Friday, I went to the National Portrait Gallery on 7th and Pennsylvania, across the street from the Spy Museum. As I was wandering through the portraits upstairs, I found a room entirely dedicated to Lincoln’s assassination. It had pictures and newspaper articles along with a portrait of Lincoln used as the center piece to the small exhibit. Next door to that room was the Presidential Portrait Gallery, beginning with the earlier presidents such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, etc. Then, the room led to a hallway with later presidents such as Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln. Finally, at the back of the exhibit, a large room was devoted to the more modern presidents such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Bill Clinton, both George Bush’s, Ronal Reagan, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and my personal favorite, John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
There was a video playing of these presidents giving their famous and inspirational speeches that lead America out of difficult times, such as George Bush’s speech after 9-11 declaring that America would not give up, both Kennedy’s and Roosevelt’s inaugural addresses, and Kennedy’s speech in the midst of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The exhibit wasn't entirely filled with traditional painted portraits, but of all different kinds of displays of the presidents such as statues and mosaics. The America's Presidents gallery was the most interesting exhibit I've been to in a museum. I really enjoyed learning about our presidents, and the gallery portrayed the presidents personalities and not necessarily their accomplishments which was a new way to look at the people who have shaped America's history.
We are reaching our final days of Winterim and looking back on this trip, it has been an experience of a lifetime. I have been working for Congressman Jim Cooper for about two and a half weeks. He brings us in for intern time, which is when you must have a prepared article from that current day’s newspaper. On this particular day, we had a long intern time with Jim, and I prepared an article from the Washington Post that discussed Obama’s $4.3 billion program for improving education. Sara A., who also works with Jim, discussed the over usage of electronics in teens daily lives. We have two other college interns who were also in his office for intern time. After everyone presented their articles we discussed the Massachusetts election and the possible outcomes for health care now that the Democrats have lost another seat in the Senate. With this race taking place last night the entire office was bustling around with lots of meeting and hearings. Lisa Quigley, his chief of staff, was also in town and with another person in the office everything became increasingly busy. Looking back on my daily routine only three weeks ago you would notice that I never looked farther into the newspaper than the front headlines. Now I am sure this will change, because it is our responsibility as the younger generation to continue to learn and be open minded to retaining as much information as possible on our country's current events. To be up to date and educated on topics of discussion will give our generation more experience so that we when are the ones running our federal system we can improve our country to our best ability. As the trend of brown and black boots hits America, Harpeth Hall girls hit the streets in DC. Now we have traveled from Chinatown to Georgetown and even to the National Zoo. Most of us on "The Hill" have been through all Congressional buildings, the Library of Congress, and around all the monuments. Not only have we gained experiences in offices, but many of us have also been to our first NBA game and tried our first sushi. We will all miss our new office friends and metro stops, but it is time for us and our boots to take off on Delta Airlines flight number 1885 to Nashville on the 22nd of January.
Madison, Wallace, Eleanor, and I decided to wake up a little early this morning to go on a run/walk.Of course Madison and Wallace ran, and Ele and I decided to walk.Ele and I walked down by the river, passed the Lincoln Memorial and lapped the reflection pool.Luckily the weather was good, so it was a great start to the day and is an experience I wish I had the option of doing again.Then we went back to the hotel, changed, and headed off to the zoo.
When we got to the zoo for our community service project, we weren’t really sure what we were doing.We sat down in an outside classroom space and Molly explained the overall idea of an alternate reality game.A tour company has asked the zoo to provide this game in order to have a more interactive activity for students coming to the zoo.We provided our thoughts and ideas for improving or changing the game to suit people our age. After we finished discussing the game, we were given the chance to walk around the zoo and see the animals. Overall we saw so many different animals including pandas, sloths, snakes, and leopards.After walking around for an hour or two we decided to head back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.
A few of us left the hotel early and took the metro to the National Portrait Gallery.We walked around and looked at portraits from so many different artists.My favorite part was the section of all of the presidents.They were all different style portraits, some big, some small.After seeing these, we met the rest of the group in the lobby to walk to Zola’s across the street.This restaurant is right next store to the spy museum, so it was very modern and had a sort of spy theme.The food was delicious, and everyone had a great time.All in all it was a really fun day!
