Working at KSCW continues to go quite swimmingly, thank you for asking. Every single day is a real learning experience. That’s such a dull cliché (learning experience) but it’s really the best phrase I can think of. The research and learning involved is complimented by a sense of practical application.
In other words, it’s nice to be out of the classroom. I’m learning as much if not more than I do in the classroom, and in turn the knowledge I sponge up gets used in the real world, outside of academia. Without going into details, it’s simply nice to know where that report you wrote went and that people actually read it. I know that, as an intern here, every bit of work is educational for me and useful for the people I turn it over to, which is important for me.
One great feature about cities in general and the nation’s capital in particular is the constant merry-go-round of people here. For instance, it was a pleasant surprise to find the President as well as the Dean of my home school, Saint Anselm College, here in town. It’s a credit to St. A’s that not only did they look myself and my sidekick, Tom, up but they also met us for a meal. As a side note, our school President has great taste in food.
Sometimes it’s fascinating to simply sit in a room with a selection of people from all over the world, with different backgrounds, and listen to what they have to share. I’ve found that Senate and House hearings and events are great forums for such gatherings. Just think of it: having business leaders, military experts, celebrities, people who are the best in their field come to town, sit down with public officials and talk about the topic at hand.
Needless to say, these discussions are usually pretty high powered. I’ve found I learn a great deal more listening to these people talk, it’s a chance to sit in the room with decision makers and experts, to see and hear what they see and hear. That’s one of the beauties of being in this town: I can go to where things are happening, I can go from zero to 90 miles an hour on an issue I knew nothing about hours before. It’s a refreshing and informative way to learn about what is really going on, without having to put your eye up to the colored lens of cable news histrionics.
It is amusing to see how the District, surrounding communities and my fellow interns hailing from sunnier locales deal with the snowfall. I am a bit upset about the unusually high snowfall for D.C. which has happened while I’ve been here. That, compounded with the fact that maintenance workers and city employees seem to be at a loss makes for an interesting situation. In the past few days, I’ve seen a man use a snow blower to remove a two-inch dusting from a sidewalk. I’ve seen huge piles of salt used on non-icy bits of snow. I’ve also seen a giant vacuum truck used to clean up the slushy water near the sidewalks, which you think would be a great idea, but the snow is still melting so I’m pretty sure it just burns money. Or sucks it up, either way.
I didn’t have my camera with me to capture the great useless snow/water/slush sucking machine. I did however have it with me to capture a street scene some two hours after a snowfall. You’ll be able to clearly see that the roads haven’t been touched by a plow.
In other news: I remain committed to my one of my original goals here; to see the city beyond the pre-packaged tourist stops and the well-worn routes of business/official Washington. I’ve been in looking into a few education-related volunteer opportunities around town, but have yet to hear back or find a free block of time that’s convenient for their needs. I’ll post more as soon as I have more to post. If anyone has any suggestions, that’d be great too.
A final note on the feel of D.C. My roommate and I had occasion to make a visit to Chinatown, a first visit for both of us. Again: I’m surprised at all the places I haven’t been in the numerous visits I’ve made to this city. Anyway: the Chinatown visit was interesting because it suddenly felt like we’d found the downtown part of a city. This also points to the feel of the rest of the city: not very downtown like. It’s still a great place, for the most part, but it’s filled with offices, federal buildings or hulking museums. Chinatown, its restaurants and nice (but small) shopping area is worth a visit.
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