Today my Belgian roommate Karlijn and I went to the Eastern Market farmers and flea market. This market is huge, and part of it is housed in a large building. But every Sunday they have a flea market along with the farmers market, and it was impressive! There was something for everyone there, to say the least. Dresses, bags, pictures, giraffe sculptures, hats, scarves, yard ornaments, lobster rolls, fresh meats and cheeses, wooden signs, jewelry galore....you get the picture!
I didn't have much cash on me, so I didn't buy anything. But we're going back next weekend because I sampled some amazing salsa and some apples as well. The apples were larger than a softball and absolutely scrumptious! I am looking forward to buying some next week. :)
We also went down to Chinatown and bought some postcards. If anyone sends me mail this semester, I'll be sure to mail you a postcard back! My address is:
Jennifer Daugherty
1005 3rd NE, Apt. 302
Washington, DC 20002
DC is kinda strange because it's divided into quadrants: NE, NW, SE, SW. If you ever visit, be sure you know which quadrant your street is on. Because 19 Street NE is far, far away from 19th Street NW. :) But overall the city is laid out VERY logically, much better than O-Town, Iowa. It's kinda hard to get lost if you have an address. Perfect for me!!
-Jen
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Crazy Busy Work and Doctors
This week has been insanely busy at my internship! The Summit is coming closer and closer, so I've been working hard on contacting the speakers, moderators, and sponsor for the event in order to get the information for our Summit program. Ay! There are lots of different people to contact, and I have to tell each group different things. It's enough to make me lose my mind!
On top of that, I've been working with my supervisor on trying to work out the hotel arrangements for more than 30 people. That's a whole other headache in itself...But today is Friday and I can sleep in tomorrow morning! :)
On another note, I've injured my foot somehow (I do not know how). Let me just say, having to walk from the bus stop to work and such has NOT been fun. But I visited the doctor yesterday, and they took x-rays to see if I had broken one of the bones in the arch of my foot. Good news is I didn't break anything, but now I'm stuck icing, resting, elevating, and wrapping my foot. And walking anywhere is pretty hard. Hopefully it'll feel better in a few days.
-Jen
On top of that, I've been working with my supervisor on trying to work out the hotel arrangements for more than 30 people. That's a whole other headache in itself...But today is Friday and I can sleep in tomorrow morning! :)
On another note, I've injured my foot somehow (I do not know how). Let me just say, having to walk from the bus stop to work and such has NOT been fun. But I visited the doctor yesterday, and they took x-rays to see if I had broken one of the bones in the arch of my foot. Good news is I didn't break anything, but now I'm stuck icing, resting, elevating, and wrapping my foot. And walking anywhere is pretty hard. Hopefully it'll feel better in a few days.
-Jen
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Meeting on Capitol Hill
Today I had a meeting up on Capitol Hill with Senator Harkin. The Washington Center incorporates a meeting with a local senator or representative as part of our programming, and a group of 3 other Iowans and I had the chance to meeting with him today. We were told to prepare questions and topics to talk about with him, and that our group would have around 30 minutes to talk with him.
Sounds great, right? Well, the story didn't quite roll out like that. First of all, TWC had us signed up to go to a constituent breakfast. When we arrived, we saw a huge line. Apparently around 50 people were also there. We were able to talk to some of his aides, who were very nice and knowledgeable. I even had the chance to do some good networking. One guy asked what I planned to do after I graduated, and I told him I wasn't sure but asked if he was hiring. :) I got his business card and he told me he might have some jobs opening up.
However, our chat with the actual Senator Harkin was short-lived. We were one of the last groups he talked with, and all he asked was our names and our internships, then talked a bit to the 1 guy in the group about his internship. So we didn't get to talk to him about anything of importance.
Overall it was a good experience, just not the experience we were told to expect. Oh well! You live and you learn!
-Jen
Sounds great, right? Well, the story didn't quite roll out like that. First of all, TWC had us signed up to go to a constituent breakfast. When we arrived, we saw a huge line. Apparently around 50 people were also there. We were able to talk to some of his aides, who were very nice and knowledgeable. I even had the chance to do some good networking. One guy asked what I planned to do after I graduated, and I told him I wasn't sure but asked if he was hiring. :) I got his business card and he told me he might have some jobs opening up.
However, our chat with the actual Senator Harkin was short-lived. We were one of the last groups he talked with, and all he asked was our names and our internships, then talked a bit to the 1 guy in the group about his internship. So we didn't get to talk to him about anything of importance.
