REAL life.

DC moments from the past few weeks:

The National Mall: I enjoyed another great DC moment watching the fireworks from the National Mall on the 4th of July. Around 7:30-8pm the green space started filling up with people trying to score a place to sit. It was crowded and hot, yet the atmosphere of the day was relaxed, because it was a holiday, and people were just spending time with family and friends.

My mom flew across the continent to visit me this weekend, and we spent a lot of time today on the National Mall seeing the sites, and taking pictures in front of all the monuments. The novelty of seeing all the touristy things has worn off a bit, but I still think that the National Mall is one of my favorite places about the city. I have really enjoyed going for runs there-I can't get enough of it.

A picture of me with my mom in front of the White House.

US Foreign Policy Class: Another example would be my class, U.S. Foreign Policy last Tuesday night. There's about 15 students in the class, and we all are assigned to write a Policy Paper on a topic of our choice and present our ideas in class. Last week a few students presented their papers, and following that was a short discussion on their ideas. I really enjoy the class setting, because not one student is from the same University, and I have learned to appreciate the productivity that comes with different perspectives. (I also like representing the outside Canadian perspective, which is more distinct from the general American perspective than I realized.)

Meeting real-life diplomats:
The Canadian Program Manager at TWC was gracious enough to put together a round-table event for all the Canadian students to go to the Embassy and meet with Foreign Service Officers about working for the federal government. There were about 15 students and we met 4 Foreign Service Officers and had a very casual, open discussions about the realities of working for the federal government. They were gracious enough to take time and explain the question I think all undergrads think about-how do I transfer from being a student to a professional? How can I market myself? I set up a meeting with another Foreign Service Officer when I first arrived here in Washington, but this meeting was extremely constructive, and confirmed my ideas and interests in Foreign Service work. The more they explained what the job is like, and what type of person can be successful in the department, the more I realized it's something I would really like to pursue. It's completely different talking to people explain their jobs rather than reading online job postings.Working as a diplomat is not only a job, but a lifestyle. The people I met are rotational officers, meaning they move every four years or so to a different Embassy around the world, depending on where they have applied. Obviously, there are huge sacrifices that they make personally because of this, and one of the ladies explained that it's definitely harder for women to be a Foreign Officer. The career is still working on an old-school model of the husband working as a diplomat, with his wife staying at home with the children that way the family can move to accommodate the husbands career. The modern realities of women developing careers alongside their significant others is way beyond that.

Meeting a real life congressman:

Sitting with Dr. Paul and his wife, who happened to be in the office that afternoon.

I'm wearing heels in this picture, so my height is a little deceiving.

An inspirational quote in Ron Paul's office that

seems fitting for how he's led his career in public office.

"What is the use of being elected or re-elected unless you stand for something?"
 
One of my goals this summer was to meet Congressman Ron Paul. My brother Nathanael is a big supporter, and because of his interests I have learned to appreciate Dr. Paul's libertarian views especially in the political climate in Washington right now.

Ron Paul's desk.

I'm at that awkward time of my summer in Washington. It feels like finals, because I'm under the crunch for finishing up my class work, and the lovely TWC portfolio which consists of all the work I've done this summer. I'm ready to finish up all these tasks that have been set before me at the beginning of the summer, but I'm not quite ready to say goodbye to the city, and the friends I have made. I feel almost as if I've found this small piece of heaven. I don't know if I'll ever be able to head off to another city for the summer, enroll in a great program I've found here, made great friends. All this coming to an end is a bit sombreing.

I enjoy writing this blog, because it gives me time to contemplate and reflect on moments that I've experienced that I could not have experienced anywhere else. (I suppose that's the joy of traveling that I cannot get enough of.) I'll share some of them with you. Last weekend I ended up going to a friends rooftop party at the building across from my apartment. It was nighttime, and I was being introduced to many new friends, enjoying good conversation and taking in the hot east-coast air and the glittery sky-line.

There's always more I could be writing and reflecting on, but I think I'll end it there. Here's to the last few days in July!

There's something about DC...

Visit to the State Department

2011 Trafficking in Persons Report: This video captures Ally so well!

Madam Secretary herself

Meeting Ben Skinner with Ally, Lisa, Mr. Skinner in the middle,
Professor Lederer, and Mike.

Standing in-front of the podium where Hillary Clinton just was!

In front of the State Department with Lisa, Ally and Shadia.

My supervisor at Global Centurion worked at the State Department for 8 years, and has done extensive work on human trafficking. She is extremely well connected, and attends this event every year. It’s a high profile event, and me and the other interns in the office lucked out, and made it on the guest list! The event was at 2pm, but we were told to be there early, around 12pm have time to go through security and get a seat in the room where Secretary Clinton was going to speak.  I’ll try and paint a picture of the event.