It was back to work today after a relaxing (we finally got to sleep in!) but exciting three-day weekend. In the last few days, I’ve done a White House tour, seen the National Portrait Gallery and the Newseum, participated in our community service project at the National Zoo, eaten at fabulous restaurants and, of course, gone on multiple shopping adventures!
As always, the excitement continued this morning on my way to work. The Metro was delayed, a man asked me to donate money for the homeless, and I experienced a terrifying moment when I thought I lost my phone (turns out I was sitting on it.) Metro rides are guaranteed to always be interesting experiences. Nevertheless, I made it to work on time.
I spend most of my time in the office completing basic tasks and running errands. Although this may seem like a mundane job, it’s made all the more exciting simply because it’s taking place in the heart of our nation’s capitol. Not many jobs offer you the chance to run over to the Capitol building on a daily basis or make a delivery to another congressman in the building. During the lunch breaks, we get the chance to just walk around D.C. and find a local café or restaurant – so much better than a school cafeteria!
Since Congress is not currently in session, the office is quiet today. However, tomorrow things should pick up significantly as Congress goes back in session. In fact, I will start off the day tomorrow coming into work early in order to attend a Science and Technology hearing. Last week, I was asked to attending a hearing on Armed Services (in which China was the main topic), but by the time I arrived all the seats were taken. Fortunately, Congressman Davis is on the committee for Science and Technology, so I will definitely be getting a seat tomorrow! After the hearing, I am going to a private lunch with the Congressman and his Chief of Staff. Although that seems intimidating, I am actually looking forward to it greatly!
Tonight was a “girls night out” for dinner. Dr. Cooper and Mr. Springman are not huge fans of sushi, and we had picked a cool sushi restaurant called Sei. Everyone enjoyed a variety of different and delicious sushi in a very contemporary restaurant setting. After dinner, we walked over to a nearby Baskin Robbins in order to satisfy our sweet cravings.
It’s sad to think that this is our last week as interns in D.C. I believe I can safely speak for everyone in the group when I say that our time here has absolutely flown by! We’ve seen so many famous sites, visited so many interesting places, met so many friendly (and powerful) people and basically eaten our way through D.C. I feel especially blessed to have been able to meet all of the amazing people I work with because they welcomed me with no hesitations. This experience has been unforgettable, and I feel so lucky to have had such a tremendous opportunity.
Today started with an extra early alarm and a rush to get ready to head off by myself to the Family Research Council, a faith-based policy non-profit focused on upholding faith, family, and freedom. The reason I had this opportunity to observe and meet with staff is because of my parents' long-term support and involvement with the organization. Once I navigated through the metro system and easily found the building, I met Alyssa Groen, the woman I would be spending most of my day with. The first thing I did at FRC was to observe the morning strategy meeting where the Vice Presidents and Senior Staff discuss what would be in the daily update. Today’s update would discuss the crisis in Haiti, the health care fact of the day, new marriage amendments, and a slew of other issues. After the meeting Alyssa toured me around the six stories including a communications floor which had a filming area and a radio studio. After the tour I met with Paul Fitzpatrick, Vice President for Development. He told me about how the organization raises money and makes personal contact with its supporters. After the meeting Alyssa, Paul, and I headed to Clyde’s Grill for lunch. The food was great and the conversation even better. After lunch I went on a marathon of meetings with Dr. David Prentice, Director of the Center for Life and Bioethics, Rob Schwarzwalder, Senior Vice President, Cynthia Hill, Director of State and Local Affairs, JP Duffy, Vice President for Communications, and the Director of Human Dignity. I learned about issues ranging from adult stem cell research, to media and communication, to running an organization, and just talking about life in general and the power of my generation. By the end of the day my head was spinning with information, but it was an incredibly eye-opening and educational experience.
Straight from FRC I headed over to the National Portrait Gallery to meet up with the group for the big dinner we had all been waiting for. Marrakesh! Morocco here we come! Though a little out of my comfort zone, I warmed up to it and especially enjoyed the belly dancer. Once I finally got over my uneasiness of eating with our fingers I really did enjoy the food. The cinnamon, powder sugar, chicken pie was not my favorite… but the beef kabob, baklava, and mint tea were quite delicious. After the three and a half hour meal, we made it back to the hotel where I quickly fell asleep from utter exhaustion.