Overall it was a good experience, just not the experience we were told to expect. Oh well! You live and you learn!
-Jen
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Photo time!
Here are a few pics of my adventures in DC:
1. This is a picture of our neighborhood. There are a lot of rowhouses, and many are nicely kept. Our block is radically different though as both sides of the street are filled with 2 large apartment buildings (ours-the RAF, and the other fancy apartments across the street).
2. Two of my roomies and I at the Capitol!
3. Edna and I with Georgetown Cupcakes! They were amazing.
4. Steph and I outside the White House.
5. The lounge car of the Amtrak train. It was very comfy.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Capitol Tour
This morning 3 of my roommates (plus about 30 other people) went on a tour of the US Capitol through TWC. It was pretty sweet! We were able to walk there, since our apartment is only about 5-6 blocks from the Capitol. Looking at the neighborhood, you wouldn't guess that. But walk a few blocks and the scenery changes dramatically!
One of the staff members from TWC actually works at the Capitol, so after the normal tour ended, she took us around to her office and let us tour the House Majority Whip. The regular part of the Capitol tour was neat, but short and we didn't see much. Just a few rooms, and we didn't get to go into the House and Senate chambers. But we saw lots of intricate paintings, statues, and fancy rooms. :) Overall it was a neat experience!
One of the staff members from TWC actually works at the Capitol, so after the normal tour ended, she took us around to her office and let us tour the House Majority Whip. The regular part of the Capitol tour was neat, but short and we didn't see much. Just a few rooms, and we didn't get to go into the House and Senate chambers. But we saw lots of intricate paintings, statues, and fancy rooms. :) Overall it was a neat experience!
Friday, September 17, 2010
Workin' Hard!
This week has been pretty busy! I've had a lot of meetings at my internship, and have gotten to do some interesting things.
On Wednesday I went to a press conference. The National Science Foundation was releasing a study of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education practices, and since the Summit I am helping with focuses on environmental education, getting the publication was a good thing to look at. So another coworker and I went down to the National Press Club (a pretty nice place) and got to hear from some of the Heads of the National Science Board and the National Science Foundation. I even had the chance to speak with the Acting Director of NSF, who is a dynamic speaker and really nice! I even managed to wrangle 150 copies of the publication, which we'll distribute at the conference! Mission accomplished.
Other than the various meetings all over DC, I've been busy preparing for the Summit and the Workshop coming this November. There's a lot to prepare for! But it keeps life interesting, and I like being busy. I also feel like I'm learning a lot more "office" skills-little things in Word, Excel, etc that I've never used before. After this internship I will feel confident listing computer programs on my resumé! It's really interesting to use things I had never heard of 2 weeks ago...Live and Learn...er...Work and Learn!
One of my roommates and I have the chance to tour the Capitol tomorrow through TWC. We're pretty excited! :)
-Jen
On Wednesday I went to a press conference. The National Science Foundation was releasing a study of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education practices, and since the Summit I am helping with focuses on environmental education, getting the publication was a good thing to look at. So another coworker and I went down to the National Press Club (a pretty nice place) and got to hear from some of the Heads of the National Science Board and the National Science Foundation. I even had the chance to speak with the Acting Director of NSF, who is a dynamic speaker and really nice! I even managed to wrangle 150 copies of the publication, which we'll distribute at the conference! Mission accomplished.
Other than the various meetings all over DC, I've been busy preparing for the Summit and the Workshop coming this November. There's a lot to prepare for! But it keeps life interesting, and I like being busy. I also feel like I'm learning a lot more "office" skills-little things in Word, Excel, etc that I've never used before. After this internship I will feel confident listing computer programs on my resumé! It's really interesting to use things I had never heard of 2 weeks ago...Live and Learn...er...Work and Learn!
One of my roommates and I have the chance to tour the Capitol tomorrow through TWC. We're pretty excited! :)
-Jen
Friday, September 10, 2010
Oh the Things You See...
Life in DC is always interesting! Whether it's tipsy people on the shuttle, creepy people on the metro, or escalators for carts. Yes...carts. We went to Target today to buy a DVD play for our room (cheap entertainment 101) and we discovered that next to the human escalators were cart escalators. Just push your cart in, hop on the escalator, and your cart comes up with you. It was pretty sweet! I shall try to put pictures up of it...I couldn't resist taking a few on my phone!
