Wow! It is almost the end of the third week of work already! Time flies when you’re having fun and working like a maniac…
Work at NCAI is starting to get more fun. At first, it was fun to be at the Embassy of Tribal Nations, but the work was starting to feel a little mundane. This week I’ve got my first taste of substantive work, researching bills on online gambling and creating briefs for my supervisor, drafting letters on behalf of NCAI to be sent to congressmen, and attending my first congressional hearing. Our big mid-year conference is coming up next week, and most of the staff will be out in Rapid City, South Dakota. During that week, everyone will be counting three fellow interns and me to be their “eyes and ears” back in DC. We will be responsible for tracking key legislation, hearings, and other developments, and reporting back to them. No pressure, heh heh. Anyway, it feels good to know that we are trusted enough to have that much responsibility entrusted to us. Also, it is good to have a challenge to help us all grow professionally and personally.
Speaking of congressional hearings, something occurred to me about DC this week: I can’t escape baseball! At the apartment, at work, and even at the House hearing I attended on the Hill, everyone seems to mention our national pastime. As someone who is not a big baseball fan, suffice it to say I don’t get most of these references.
Lesson of the week: look for specials. The city is expensive, and most of us interns are pretty poor. Thus, finding a half-off burger deal at the local pub and grill in Arlington was pretty GLORIOUS! The burgers are delicious and cheap. This is the recipe for a new after-class tradition on Mondays. As Howard Dean and Dave Chappelle would say, “BYAH!”
World Cup fever is sweeping the city. We checked it out in Dupont Circle this weekend, where several thousand people were crowded into the park to watch USA face UK. I have to say it made me feel pretty patriotic with all the flags waving around, and with my group yelling insults at the UK fans.
After the match, we stumbled into the Capital Pride event—the DC gay pride parade. It was my first time ever being at such an event, and I have to say, it was a lot of fun. As someone for whom issues of gay rights hit close to home, it felt good to see so many people supporting the cause in the city. It was also cool to see a friend that is not so sure how he feels about gay people step out of his comfort zone and attend the parade. It was interesting, to say the least, and it has definitely been a highlight of my experience so far.
I was very lucky to have an old, very good buddy of mine from home come down to visit this weekend. He joined the usual intern crew and we had a blast on Saturday night. A bunch of us guys topped it off Sunday morning by hitting the local IHOP for some greasy, delicious breakfast food. D.C. has been great so far, but it really felt good to have a part of “home” here with me.
One of my roommates got to DC later than everyone else, so I joined him Sunday to tour the monuments on the National Mall, which was my third time seeing the monuments. This time, however, it was different. At the Lincoln Memorial, I started feeling a little emotional when I was reading the Gettysburg Address off the wall. It could be that I’m just sentimental, or that I’m a history major and history “just affects me,” or that I’m just some kind of wimp—but I think it’s different. The weight of everything just hit me, and it was a surreal experience. Then we hit the Smithsonian Natural History Museum and got our edu-tainment on…
Last night, one of my roommates and I ditched the tourist traps of D.C. and hit a concert at the 9:30 Club. It was a memorable show, and it was cool to go somewhere unconventional. It was on the way back to the apartment that I realized the city didn’t feel so big, so foreign anymore. It feels surprisingly…comfortable. It doesn’t quite feel like home (I don’t think anyplace can replace upstate New York in my heart) but it doesn’t feel like Mars anymore.
One last note for this post—I mentioned last time how D.C. seems to be a surprisingly friendly city. My professor made the same remark yesterday in class, and contrasted her experience with the reputation of D.C. as a violent city. Sure, bad things happen here, but my experience here so far has truly challenged the biases I had coming into my new, temporary home. Many people on the streets or on the Metro are very kind. I saw a random guy help a blind man across a busy street yesterday. Closer to home, we had a party the other night and decided to yell down the balcony to our neighbors below. They were very friendly, and they came up to socialize.
So, although bad things happen often, being here just this short time has helped me realize that people aren’t so uncaring as I may have thought. There are a lot of good folks out there. There are a lot of interesting people waiting to change our lives—for the better.
The journey continues…
