A busy weekend!

Since my last post, I have been very busy! Last week my life consisted of working and homework. I have been hanging out with a lot of people here in the program and have become friends with most of them - there are some pretty cool people.

Friday evening (September 20), our program director and everyone in the house/program went to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to see Cirque de la Symphonie - a National Symphony Orchestra pops concert paired with acrobatic and circus acts in the vein of Cirque du Soleil. The talent of these people is amazing, and the music was phenomenal. Watching the one of the best orchestras in the world perform at one of the most well-known venues was a very cool experience. Below are some pictures from that evening.

Saturday I went to see Insidious 2 at one of the theaters in town with a few of my friends in the house. After that, I went to the H Street festival which was essentially a massive street dance 15 blocks long with food tents and music. I met my friend from the office there along with some of her friends from her dormitory she's staying in. Yesterday was a pretty lazy day filled with naps and snacking. Today I was able to get some reading done after work for my Middle Eastern politics class.

The discussion this week here in Washington is whether or not Congress will be able to compromise on funding the federal government and averting a government shutdown. If Congress does not come up with a deal, the government will shit down next Tuesday, October 1st. The House passed a continuing resolution (CR) bill Friday the 20th that would continue previous levels of federal funding while defunding Obamacare. The Senate and Harry Reid have made clear that this funding option is dead on arrival. So, most likely the Senate will strip the provision defunding Obamacare and send the clean CR bill back to the House to be voted on again. We will see what happens in the next few days.... It's a very interesting time to be in Washington, that's for sure!

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more updates! :)

The view from the Kennedy Center Terrace. 

Washington Monument on the Left Lincoln Memorial on the right

The inside of the Kennedy Center Concert Hall

Morgan, Meg, Me, Hannah, Bri, and Cassandra before the show.

Thoughts on Exceptionalism and Patriotism

I know I haven't blogged for a while - I've been sick the past few days with a nasty sore throat bug. Anyway... here's my post.



On my run this evening, this is what I saw. In light of today's tragedy and horrible loss of life just a mile away from where this picture was taken, I was struck with an enormous sense of pride and patriotism for this amazing country. From handful of people, and a few ideas, came this great country - the greatest on the planet. True, we may not all agree on everything; true, mistakes have been made and will continue to be made; true, there will be some bumps in the road in the coming months and years, but we are Americans. We will - together - endure, thrive, and continue to discuss, debate, and revolutionize, as we always have since a few men with an idea met over 230 years ago.

Call me traditional, old fashioned, naïve, ethnocentric, etc..., but I believe in American Exceptionalism. America is exceptional. Together, we can weather through the problems that plague our age, and together, we can grow and improve (through necessary debate - let's be realistic) to meet new challenges. Why improve if we're already exceptional? Because we are exceptional, and we don't settle.

Because of that, I love America, and I'm proud to live in this amazing country.

Diving right in!

As many of you I'm sure have heard, the House and Senate have had their own Foreign Affairs hearings regarding military strikes in Syria. This has made it a very interesting and busy few days on the Hill, and especially busy working in a Congressional office. I am so amazed and thankful I am able to see this debate unfolding virtually right around me. It is both humbling and enlightening to hear so many Americans' opinions on this issue - and others - as they participate in the democratic process.

Last night was my first evening of my Middle Eastern Politics class, and it will definitely be tough, but it couldn't be a more appropriate topic given the current events. The professor is very laid back, and is very knowledgable about the issue - he works for the government in some foreign policy capacity (he won't specify, but it does have something to do with national security, the State Department, and/or the Department of Defense).

This evening, I went on my second run here in the Capitol. I ran about 4.5 miles and got some amazing pictures. I am still awestruck at the fact that on my run, I pass the Supreme Court building, the Library of Congress, the Capitol, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial - not to mention all the Smithsonian museums I pass. Here's a few pretty good pictures I took this morning and on my run:

 Supreme Court Building

 Capitol on my morning commute

Reflecting Pool and Lincoln Memorial 

Washington Monument being restored 

The Capitol at Dusk

Internship - Day 1

Today was my first day interning for my Congressman from Illinois, Rep. Adam Kinzinger! I was nervous about being able to find his office, so I left about 30 minutes early. Oh well... better to be early the first day than late! I am very much looking forward to learning more about the office and my job as a Congressional Intern. Everyone at the office is very helpful and polite, so I'm happy for that. Since one of my duties as an intern entails guiding constituents on tours, I have to learn the layout and facts/history about the Capitol building. Because of that, I tagged along on a tour one of the other interns gave. This was my first time going through the Capitol as well, so the other intern was giving me a few pointers along the way.

While I know DC and the Capitol has a lot of history, it still amazes me that I am working and living where so many important historical events took place. It's one thing to read about it in a book, but it's another thing to be standing in the room where those things happened. For me, it helps to put things into perspective and I feel an enormous sense of pride in our country.

As I was leaving work, I realized I didn't have my keys to my apartment! I started freaking out a little.... Then, I remembered I helped the Deputy Chief of Staff for Congressman Kinzinger bring in water. Since we had to walk back into the office building once we got the water, we had to go through a security checkpoint and that's where I left them. I rushed to the back entrance where we had entered, and I asked the Capitol policeman standing guard if they had seen the keys. After giving me a bit of a hard time (some of them actually do have a sense of humor), he said he had them. Whew!

After arriving back to the apartment, I got changed and went on my first run! It was great. I am definitely going to be making a habit out of it. It wasn't the fastest of runs, but I did go 2.5 miles after not running for a week and a half. During my run, I did realize why Capitol Hill is called Capitol Hill.

Check out these pictures from the past few days' adventures!

 Arlington National Cemetery

 Changing of the Guard

 Chinatown Arch

 Lincoln Memorial

 Reflecting Pool, Washington Monument, Capitol Building

Happy Labor Day!

This morning, I was able to sleep in for a bit after spending my very first night in Washington DC. Shortly our program director will drive us to the grocery store and drop us off so we can get groceries for our apartment. Later today, me and my uncle who goes to school here in DC and lives near Baltimore, MD are going to get together for a bit. Starting to get a bit nervous for my first day as an intern tomorrow...

Moved in!

All moved into my apartment in Capitol Hill. Met my roommates and hung out with everyone else in the program. We all went to Chinatown for dinner via Metro (my first time riding the subway in Washington) - it was delicious!  There's some pretty cool people from all over the country here. Pictures to come! I can tell that I'm going to have a great time!! Grocery shopping for our apartment in the morning. Thank God one of my roommates can cook!