Life is settling into a nice normal. I am getting used to the morning commute-which is busy, stressful, and just not fun. However, it only takes about 10 minutes to get around on the metro in the morning, which is good because it's incredibly busy in the morning. And I take the bus back home, which is slower buy 1/2 the price of the metro. I hope to take the bus to work next week and back home because it is only $1, versus $2.15 on the metro. Pretty good deal!
The internship is going well. I've been pretty busy, and have learned some new stuff. I learned how to do a mail merge on Word, worked on the ESA website a bit, touched up my Excel skills, done a lot of letter/email writing, and am enjoying it! I get to go to a Press Conference next week, which should be neat. I have a few other meeting, which are for planning the 2 conferences happening this fall. I'm so glad to be working where I am!
I have lots of homework to do this weekend, but I won't think about that until tomorrow... :)
-Jen
Life is settling into a nice normal. I am getting used to the morning commute-which is busy, stressful, and just not fun. However, it only takes about 10 minutes to get around on the metro in the morning, which is good because it's incredibly busy in the morning. And I take the bus back home, which is slower buy 1/2 the price of the metro. I hope to take the bus to work next week and back home because it is only $1, versus $2.15 on the metro. Pretty good deal!
The internship is going well. I've been pretty busy, and have learned some new stuff. I learned how to do a mail merge on Word, worked on the ESA website a bit, touched up my Excel skills, done a lot of letter/email writing, and am enjoying it! I get to go to a Press Conference next week, which should be neat. I have a few other meeting, which are for planning the 2 conferences happening this fall. I'm so glad to be working where I am!
I have lots of homework to do this weekend, but I won't think about that until tomorrow... :)
-Jen
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Starting the Internship
Today was my starting day for the internship at the Ecological Society of America. Today was an unusual day at the office because they were holding a 6 hour conference planning meeting. However, that got me into the thick of things and helped me understand a lot more about the conference I will help to organize. Talk about a learning experience though! There were about 8 people there, from several notable organizations in ecology and education. And they just talked and talked and talked about ideas for the summit, and the resulting Action Plan they hope to craft.
The conference will be in Mid October, and the purpose is to develop a sustainable, achievable plan to create national environmental literacy. AKA making ecology/environmental science/sustainability/etc a part of our nation's curriculum, K-12 and higher education. Pretty lofty goals! But I think they'll be successful.
That's pretty much all I did today. I have my OWN office, not a cubicle, but 4 solid walls. Pretty nice (for an intern, at least). Tomorrow I have a few different tasks to work on, and I think I'll really enjoy this internship. At the very least, I know I'll learn a lot of useful information and skills!
-Jen
The conference will be in Mid October, and the purpose is to develop a sustainable, achievable plan to create national environmental literacy. AKA making ecology/environmental science/sustainability/etc a part of our nation's curriculum, K-12 and higher education. Pretty lofty goals! But I think they'll be successful.
That's pretty much all I did today. I have my OWN office, not a cubicle, but 4 solid walls. Pretty nice (for an intern, at least). Tomorrow I have a few different tasks to work on, and I think I'll really enjoy this internship. At the very least, I know I'll learn a lot of useful information and skills!
-Jen
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Weekend Wanderings
This has been a busy first weekend in DC! On Saturday I decided to check out the neighborhood near my internship. I planned on taking the metro down there, to time out the commute and find my way around. However, in orientation we were advised to know an alternate way back to our apartment, in case the metro ever shuts down (emergency, basically not something that we want to happen...) So my roommate, another girl, and I decided to check out the Circulator bus system. It's one of the bus systems in the metro area, and it runs on big loops. One runs from Union Station (a few blocks away) clear to Georgetown, and by my internship. It only took about 15 minutes to get there, plus a 5 minute walk. The neighborhood of my internship is very nice, and I can't wait to start working!
I then hopped back on the bus and went to Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's is a grocery chain that specializes in natural, organic, local, or "green" foods. I bought a good deal of food for the week, and took the bus back. Overall it was a nice trip, and now I know an alternative mode of transit to my internship.
Today, one of my roommates and I went to a church in the neighborhood. It was a long walk, about a mile, but the weather was beautiful and took us clear into the Capitol Hill neighborhood. The service was nice, and they had a lunch for college students and interns. It was nice to meet some more people my age!
Then my roomie and I went downtown and got some cupcakes at a shop called Hello Cupcake. They were good, but not near as delicious as the cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcakes last week! Then we stopped by a Whole Foods store, which is a lot like Trader Joe's.
Now I am settling in for a nice night at the apartment. My poor legs are tired after all that walking, but it was fun to explore a bit!
