APPLY

Archive for the ‘Fall 2008’ Category

Election Night 2009 in DC

Oh my! Election Night was AWESOME here!

I spent the first part of the night working at POTUS (xm radio.) I was in charge of coloring in the map, and at one point I went into the bathroom and I had blue and red marker all over my face… how embarrassing! But I watched the AP reports and colored in the states when AP ‘called’ the state, because other channels were calling different states at different times. We were going by what AP said. They called the election around 11pm eastern time. I stayed for Obama’s victory speech and then one of the other interns drove me home.
We drove by the White House were there were crowds and crowds of people cheering and singing and dancing and screaming it was AWESOME! I got home and I made my roommate walk with me to the White House. It was so amazing. There were thousands of people dancing in the middle of the street. Cars were stopped and people were hanging out the windows with their music turned up. There were these three guys playing  trumpets and a trombone and people were singing along. It may have been one of, if not THE best experience I’ve had here.I know that this may be cheesy. But I am so proud to be America. To be here. To be involved with this election and to have voted. It was a historical event, in a historical place and there’s no where better to have been than Washington DC.

Are Blogs Diaries?

First of all, I hate blogs. I hate what they say and I hate what they mean. I firmly believe that diaries are meant to be kept a secret and to use one publicly shows a need for attention (in my eyes). By using one to rant and rave about something can be therapeutic but who wants to sit around and read things with people complaining all the time. I don’t. But in the spirit of the class, because DC is supposed be about trying new things for me, I’ll write one for these next few months…no promises that I will continue afterward.

I absolutely love DC. I came to this city to discover whether or not I can do something on my own. I had never done that before. And DC is throwing itself at me in so many different ways that I’m learning that I do not have to be dependent on others to survive life. It is everything I had hoped for.

I’m amazed at how much one city has to offer. Everywhere I turn, there are interesting people from all corners of the globe. There is beautiful artwork all throughout the city. I constantly feel like I am about to explode with an information overload of excitement, but it never happens. There’s always room for more. I already feel as if I have gotten my money’s worth from this program. I feel like I have done more things in the last four weeks than I have done in the last few years of my life. I never thought I would have felt this way. Here’s the thing though: I know that I owe a lot of what I have accomplished already to Amos and Andrea, but I’m taking most of the credit for myself. If I hadn’t felt like it was time to stop wasting my life on a couch and start living, I would have never gotten here to begin with. So, thanks to everyone, but thanks to me too.
~Rachel

Photo By:

A Commuter Perspective of the SIWJ Program

So, as many of you already know, I don’t have any first impressions of DC because I live in DC. But I do have a myriad of first impressions of my internship at The Georgetowner and the Georgetown way of doing things. So far, all of my impressions have been positive or nearly so, and most more than a little humorous.

The people in Georgetown seem nice enough, possibly because the atmosphere bears little resemblance to the frantic hustle of the rest of the district. At ten thirty in the morning, banana republic clad men, shabby-chic young ladies, and manicured moms line up outside Dean and Deluca for their morning coffee and a glance at today’s paper. Even the business casual tweed suited 30-somethings seem to prioritize scones over work. Hmm, perhaps that schedule could work for me…

As I round the corner, I can see my office in the charming brick townhouse nestled comfortably beside the down dog yoga center. Despite being cramped, cluttered, and under construction, the interior is equally charming. Our four rooms of space in the converted old house can most flatteringly be described as “intimate.” The occupants of the Georgetowner office, (I hesitate to say employees because many of them spend their lives working on the paper), are all lovely ladies. I’d venture to say that the coolest of us all is Sonya, my boss and the woman whom Amos appropriately dubbed “a force of nature.” She truly is the creative force behind the paper as well as our mentor, friend, and resident motivational speaker.

The others are Charlie, the hilarious ad guru; Jennifer, the in-country adventurer; Dan, the endearingly rumpled real estate expert; Alyssa, the telecommuting graphic designer; Siobhan, the events coordinating queen; and last, but certainly not least, Erin, the mild-mannered make-it-all worker. If Sonya is the grand poobah of the paper, Erin is certainly her Chief of Staff and most level headed adviser. Then there’s me, the only in-house writer, in charge of doing a little of everything and writing about all-things-style-related (as well as misc. stories without writers). The job couldn’t be better suited to me, I get in around 10:30, get out by 5:30, and spend time running around with people that I now consider my friends.

First impressions? It’s well worth the commute, and that’s saying something since I live in Maryland!

Photo By:

 
Phone:
202.994.7787
Fax:
202.994.5806
Email:
siwj@gwu.edu
Semester in Washington Journalism 805 21st Street NW, Suite 400
Washington, DC 20052