This trip so far has been such a great experience in all arenas. I have experienced so many new things, met so many interesting and influential people, and become much more independent. My day today forced me to be the intelligent, articulate young woman Harpeth Hall has taught me to be, as well as to be open to new experiences and different cultures. I wouldn't’ trade any of it, good or bad, for anything!
This morning I woke up to our hotel telephone ringing. I heard Margot pick it up assure Dr. C that our room would indeed be downstairs for brunch in 20 minutes. Ah! We threw on some clothes and made our way to the lobby, eager for the delicious brunch that was waiting for us. After a crowded metro ride, we arrived at the Eastern Market stop where the large group filed out and headed towards Matchbox Café. My table ordered an array of delicious foods including a Mexican omelet, homemade cinnamon rolls, and cream cheese stuffed French toast, all of which were heartily shared and passed around.
After brunch, Dr. C escorted our crowd into the Eastern Market open air shops. We passed a man and woman playing violin and tambourine accompanied by speakers with loud background beats. Our ears were then filled with some smooth jazz played by a street saxophonist. Then we walked to the many white tents filled with crafted jewelry, knick knacks, and beautiful paintings and other artwork. The artwork was beautiful and many paintings featured the capitol or other DC landmarks, which I thought added to the uniqueness of the pieces. I was amazed at all the talent this little area contained! After we spent some time bargaining and looking through the items we met back at the subway for our next stop, the Newseum. . The Newseum is a fairly new museum dedicated to News and the media. It was six levels, each floor containing lots of different artifacts, topics, and breaking news stories throughout history. We first watched a “4D” movie, complete with glasses, that highlighted some breaking news reporters. One that caught my attention the most was the focus of Nelly Bly, the first undercover reporter. Bly spent ten days in an insane asylum for women, pretending to be mentally unstable in order to write an article telling the world about the horrible conditions the insane are forced to endure. Bly’s article and experience shocked America, and one million more dollars were provided to help improve the asylums.
We also visited the heartbreaking 9/11 exhibit, which included tons of front page articles on the wall, from tons of newspapers in America and across the globes, and a large piece of the antenna from one of the fallen buildings. Another exhibit that stuck with me was the top news stories from every decade in the 1900s. I was amazed at how the news has transformed over the years and how the museum had incredibly recent news included in its display. The Newseum also had an incredible view of the capital from the balcony! All in all we had a wonderful time and a great kick off to the weekend.
Today was one of the best days of my life! It started out normal. I woke up and went to work. When I got there Pam already had things for me and Martha to do. We had to write thank you notes to all of the keepers that came and talked to the Winter Camp Class. We wrote notes to Don (Bird Keeper), Dan (Lion/Tiger Administration), Rebecca (Lion Keeper), David (Small Mammal Keeper), and Wayne (Cheetah Keeper). After we wrote the notes we filled bags full of M&Ms because there was a lot that were donated to the Zoo. Pam wrote down all of the locations were these people worked and then sent us on our way. First we went to the Bird House and dropped off Don’s candy. Then we traveled to the Small Mammal House where we got to go behind the scenes to give David his candy. We saw where they prepared all the animals food and where they housed all the sick animals. Then we went to where the lion keepers work. When we gave Rebecca her candy she asked if we wanted to see the lions. Of course we wanted to and we proceeded behind the scenes. We had to wash off our shoes if we wanted to get close to the animals which we did. After that we went through a serious of gates for protection and finally came upon the lions. There were two females and they were HUGE. They each weighed around 500 pounds and were pacing back and forth in the cages. Their heads were bigger than dinner plates and they had teeth as long as my fingers. Although they were huge they were very sweet and not at all scared or intimidated of us. In fact the longer we were there the calmer they became until they fell asleep. Martha and I asked the keepers many questions about the lions which convinced me that this is the job for me.