I found this picture on the State Department website. I'm in the
bottom corner with Ally on my left.

The State Department is a big 10 storey building not too far away from the Lincoln Memorial. The security is pretty legit.  We were all made fully aware of this when my co-worker pulled out her phone to take a picture in the lobby-apparently that is a no-no. Not anyone can go into this building, so my passport information was sent ahead of time to be cleared. Anyways, after waiting for quite some time, the TIP Report office set up a desk in the lobby, where our names were checked, and all the guests were escorted through the lobby, up the elevator to the 8th floor. I don’t even know how to described what happened next. I step out of the elevator, into this beautiful lobby, ornately decorated with an ajoining reception hall. There, they had decadent cheese platters, olives, crackers served on State Department, gold trimmed dinnerware with napkins stamped with the U.S. seal. This room opened up to a large balcony. I walked out there as I was snacking on a mozarella, artichoke, olive kebab. The view was stunning! I could see the top of the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington monument, and the Capitol building in the distance. Another ajoining room was a diplomatic reception room filled with antique furniture, and oh, Thomas Jefferson’s desk happened to be there.

A crowd started to form around the doors to the Benjamin Franklin room, so I found my supervisor, and the other interns, and waited to get in the room. Once the doors opened, I followed my co-workers Ally and Lisa into the room. The first few seats were reserved for Ambassadors, and state officials, but Ally ended up grabbing seats right by the aisle. I was so excited. I have to explain a bit-Ally (from Montreal) LOVES Hillary Clinton. She couldn’t stop talking about it. I’ll give you a little perspective. Once the event was over,  Ally noticed that all the seats on the stage were labeled with a sheet of paper. Ally saw Hillary Clinton’s reserved seat (the one she sat on) and grabbed it home. We were joking that she’s probably going to laminate it and hang it above her bed.

After the event, my supervisor introduced us to E. Ben Skinner. He’s an investigative journalist, and I was just reading his book on human trafficking, A Crime So Monstrous. It’s a great book he wrote a few years ago about human trafficking around the world. He’s quite handsome too-almost a blond version of Ewan McGregor. I really reading the chapters on Haiti, because that’s what I’m working on at my internship. He gave me his business card, and we talked briefly about Haiti, and he said to contact him if I needed anything. So, following the networking rules of Washington, I followed up with an email a few days later, and that led to a phone appointment a day after that. He’s done a lot of work in Haiti, and he gave me some feedback about the realities of Haiti, and what kind of anti-trafficking messages and tools would be most effective. It was a great conversation! And he encouraged me to go to Haiti, and said if I ever go I should let him know and he’ll set me up with his contacts there. It was very encouraging!

The rest of the week has been pretty routine. I watched Black Hawk Down in my US Foreign Policy class-as an example of what happens in a failed state, says my professor.


Throughout the whole semester, TWC puts on different professional development sessions and what not, so  week I went to the Myers Briggs Personality test session. There’s a questionnaire I filled out, and then at the meeting we analyze the results. I learned a lot about my personal tendencies. There are 4 categories:

1. Extroversion-Introversion (where we focus our energy & attention)

2. Sensing-Intuition (how we prefer information)

3. Thinking-Feeling (the was we make decisions)

4. Judging-Perceiving (our attitudes toward the external world)

Actually, my roommate Prium knows quite a bit about the Myers Briggs tests, and she was trying to figure out what type I was, so I took the test and she was right on the money. There's quite a bit to learn from how different types match together. Prium and I are almost exact opposites--Prium is an ENTP (Extrovert, Innuitive, Thinking, Perceiving), and I am an ISTJ (Introversion-Sensing, Thinking, Feeling). We get along so well, but living with her other the last few weeks has made me realize how differently we think. I am more aware of how I think, and make decisions, and that not everyone thinks like I do. That kind of seems like common sense, but interesting nonetheless. My other two roommates are the same as me (Introversion, Sensing, Thinking, Judging) and they have similar tendencies as I do. Aliya and Janelle keep their room clean, they’re morning people...Janelle makes more to-do lists than I do! It’s pretty hilarious.

Walking around the National Mall around sunset

So I’m learning! And meeting new people, and I’m constantly being reminded that this city offers so much that I couldn’t find anywhere else. Just the friendships that I've been able to make with other interns and TWC students has been worth flying across the continent for.There’s an excitement about being here. The movers and shakers are here, and it's exciting to be apart of this summer. It’s the political center of the country and I'm going to have a really hard time leaving this city.