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!
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).
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!
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.
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