Week 12

This week has been another to remember. It was one of my more “glamorous” weeks here in Washington. The week included fine dining, international government and business leaders, cocktails and notable speakers. Given my area of interest it may be the only event of the kind that I ever experience, so I tried to take it all in.

This event, as you may have guessed, had nothing to do with the EPA. My roommate is interning with the American Turkish Council (ATC), and every year they hold a four-day conference for American-Turkish relations—political, military, and economic. It is one of the largest, if not the largest, conference of its kind held in Washington every year, so I am told. Every year the conference calls for a number of volunteers to help out at the event. Volunteering involves fairly typical activities, including helping with set-up, check-in and getting attendees to where they are supposed to be. However, the rewards for volunteering are anything but typical compared to my other experiences.

This conference was no small potato (I have never used that saying before, but I think that’s how it goes) and was held at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Entrance to the dinner events alone cost more than I have made in a week at some of my jobs. The organizers allowed (even encouraged) us to attend all the events, so I ate gourmet salads and well-prepared steak and drank Turkish wine. Surprisingly, even with my relatively inexperienced palate I enjoyed and devoured every last bit of food that they placed in front of me. Even better than the food were some of the keynote speakers at the events. One of my personal favorites was a National Geographic vice president and editor, who spoke at first evening gala dinner to celebrate 100 years of National Geographic in Turkey. We each received two free issues of the most recent publications of the magazine as well!

That night I was losing my voice and sounded like a cartoon mouse (Tom, Mighty, or Speedy Gonzalez, take your pick), but with a great deal of effort was able to get the attention of the vice president long enough to compliment his speech and take a picture with him. Sadly, I didn't have enough time to explain why it sounded like I was still going through puberty at 21, or to make a legitimate contact. I was thrilled nonetheless.

I got that issue-the China one-FREE!! (Photo Source: National Geographic)

THEN, for the lunch the following day (for which dessert was delicious...each of the three servings I ate as satisfying as its predecessor), the speaker was none other than Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice! As would be expected, Rice ran a little late coming straight from testifying on Capitol Hill. I think that these figures may make point to be late most of the time just to remind everyone that they are a lot more important than the rest of us...which I can respect…because, well, they are. I was helping the State Department officials with security (in this case that is a fancy title that really means I acted as a ticket taker for the duration of the lunch) so that I could have the opportunity to hear Rice speak. As predicted, she proved her vast intelligence and knowledge of Turkey and the region. However, what I did not expect was that Rice would actually be brave enough to take questions from the audience--full of prominent and opinionated citizens of America, Turkey, and other nations. Overall I was very impressed, and she definitely surpassed my expectations.

Condoleezza Rice looked pretty much the same in person, although she was smaller than I imagined. I think She even used that gesture! (Photo source: El Pais)

This week at work was also good, but let’s face it--this event was definitely the highlight, so I'll spare you the internship details for now.

Until next week…

Week 11

Time is flying by now, only a few weeks remain. As is customary at the end of any semester, there are a lot of things I want/need to get done before it comes to a close. The amazing thing is that although the daily work routine has lost some of its luster, there are still meetings I have the opportunity to attend, events that take place, people I meet, or even sights that I observe, which astonish and excite me.

This week I took a short trip to the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Included in the gallery are collections from ancient Civilizations the world over; Ancient Egyptians, South Asian and Himalayan, Chinese, and Art from the Islamic World. I am not a connoisseur of art, but I appreciate it. I especially enjoy ancient art because of the history and culture that it represents. Did you know that Buddha wasn't always depicted as a joyous chubby (almost Santa Clause-like) man, well it may just be my ignorance, but I didn't know! At the museum he took the forms of a very average man, a tall slender man, and even a large muscular man. I was not able to finish the museum, but I was sufficiently impressed enough to plan a second trip.

A more traditional Buddha

Buddah, after he called Jenny Craig?

