s cheap in America I guess) on Wednesdays as well as live music and several big screens to watch the baseball game.

King Street, as seen from the George Washington National Masonic Memorial. 

PHOTO CREDIT Ben Schumin, released under GNU Free Documentation License

Also in Virginia is Arlington National Cemetery, a military cemetery with over 300,000 graves, including JFK’s. It is stunningly beautiful yet eerie at the same time. The thought that three hundred thousand people are buried there will weigh heavily on you if you stay at Arlington for a while, and I had to leave because of it. It is a must-see for anybody visiting Washington. I have tried to photograph just how many gravestones there in Arlington, but I was unable to do it justice. Below are two photos as well as a picture of the United States Marine Corps Memorial.

That’s it for now, DC.

Hashem

Hey TWC,

Most of us have now been in DC for two weeks now and hopefully we are all properly settled in and have a functional knowledge of getting around Washington. The Metro system is a frightening labyrinth, and like all things in life, there is an iPod Touch/iPhone app that solves that problem. If you’re still getting lost and you want to fit in, download the app from the App Store and avoid looking entirely oblivious.

The Placements

Like most interns, I have started at my work placement. I’ve come to an agreement with my boss regarding how much I will actually be posting about what I’m doing, and we came to the conclusion that posting as little as possible was best. As part of the political leadership program for TWC, I am working in a government relations (read: lobbyist) firm. Having prior experience working in a legislature, being involved in the private sector of the legislative process has been eye opening. Interns at our firm don’t open mail and file documents; TWC guarantees that less than 20% of your internship work will be clerical, and none of it has for us. While doing research is part of the job, it is always on an interesting topic and I understand that we play an integral part of the lobbying process. Interns also engage in lobbying themselves, both electronically and in person. Lobbying through interpretive dance is lesser known, but often frowned upon for being “weird”. This all seems pretty vague, but I promise you: this job, while difficult, is exciting and an excellent learning experience. Although we may all be inclined to work for Congressmen and bask in the prestige associated with it, you will learn more about the legislative process and how Congress “works” by working for a government relations firm.

With trillions of dollars in each federal budget to be divided up, lobbying for big business is big business in Washington. The Defense Department’s purchase of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is the biggest defense appropriation in history ($323 billion for 2,443 planes) and the engine contract was considered to be worth around $100 billion. General Electric’s attempt to sell the F-136 engine to supply the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter over Pratt and Whitney (who won the contract) has been a public and ugly fight, with full-page ads in the Washington Post and ads on the Metro (pictured below).

Other interns that I’ve spoken with have had varying experiences. Some placements are disorganized and don’t know how to integrate their interns properly into the office. One of my roommates still doesn’t have a work computer. This is another problem of working for Congress, international organizations, government agencies, or other large institutions: you’re a small fish in a big pond. There isn’t anything wrong with that necessarily, and it would be unfair to suggest that by working at a large firm you’ll be “swallowed up” and forgotten about.

The Residences

As I wrote last week, our apartment needed some work upon our arrival, but we now have brand-new beds and the whole place, at this point, seems to be free of insects. Rather suspiciously, my housing requests have all gone through really quickly. Is it because of this blog? Probably not, but just in case, you future interns may want to compete for a TWC blogging position and use your blog as leverage to make housing requests go faster.

The roof of the Braddock Road apartment facility deserves special mention. The roof, as my roommate put it, is “the spot.” The roof (known as the penthouse level) has tables and chairs for sitting around, talking, writing, socializing, etc. and lounging chairs for…lounging…by the pool. There’s totally a pool on the roof, no big deal. The best aspect of the roof is whatever time of day it may be, if you are bored, head up and there will be somebody to talk to. This past Saturday, I went up to the roof to look out over Alexandria as I frequently do at night. I intended on going up for fifteen minutes, and ended up having a three-hour long conversation about international relations with some interns from the Cato Institute.

The roof with Alexandria in the background

Yeah, that’s a pool. What? Yeah, it’s on the roof. No biggie.

The District

The downside of working during the week is I have to satisfy my touristic (?) impulses on weekends. As a result, my weekends have thus far been quite packed. Since posting last time, I visited the United States Memorial Holocaust Museum, which I can safely say is one of the few times I’ve been truly moved in my life. It is too many things: terrifying, sad, moving, powerful, humbling, and even uplifting at times. The Holocaust Museum is a must-see for everyone visiting DC, even if it means standing in line just for tickets and coming back the next day for the actual visit.

Other than the Holocaust Museum, I’ve been to some other Washington icons, such as the Supreme Court, the Capitol, and the Jefferson Memorial. There isn’t much to say about them. I mean, it’s the United States Capitol, what is there to say that isn’t obvious? It’s beautiful, intimidating, and unbelievably massive. Some pictures are below.

The United States Supreme Court. While best known as the highest court in the land and a symbol of the American justice system, it is the lesser known location of the famous 1998 purple nurpling of Antonin Scalia by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which caused Scalia to dissent against Ginsburg’s majority opinion in Olmstead v. L.C.

The statue of Thomas Jefferson inside the Jefferson Memorial. The statue is 19 ft. high, which was Jefferson’s true height. Like John Hancock, Jefferson was a giant, but this fact has been forgotten by history because Jefferson signed his name on the Declaration of Independence smaller than usual, unlike Hancock.

Rules of the Jefferson Memorial: -no cussin’ –no spittin’

One of the disappointing experiences for me has been the DC Zoo. At the moment, it is under some construction and thus one of the major attractions, the elephants, aren’t in their enclosure and thus it is very difficult to see them. Another major sight, the pandas, are unfortunately rather lazy creatures and thus make for a rather boring exhibit. The lions, tigers, and bears, as Dorothy famously predicted, were exciting. Regardless, I’m not allowed back at the zoo, but I wouldn’t go twice anyways.

