Happy Birthday America!! :) :)

Fourth of July weekend was definitely one of the greatest experiences that I have had in DC so far.  The previous week of preparation and enthusiasm still did not have me ready for the excitement of America’s birthday in the capital!

My friends from home arrived late Friday night, but Saturday morning we were up early to try to beat the crowds touring the city.  The first thing we did (and only because we were in the area…literally, walking right by it) was go to the Botanic Garden near the Capital building.  Now to be honest, I am not sure how I convinced my friends (or myself!) that going to a garden, in what looked like a giant greenhouse, on a nearly-100 degree morning would be a good idea.  But somehow, largely out of curiosity and convenience, we made our way into the garden only to be amazed by the jungle-like atmosphere we had entered.   I really do not know a thing about trees, plants, flowers, or anything of the like – but I would recommend the Botanic Garden to anyone who has ever wondered where those picture-perfect flower backgrounds for your computer desktop come from.  While those pictures may not be from this particular greenhouse, there is no shortage of images to capture.  AND – there is even a constant mist being sprayed on all the plants!  While that might sound completely irrelevant, my worries about melting while inside the greenhouse quickly vanished as the mist was well received by all visitors.

Next stop was Bullfeathers for lunch.  The name might not strike you as being particularly appetizing, but this is easily one of my favorite lunch/dinner spots in DC.  I have now been there about a handful of times, and have enjoyed happy hour specials, as well as both the lunch and dinner rush on more than one occasion.  Small and casual, and conveniently located just across from the Capital South Metro station, we stopped here for a bite to eat and continued our tour of the city.

On our way to show my friends from home the DC monuments, we walked through the folk festival and watched a few Asian cultural performances, learned how to make tequila at a Mexican demonstration, and bought smoothies from a veryyyyy busy street vendor.  Our walk to the World War II Memorial, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial was full of tourists enjoying the city, and also bustling with police and workers getting ready for the Capital Fourth celebration to take place the following day.

Sunday morning felt like Christmas to me, which may or may not seem like an unnecessary amount of excitement for a 21 year old to have on the fourth of July.  But, in my defense, July 4^th has always been my favorite day of the year, and the chance to enjoy it in DC definitely had me itching to get going with the celebration.  Myself, my friends from home, and my friends from the WII program spent most of the day on the roof of the Hampton with food, drinks, and games.  The sun was HOT, but I think we all hung in there in spirit of the holiday.  After a free pizza dinner from the apartment building’s company owners, we all trekked to the Potomac River to sit outside to watch the fireworks.   I have to say, DC sure does know how to do fireworks, and the patriotic atmosphere had all of us raving about the day/night long after we left.

There is nothing like celebrating America in the nation’s capital – this past weekend was one of the best I have had here.  I am already planning a weekend visit for this time next summer!

Counting down to the Fourth!

I wrote this post last week, but of course, I am only posting it now.  Will update on this weekend soon!!

Sorry for not updating in a while! I did not have much to report last weekend, as I was home for a family graduation party.  As much as I loved being home spending time with my family though, I have to say that I missed life in DC while I was gone.

This week was mostly filled with making plans for the upcoming Fourth of July weekend.  The 4^th of July just happens to be not only my favorite holiday, but also my favorite day of the entire year—so I am extra excited to be spending it in DC!  At work everyone has been talking about the three or four day weekend they have managed to plan, and our office is discussing which building around us we can go to to enjoy the fireworks from on Sunday (our own building apparently has another building behind it that would block the show).

Though discussing weekend plans around the office has been fun, work and deadlines have definitely been keeping me busy.  In all the jobs I have ever had through high school and college, I have generally gotten used to working a standard eight-or-so hour shift and then going home.  Since beginning my internship, I have come to understand that my job requires time spent outside of the office to manage the work that I am required to complete.  I have been spending time each night working on research for work – which, though tedious, has actually turned out to be really rewarding.

I am required to have two concept research papers done by Thursday of this week (just before the 4^th of July weekend).  The papers will ultimately be used at the Truancy and Dropout Prevention Leadership Forum in September.  There, leaders from the federal government, state governments, and school boards across the country will read my papers to gain a better understanding of what the truancy issue in America is about – and how we can effectively fund and sustain successful prevention programs to combat the growing problem.  Given two weeks to complete the work, so far, I feel more proud of these two papers than just about any paper I have ever written in school.   Maybe it is because I feel like my work is going toward a meaningful project, or maybe it is because for the last two weeks, all of my work energy has been spent working on these topics.  Either way, all of the work I am doing for the ABA thus far has been significant, worthwhile, and definitely a learning experience.

This weekend, friends from home are coming to visit for the Fourth.  I am excited to show them the city, and give them a taste of what I have been doing for the summer.   People have asked me where I am going to take them when they come to visit, and to be honest – I have not been able to decide!  There has been so much that I have enjoyed, that it is hard to pick just a few places to show them in the short time they are here.