(Both of the above are found at the Gallery; photo source:
http://www.asia.si.edu/collections/default.htm)

At work I was awed yet again. I had the opportunity to attend a National Academy of Science Roundtable with a very prestigious membership. The chair of the group was a former Congressman who helped write the original Clean Air Act. Throughout the meeting this kind old man proved that he was still sharp and very capable, making him a more than suitable chair of the roundtable. Only afterwards did I discover that he was actually 95! I just hope that I will still be potty trained by that age, let alone be leading a prestigious science committee in the nation's capital. Among his colleagues were former administrators of various federal agencies, faculty heads of very prestigious universities, and directors from NGOs. The conversations that took place throughout the day more than proved the merit of each roundtable member. It is comforting to know that people of such intellect are working on some of the world's most pressing issues. We can only hope that their advice is heeded.

(Photo source:
http://www.nof.org/donate/images/Rogers_P_187_HS%20Color.JPG)

This cheerful man (also known as "Mr. Health") helped write the Clean Air Act...which to me seems as ancient as the constitution (not really at all, but it was made before I was born so it may as well be), but he is still going strong.



Even in this, the eleventh of fifteen weeks I am still amazed about the things I get to experience down here--and that is saying something for someone that can have a short attention span!


Until next week...

Week 10 (double digits!)

Another great week gone by. The weather, usually, is great now and the semester is rapidly coming to a close. I find myself making a mental note of al the sites I still want to see and activities I still want to indulge in while I am here in DC. There are plenty of Smithsonians that I have yet to explore, restaurants at which I'd like to eat, and government buildings I cannot leave Washington without seeing (i.e. THE WHITE HOUSE), not to mention work that I must complete before I lose my window of opportunity to distribute my stress evenly over my remaining time here.

This weekend I finally had the opportunity to experience the Cherry Blossom Festival that EVERYONE talks about. Up north we have the fall foliage, which attracts a lot of visitors, but it is spread out over all of New England. The Cherry Blossom Festival is a large concentration of people around the National Mall.

I admit I was taken with the Cherry Blossoms; it was quite a sight seeing them all lining the perimeter of the basin. What's more, Saturday there was a kite festival as part of the opening events. Never have I witnessed that many kites afloat. To be honest I have not had much experience with kites. But it was a "kodak moment" seeing dozens of kites whipping past the Washington Monument. Accordingly, I tried to take some good scenic/artsy pictures with little success.

An attempt to be artsy...this is why I am a science major

I also observed that flying a kite is not really just an activity for small children--in fact, I would say that the adults accompanying each kite was more enthusiastic then their youthful counterparts. The adults were excitedly calling out commands, coaching the children on how to properly gain altitude with their kites. I some cases it was actually the children who were observing their parents as they scampered across the lawn with their pirate ship kites dipping and swaying in the wind. It is nice to see that adults can take joy in such a simple activity; it was at times hilarious, but nice. Although, I think their kids may have wanted a longer turn.

The pirate kite I was referring to...behind it is an ecstatic father, behind him a bored little girl

There were many photo opps at the festival and I was not the only one who thought so. Cameras were nearly as bountiful as the people themselves. Walking along the basin one needed to dip and dive out of the way of photos being taken by excited tourists and DC natives alike. I made many valiant attempts at shooting my own postcard scene with the Cherry Blossoms, the basin, and the Jefferson Memorial, with moderate success in only a few photos of the MANY I took.

Okay, so UNH Study Abroad does a photo contest...I think that they would eat this up

This was just a strange man dressed as Abe Linclon, riding a tricycle, lugging around a life preserver in the back...for your enjoyment, I have no comment

Artsy with the blosoms...this one I think is pretty good, it only took me about 13 tries to get it

An attempt at a postcard picture--I'd buy it...I wouldn't spend too much on it though

At work this week I had a new experience to add to my list. My supervisor's connection to a prominent think tank got us an invite to a briefing on a report assessing Coal to Liquid fuel production. We were not able to attend the meeting in its entirety, but we were there long enough to hear a lot of interesting things. Think tanks, are a very interesting prospect--and I may even consider working at one now. For all I can tell they have equal influence (in some circumstances more influence) on policy than a federal agency does. One of the interesting things at the meeting was that it was held to brief the environmental NGOs on the report. Representatives from NRDC, the Sierra Club, and Environmental Defense were all in attendance. Hearing the questions that they posed and watching their interactions with the presenter was of great interest to me. Yet another facet of the policy formation process unveiled.
Until next week?