-Jen
I then hopped back on the bus and went to Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's is a grocery chain that specializes in natural, organic, local, or "green" foods. I bought a good deal of food for the week, and took the bus back. Overall it was a nice trip, and now I know an alternative mode of transit to my internship.
Today, one of my roommates and I went to a church in the neighborhood. It was a long walk, about a mile, but the weather was beautiful and took us clear into the Capitol Hill neighborhood. The service was nice, and they had a lunch for college students and interns. It was nice to meet some more people my age!
Then my roomie and I went downtown and got some cupcakes at a shop called Hello Cupcake. They were good, but not near as delicious as the cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcakes last week! Then we stopped by a Whole Foods store, which is a lot like Trader Joe's.
Now I am settling in for a nice night at the apartment. My poor legs are tired after all that walking, but it was fun to explore a bit!
-Jen
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Settling In
I am loving my new apartment! :)
Our apartment (I share with 3 suitemates) is in a brand new building built by the Washington Center. We are the 2nd batch of students living here, so everything is in amazing condition. We live in an up-and-coming neighborhood, called the Noma (north of Mass. Ave) in east DC. The neighborhood used to be a terrible, dangerous place, but in recent years a lot of development has been happening. One of the TWC employees said that 63 billion dollars worth of industry and development is happening now in the neighborhood! And the residents seem to be taking pride in it, since the houses are nearly all freshly painted and the yards are mostly taken care of. ;) Oh, and across the street is another brand new apartment building that rents our for at least $4,000 a month, for a 1 bedroom apartment. Talk about a nice neighborhood!
The nearest metro stop is only 2 1/2 blocks away, on the same line as the stop for my internship. There are 5 metro lines in DC, and it's nice not to have to switch in the morning rush! A grocery store is 8 blocks away, but a shuttle through TWC goes there, the metro station, and my building starting at 6 am until like 11pm, every 10-20 minutes during the rush hours. It's a nice deal!
I have 3 amazing roommates. One is from Connecticut, one from Texas, and one from Belgium. Our apartment is 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, with a living room, dining area, and beautiful kitchen. We also have our own washer and dryer. Living in an apartment is kinda weird, after dorm living for 3 years. But I really am enjoying it, and I'm not sure how I can return to Central's dorms next semester! I'm feeling very self sufficient. I have to do all my grocery shopping and make all my own food, which is exciting! Again...how can I return to Central Market?
I start my internship on Tuesday, and finish up orientation stuff tomorrow. And a nice 3 day weekend to enjoy the city and finish settling in!
Well, this is a sufficiently long post. I will post pictures of my apartment during the weekend, and some pictures around DC, once I take them.
Adios!
-Jen
Our apartment (I share with 3 suitemates) is in a brand new building built by the Washington Center. We are the 2nd batch of students living here, so everything is in amazing condition. We live in an up-and-coming neighborhood, called the Noma (north of Mass. Ave) in east DC. The neighborhood used to be a terrible, dangerous place, but in recent years a lot of development has been happening. One of the TWC employees said that 63 billion dollars worth of industry and development is happening now in the neighborhood! And the residents seem to be taking pride in it, since the houses are nearly all freshly painted and the yards are mostly taken care of. ;) Oh, and across the street is another brand new apartment building that rents our for at least $4,000 a month, for a 1 bedroom apartment. Talk about a nice neighborhood!
The nearest metro stop is only 2 1/2 blocks away, on the same line as the stop for my internship. There are 5 metro lines in DC, and it's nice not to have to switch in the morning rush! A grocery store is 8 blocks away, but a shuttle through TWC goes there, the metro station, and my building starting at 6 am until like 11pm, every 10-20 minutes during the rush hours. It's a nice deal!
I have 3 amazing roommates. One is from Connecticut, one from Texas, and one from Belgium. Our apartment is 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, with a living room, dining area, and beautiful kitchen. We also have our own washer and dryer. Living in an apartment is kinda weird, after dorm living for 3 years. But I really am enjoying it, and I'm not sure how I can return to Central's dorms next semester! I'm feeling very self sufficient. I have to do all my grocery shopping and make all my own food, which is exciting! Again...how can I return to Central Market?
I start my internship on Tuesday, and finish up orientation stuff tomorrow. And a nice 3 day weekend to enjoy the city and finish settling in!
Well, this is a sufficiently long post. I will post pictures of my apartment during the weekend, and some pictures around DC, once I take them.
Adios!
-Jen
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