That’s it for now, TWC. I’m going to try to post twice a week from now on, time permitting, so check out the blog on Monday for a weekend update.

-Hashem

Week 1--Welcome to D.C.

Hiya! My name’s Hashem Hamdy, and I am one of the TWC summer term bloggers.

Let me introduce myself. I am a fourth-year political science student at Carleton University in Ottawa. Don’t know Ottawa? It’s in Ontario. Ontario? Canada, do you know Canada? Wonderful. While in D.C., I will be working in a nondescript government relations (read: lobbying) firm as a part of the political leadership program. I’m living out at Braddock Road in Alexandria, Virginia, which I will discuss later.

The Washington Center experience has thus far been pretty fantastic. Having never been to the United States, much less Washington, I largely left Canada without any serious preconceived notions about the United States. I was given consistent warning about was the summer heat in The District. Washington is healthily under the Mason-Dixon Line, and the several 100+ degree days we’ve had in the last week have consistently reminded me of that. Aside from the heat, Americans are nice, the city is beautiful, things are cheap and Chipotle Mexican Grill is delicious. I love D.C.

The Wednesday arrival day gives TWC interns about a week to get oriented and see the city, as well as a weekend to ensure that all of the local bars are in working order (hint: they are).  Like many interns, I’ve used this time to sightsee, shop, figure out the Metro system (it’s great!) and get to know my roommates and fellow interns. Most importantly, make sure to get a SmarTrip card! It’s available at any CVS Pharmacy for $10, it’s rechargeable and you can track your balance online, and if you lose it or it’s stolen you can cancel it and keep your balance.  There are many important things all interns need to do in their first week, and most of them are mentioned above. Of course, all of the standard DC landmarks need a visit; the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, White House, Supreme Court, Congress and pretty much every other Washington icon will always be packed with tourists, but don’t let that dissuade you. You’re an intern: you are better than them. Just keep your camera in a briefcase and wear some chinos and nobody will be the wiser. Never tell anybody you’re an intern, though. Interns are right above tourists and right below the homeless guys outside Union Station in the pecking order of DC.

Yours truly on the Mall

I made a few superfluous trips of my own desire. A District icon, Five Guys Burgers and Fries (actually started in Virginia, to VA’s credit) is a must visit for anybody visiting DC. It is a near-religious experience, as well as an unhealthy one. A regular cheeseburger and fries with a drink will set you back about $10 and 2,500 calories, but you can get away with it by engaging in a horrendous amount of walking, like I did in my first week. Other than that, I stumbled upon the flight of stairs from the climactic final scene of The Exorcist, which for those who haven’t seen the film, is the place where Satan dies. I’ve also made it a goal to visit and photograph every street-level embassy in Washington, so I’ve been running around Kalorama and Embassy Row a bit. The most awesomest embassy is, of course, the Canadian one, but I’ve been quite a variety of them so far, from Turkey to Madagascar to Argentina to Australia to Togo.

Heaven in a cardiac infarction

The Washington Center held two days of orientation, with a “casual” orientation session on Thursday and a more professional one on Friday. We were introduced to our program advisors, and I was very happy to finally meet these people we had been corresponding with for so long. My advisor, Kevin, seems like a great guy and I feel fine working with him. However, the Thursday session offered interns very basic professional tips as “dress professionally” or “don’t come to work drunk.” I was, of course, planning on doing the latter of these things, so this was a bit of a letdown for me. We had an “icebreaker” game called “Zip Zap Zoop”, which essentially amounted to saying “Zip” “Zap” or “Zoop” while pointing at people. Naturally, we did so a circle, as required by ancient law governing all “icebreaking” sessions.

Xenophon, Ancient Greek philosopher and historian best known for his master work, On Tyranny, and his lesser-known work, On Icebreaking, a classic treatise that theorized the circular nature of icebreaking sessions, something later proven by Copernicus.

The Friday orientation session gave us some more substantial information. Unlike the “casual” session, which focused on programming and professionalism, the Friday session gave us an idea of what DC was like, with a presentation from NOMA, or North of Massachusetts Avenue and a presentation from the DC Police. The latter session stuck with me, notably the phrase “urban common sense”, which really does need to be exercised in D.C.  

As I said before, I am out at the Braddock Road residence. TWC really did a great job with a lot of things- the furniture is great, the TVs are all HD, and all the kitchen appliances and the washer/dryer work. Much to my delight, the Internet connection is extremely fast. Looking at the other housing units out at Braddock Station, ours is one of the best. However, you should definitely bring your own cookware, as ours consisted of a plastic spatula from what I believe is an Easy-Bake-Oven. TWC will replace anything that’s missing, but if you’re particular about your cooking like we are in my apartment, heed my previous advice.

Additionally, our apartment was infested with several different species of parasite or microorganism, such as mildew, mold, and most importantly, bedbugs, fifteen of which we found on one mattress. To TWC’s credit, the fumigator was here the next day and all of our mattresses are being replaced, but if I am to be infested with parasites, I would rather it be my own doing.

Just to finish off, our RAs, Chazzy and Diane, are awesome. They’re extremely friendly and relaxed, and all the “hiccups” (especially the ones that live where we sleep) have been taken care of promptly. Internships start this week, and while I’m keeping mine on the DL, I’ll be sure to keep everyone posted on what I’m hearing from other interns and other internship sites.

Welcome to The District.

-Hashem