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.
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.
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
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
Hashem, I am so proud of you, your accomplishment, and your writing ability. You inherited it from your mother, not from me, that is for sure. Your experience of Washington and the political machine of the Americans will add to your wealth of knowledge and understand. With all of my criticism of the American system, I still find it the best political system in the world. Here in Egypt we dream to have a free and democratic system that resembles the American one.
ReplyDeleteHave fun in the process of learning and I miss you very much. Papa