From One Washington and Capitol Hill to Another...

Thurday morning, Amy left for the weekend, and I was left in charge of her animals (a shi-tzu named Bella and a kitty named Ruby) and home until she returned. Thursday was also the first day of my internship. I was a little nervous about getting there okay, but I somehow managed to choose all the right directions to walk and found the office pretty easily. From Amy's, I walk six blocks to a metro stop, take the metro eight stops into the city, then walk another five blocks to the office, which is located a block north of Farragut Square, in the Dupont Circle area.

I spent the day getting acquainted with the man who hired me. I also got to sit in on two editorial meetings, which was basically a lot of really smart people sitting around and talking about all the cool things that are happening around the country in state and local public administration. All in all, it was not a bad way to kick off the next two months! It seems like I will get exposed to a lot of cool ideas and innovations in public administration in this environment.

I was astonished to find that I was being given a desk in the corner of the atrium, surrounded by windows and the editorial staff. My boss wants me to be there to benefit from overhearing the writers' conversations. He seems pretty mindful of the fact that the internship is not with a public service agency, and he very intentionally is trying to make it as varied and interesting an experience for me.

After an exhausting day, I came home and was somehow still on West Coast time, which was fine because I got to watch the Sounders match on ESPN. It actually didn't feel like I was 3,000 miles away as I was chatting with my dad on the phone, watching the game, and texting with Brandon and Nachole! Sometimes I have to remind myself that I am in Washington, D.C., because it feels so normal that it is strange.

Here are some pictures of Amy's place and her neighborhood on the Hill:

Amy's place is the first floor of the row house on the right.
Her cute backyard.
The room I am staying in has a sliding door to the back porch.My quarters.

A view of the neighborhood from the front porch.

Row houses around our block.

Capitol Hill is a lovely neighborhood; I never get tired of looking at the row houses.

A neat mural on the side of a pharmacy.