After a late night visiting monuments yesterday, we struggled to get out of bed today.We loved the pictures we took last night but were tired this morning.However, we were glad it’s finally Friday.Today we can proudly (but tiredly) say we completed a five day work week!
I have learned that not much gets done in the Senate on Fridays when it is in recess.Last week, we went home early when the men in the office began playing soccer.Today, Eleanor and I’s only task was to go to Tennessee offices in the House Office Buildings to trade passes that constituents receive to go visit the Senate and House Galleries in the Capitol (the rooms on C-SPAN).Since we are interning for Senator Corker, we only have Senate Gallery passes and must trade with Tennessee Congressmen to get House Gallery Passes.Using the underground tunnels and subways, we did this without going outside.We first took a subway from our Senate Office Building to the Capitol.From there, we walked all the way to the other side of the Capitol, to the House side.Another subway then took us to the basement of a House Office Building.Although it is pretty easy to get lost, we are finally getting our bearings straight.We are also making friends with the security guards and learning that heels are not appropriate for these errands (ask any of us girls, most of us have the blisters to prove it).We also used the walk through the Capitol to take pictures of all of its amazing architecture, since we are both in Photo.
In the afternoon, we went on a tour of the Supreme Court.Walking back afterwards, we were across the street from the Capitol.We realized that the street was completely blocked off by police and got excited, thinking someone important such as President Obama was about to come.We waited about 5 minutes before we pulled out our badges (we really like them…they seem to make us more important) and asked an officer what was going on.She explained that a suspicious package had been mailed to the Capitol Visitor Center, and that they had to investigate.Naturally, we wanted to either A) be on the news for this story or B) get stuck in the Capitol during a lockdown.Our last task for the day involved going to the Capitol, giving us the perfect excuse.Since the front doors were closed off, we quickly hurried back to our office building and caught the subway towards the Capitol.After completing our task, we headed straight to the Visitor Center, hoping something exciting was happening.Unfortunately, this was just a false alarm that occurs often in the Capitol.Disappointed, we headed back to the office.
Tonight’s dinner was an unforgettable experience, complete with a belly dancer and seven courses of food.We ate at Marrakesh, a well known Moroccan restaurant in D.C. with famous customers, such as Brad Pitt and Obama.The restaurant had bright colors, and we sat on low benches with pillows.Although we were all excited for the experience, I think many of us were worried that we would not like the food.However, we all ended up liking it and left feeling very full.Dinner started with some salad, which was followed by a pie of chicken, almonds, cinnamon, and powdered sugar (yes, an interesting combination), baked chicken, lamb or beef skewers, couscous, fruit, and finally baklava.The only catch to enjoying all of this delicious food?There were no utensils, so everything was eaten with our hands.Once we got over this American taboo, we all began to dig in and enjoy the food.Each course came out separately, with time in between each one.American culture teaches us to rush our meals, but in other cultures meals can last for hours and are a time for families to enjoy each other’s presence.Tonight we all had a great time slowing down and taking everything in.At 9:00 the lights went off, and a belly dancer appeared.We all loved her performance and wished that we could dance as well as her.Three and a half hours later, dinner was over.Exhausted, we headed back to the hotel, excited that we get to sleep in tomorrow.
