Hurricane Sandy and Week Seven

It's been a while since my last post - you can hear more about my DC adventures here. But here are the highlights:

Hurricane Sandy
Yes, I am in the middle of a hurricane right now. It's cold, wet, and windy, to say the least... but at least I still have power! The federal government was closed so I didn't go to my internship, but I still had class since it's in the same building that all the UC students are staying in. As long as the internet doesn't go down, I think I'll be able to manage just fine.

New York/Philadelphia
I went to New York the weekend before last! It was crowded and dirty, but my friend Sarah and I had a blast. We saw Chicago on Broadway, walked around/shopped in Times Square, and visited Central Park. I'm not sure if I want to live there, but I'm still really glad to say I went (and I can now cross New York, Delaware, and New Jersey off the list of states I need to visit).

I also went to Philadelphia the Saturday before that (just days after my last blog post). Philadelphia blew me away - I didn't expect to love it so much! But the blend of historical architecture and stories with modern shops/food was absolutely perfect. I also made time to visit Penn Law, which is now on the top of my list (it's tied for the #7 law school with Berkeley and UVA). Penn is prestige with a breath of fresh air - the buildings center around a tree-lined courtyard, and the entire school is sprinkled with comfy lounges and fun artwork. As long as I break a 171/172 on the LSAT, I'm confident about my chances of getting in... and now I know I'd be very happy to go there. Also, I can get a certificate in Middle East and Islamic Studies - this is seriously the perfect school for me. Except maybe Stanford, because I wouldn't mind going to a school with beautiful weather...

The Internship
Now that I'm halfway done with my internship and am past the "settling in" stage, I really love it at the State Department. The work I'm doing is meaningful and it's a turbulent region, so I'm never bored. I also got to meet some "celebrities" last week (the Secretary of the Treasury and a few ambassadors), which just reminds me how lucky I am to have gotten my dream internship. I'm already applying for an overseas internship for next summer - hopefully I'll get some experience in the region before I go off to law school!

The downside of my internship (that isn't really a downside) is that I have to reevaluate my life plans. I'd originally wanted to work as a lawyer in an embassy, but now I know that positions like that don't really exist - you can have a law degree and join the Foreign Service, but you won't be practicing law. So eventually I'll have to make some tough decisions - do I want to join the Foreign Service? Do I want to join the Civil Service and actually practice law, but not live in the Middle East? Do I want to work as a lawyer abroad for another U.S. Government department? Still, decisions like that are at least five years away, since at the very least all of my plans involve going to law school first.

Academics
My classes are definitely keeping me busy. I had my research proposal due last week for my international policy seminar, and we've had a lot of other assignments due in that class (ranging from memos to reports on World Bank development programs). I also have a midterm coming up this Thursday for my Washington Ethics elective, which I spent a lot of time this weekend "studying" for. By studying, I mean catching up on the required reading... but hey, at least I'm getting it done now and not Wednesday night!

It's also just about time to register for my winter quarter classes. Our registration appointment times were released today and we start registering next Monday. I'll most likely be taking 24 units - sounds like fun, right? I'm hoping to continue with Arabic 22 (assuming my self-studying works and I pass the Arabic 21 final in December) and also take Microeconomics, Gender in the Arab World, History of the Modern Middle East, and Developmental Psychology. I'll also be working on my psychology honors thesis (a 2-quarter project that's worth 6 units total across the quarters), although I haven't done as much prep work as I had planned.

What I Haven't Done
1. Studied for the LSAT since coming to DC... oops.
2. Kept up with the Arabic 21 curriculum (I'm a couple of weeks behind)... again, oops.
3. Seen the monuments! I've done plenty of sightseeing, but that's something I've missed so far. I'm sad that the fall foliage will have been blown away by Hurricane Sandy by the time I get out to do that.

Before I go, a photo of me from last week:

Three Weeks In

Happy Columbus Day!  I survived week three and am enjoying a cupcake from Crumbs on my "day off" (no internship today, but I still had class). Since I updated my DC blog, I thought I'd take the time to post here as well!

I visited Charlottesville, VA the last weekend of September. I got to tour Monticello (Thomas Jefferson's estate) and the University of Virginia. Virginia is a beautiful state, although I wish it hadn't been so cloudy and cold!

Monticello:

I really liked the University of Virginia as well, except that I got the impression that it was very Southern and "old money." As a liberal Californian, I don't see myself fitting in there, so it's off my law school list for good (despite not having toured the law school itself).

Pictures from UVA:

My internship so far has been full of ups and downs. There are a lot of long days (and I'm still not taking full lunch breaks), which is getting pretty exhausting. Some days I'm extremely busy and have a lot to work on, but other days there isn't much to do. Things are always crazy in the office, but as an intern I just don't have the training to take care of all the projects and tasks that the actual State Department employees can. I'm really pressuring myself to contribute more, since it's about time that I found a long-term project to work on (and something that really helps out the office). I feel like I'm not living up to my full potential - I was hired for a reason but I haven't truly demonstrated that yet.

On a non-internship note, I spent Saturday touring the Capitol and Library of Congress. It was cold and windy, but the buildings were amazing so I managed!

The Capitol:

Library of Congress:

I spent Sunday shopping in Maryland (despite the fact that it was 50 degrees and the Metro was under construction, nearly tripling the time it took to get to the mall). There were some great Columbus Day sales so I managed to get two pairs of jeans, two shirts, and a dress for less than $70. Not quite at my Black Friday sale-levels, but I'm still happy!

Overall, it's starting to get colder here and I'm really missing California - the weather, the people and slower pace of Davis, my family/friends/boyfriend, and even taking normal classes! I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed over here, which is understandable considering I'm working full time, taking classes, and am still the VP of Public Relations for a law-related community service organization and still lab managing (over remote connection) for the Psych lab I work in. That plus attempting to learn Arabic 21 and study for the LSAT is really taking a toll on me! It certainly doesn't help that my apartment has cable and my roommates spend all their free time watching TV - I'm wasting more time than I typically do during the schoolyear, so I'm not as productive as I normally would be. I'm hoping that as the days pass, I'll get a bit more settled in and will be able to resume overachieving.