It has been a quiet week—full of work before our big three day weekend—but hopefully next week after the Fourth I will have much more to write about!  I am looking forward to the Capital Fourth being an experience, as opposed to just a show I watch each year with my family on TV, miles away from the real thing.  Looking forward to a fun weekend – Happy almost July Fourth!

Having been in Washington now for just over three weeks, I find myself feeling less like a tourist and more like a D.C. local.  While my three weeks do not make me a seasoned native just yet, I take pride in the little things that I have learned since I arrived in May.  I have mastered the metro system, can finally navigate my way through the cross streets of the city without a map, and I am almost to the point where I can actually give other people directions.

My mom came to visit this weekend and was equally as impressed with my knowledge of the city.  Since she was only here for really one full day, we tried to squeeze as much into that one day as possible.  We woke up early to go to the Library of Congress, after which we were able to go on a tour of the Capital building with the help of my cousin Katie, who is working there for the summer, and later, we walked through Arlington Cemetery before heading off to a late dinner at Mackey’s in Crystal City.  The Capital building was amazing—talk about being overwhelmed with history.  We were even lucky enough to be able to go down to the House floor.  Being in one of the House seats, looking at the podium where Obama gave his State of the Union Address, was SO cool, and definitely something I will be bragging about to my friends at home for some time.

Besides enjoying DC—my internship keeps me very busy throughout the week.  Our office is working on planning a conference forum in September on truancy and dropout prevention.  My job has been primarily focused around preparing research papers to provide background information to the forum participants on current truancy programs throughout the country and how they have been either successful or unsuccessful thus far.   This past week, we had a staff picnic outside with all of the staff and interns from the office.  It was nice to be able to talk more casually with the higher-ups from the Center, and get to know colleagues more personally.  That’s another great thing about interning and meeting people around DC—networking.  My business cards finally arrived this week, and so I have been able to meet people through work and provide a way to keep in touch.  I know that the people I am meeting will be invaluable as resources as I go on applying to law schools next year, and looking for a job in the years ahead.

Working with the ABA’s Center on Children and the Law has been really rewarding so far.  Though the work that I do is mostly research and paper writing, I feel like I am contributing to a worthwhile project—something that I believe in.  Being a part of this project has made me think more about where I want to be after law school—and it has certainly made me think more seriously about using a law degree to commit to public service and education law.

While interning and exploring the city have been great aspects of my experience in Washington—the friends I have come to know have been the real highlights of my time here.  I have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to meet and get to know many of the people from the WII program that are living in the Hampton Apartments, and when we’re not working, we all spend the majority of our time together.  Whether you’re going to museums, sharing networking events, or heading out on the weekends—the people you meet here become your DC family, and make the city that much more exciting.

-fallon

The best part of being in DC so far has definitely been the city itself.  Having lived in New Jersey my entire life, I know that much of its charm can be lost on those who may not be looking for it.  And really, there aren’t many people who are looking for the charm in Jersey.  While there is no place like home, the charm of this city goes beyond anything you’ll ever read in a brochure or see on TV—the magic of this city is something you can only ever understand by being here.

Within the first weekend of being here, I had visited the National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights, gone to the Library of Congress to be completely overwhelmed by Thomas Jefferson’s collection of books, and seen the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, World War II Memorial, Capital Building, Supreme Court, and the White House.  I felt like I was trying to squeeze everything in to the very first weekend – as if I would somehow miss out if I did not see every important building in Washington within my first 48 hours of free time.

But now, two weeks later—even after knocking what are arguably the greatest tourist spots off of my list, I still feel like I will never have enough time in my remaining eight weeks to see everything I want to see and do everything I want to do.   There is just so much here.  It’s like you fall in love with one place—for me it was the Library of Congress—and you just want to keep going back there.  You think that this one place is your favorite of them all.  But somehow, while you may hold on to a few favorite spots, each building, each event, and each place you go to becomes more and more exciting.  It’s never ending.  Washington D.C. will never cease to amaze you.

Interning has also been an eye-opening experience.  On my very first day of work, I was introduced to the four other interns from the office that I would be working with throughout the summer.  I, unbeknownst to me when I arrived, was the only undergraduate intern working in the office.   The other interns were either 2^nd or 3^rd year law students, or had already graduated from law school.  Intimidating?  I would be lying if I said it wasn’t.  But I think of it as a challenge, and each day I go to work I remind myself of why I am here—to learn.  I know I am capable, and I know that I will put in the extra time and effort to be successful throughout my internship—so my purpose is really to just take as much of it in as I can.  After two weeks of working, I feel like I’ve already been able to prove myself as reliable and competent—I am seeing more responsibility and have been able to make valuable contributions to group projects and office meetings.  So in just two weeks, I already feel like I am learning more about law and policy, and really more about myself and what I am capable of as a student, intern, and researcher.

All in all, I have found a city that I love, and I’m learning to take it all in.  A summer in the heart of our nation could not be more exciting – looking forward to the eight weeks ahead!