Today was quite eventful, to say the least. My morning at work was quiet until Wallace and I were offered the chance to go to a briefing on rainforests in central Africa. We didn’t really understand what it was on, but thought it would be interesting to go anyways. We made our way over to the Capitol armed with our House of Representatives folders for note-taking. After receiving our name tags, we were ushered into a room smelling of fresh coffee and complimentary Georgetown cupcakes! Seeing as we were among the less important people in the room, Wallace and I opted to stand in the back with the other interns, instead of taking up the seats. While the first speaker was talking, I began to feel warm and a bit dizzy. I thought about how I had not eaten breakfast this morning, and how much I was looking forward to lunch. The feeling got worse as the room began to blur, and I asked Wallace to hold my things, as I felt like I was about to pass out. Next thing I knew, my vision went black. A few seconds later, I blearily opened my eyes to find myself on the ground with people whispering all around me. I heard the security guard mutter “female down” into his walkie-talkie. I was helped out of the room into the hallway where I sat down with a big cup of water. I felt perfectly fine after a few minutes and got up to leave. Instead, the security guard insisted on waiting for the doctors in the health clinic downstairs. The paramedics rounded the corner with an AED, wheelchair, and other medical supplies in hand. They rushed over to the security guard exclaiming, “Where is she?!” They were surprised to find that the girl standing next to them and the “female down” were in fact, one in the same. Ignoring my objections, they made me get in the wheelchair and wheeled me to the health clinic, insisting on checking my vitals to make sure that I was okay. On the way, we passed a few Capitol tours that were going on, which was embarrassing, although kind of funny at the same time. When we reached the clinic, the doctor questioned me as the nurse performed some routine tests such as checking my blood pressure and giving me a finger prick. As expected, everything was fine and again, I tried to leave. However, the doctor wanted to hear my heart one more time. As she felt my chest with her stethoscope, I could tell that something was off from the look on her face. She told me that it sounded like I had an early beat, which was pretty normal, but wanted to give me an EKG just in case. And so, little sticky patches attached to wires were placed all over my body and I was hooked up to the machine. Scared that I was about to discover an unknown heart condition, I held back tears as the nurse ran the test. When it was finished, the doctor looked at it and determined that in fact, nothing was wrong with me. Finally, I was free to go. Wallace (who had been there the entire time with me) and I walked out of the clinic and proceeded to make our way back to the office, laughing the whole way about how unreal our most recent adventure in the Capitol seemed to be. When we returned to the office, we retold our stories and settled back into our desk. Not long after, Marsha appeared on the news. We watched her debate with another Congressman over bank taxes while Tara answered angry phone calls regarding Marsha’s latest television appearance. The rest of the afternoon was quiet, so Wallace and I got to leave early. Tonight we went on an Old Town Trolley monument tour. We rode the trolley as our knowledgeable guide gave us a history lesson of our nation’s capital littered with little known facts, quotes, and poems. Our first stop was the Jefferson Memorial, which is definitely one of my favorites because of the beautiful water spread out before it. Throughout the night, we saw the Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam and Korean War Memorials, Washington Monument, and Arlington Cemetery. We also stopped at the Marine Corps War Memorial, which is the huge bronze statue of the soldiers raising the American flag at Iwo Jima. I had never seen this touching memorial in person, so it was definitely my favorite stop on the tour. Our guide told us that if a Marine dies, their family can request for the 48 star flag flying above the memorial to be placed on their coffin, which I thought was really interesting. Tomorrow will be an exciting day filled with White House tours and Marrakesh for dinner, should be fun!
The day started off slowly because getting out of bed was the last thing I wanted to do. After convincing myself to get up for a couple minutes, I finally rose to start the day off with my routine. I washed my face and tried to make myself look a little more like a human being (I am not a morning person). My dilemma for the morning was to either wear pants or a dress. I know this might sound trivial but at the time I really just could not decide. I went through the pros and cons in my head and finally decided to wear a dress. I slipped on my Uggs, made sure my bag was packed with my pumps, and headed on my way. Wallace, Isabel, and I made our way to the Subway with our usual route. I have to say that the Metro is not my favorite thing about this trip. I love being able to get in my car at anytime I please and be by myself as I listen to my favorite music. The dark, underground feeling the metro gives you is not exactly pleasant, but I am glad I am getting a feel for it now. If I took a job in a big city later in life I would know how the metro worked and what I was doing. I entered in the big building where I have finally mastered the way to work. The underground tunnels to the different buildings, many entrances, and similar looking halls do not help when I am lost. Today at work, I got to be apart of something exciting. The other intern and I went to the Capitol so that we could see Congressman Tanner speak about a bill he is trying to push through. Although we did not get to hear him for very long, we stayed a little longer to hear them talk about the Heisman trophy winner, Mark Ingram. After work, I went back to the hotel and took a shower, so I could get ready for diner. A few of us went to a little sushi place in Georgetown called Chopsticks. The meal was delicious and everyone had been craving sushi because we had not had it since being in Nashville. When I came back there were a lot of people in our room getting internet and watching Real World D.C. I talked on the phone a little bit and went to bed so that I could be awake for the big city tomorrow!
