This has been one of the most exciting, exhausting, exhilarating and eventful week's of my life. So we arrived to D.C with high spirits to be so warmly welcomed by our eagerly awaiting host families at the airport. We were all greeted with a mass of hugs, kisses, smiles and handshakes. We were finally living the dream. We had made it to Washington and we all knew that this was the beginning of what we expect to be one of the best experiences of our lives. Initially, myself and Pat (my amazing host mum) had some difficulty identifying each other at the airport, however after a few minutes scanning potential host mums Pat cautiously approached me and presented me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a massive hug. Myself and Pat hit it off immediately. Two people who love to talk, I can assure you there was no lack of conversation. After some brief introductions and goodbyes with the other families, Pat and I left the airport and made our way back to Old Town, Alexandria. My new home for the next 8 weeks is situated in Old Town, Virginia. As you can imagine Old Town is remarkably beautiful, needless to say I have become very attached to it since I arrived.
Sunday brought about a very early start for me.. 7am. A first for me without an alarm clock!! The afternoon consisted of a host family barbeque where I met with the rest of the Virginia crew and their host families at Megan's house. The food was great and we all got a chance to bond with each other a little more. One of the main things I remember from the day is the sheer volume of the heat that surrounded us. Even for me, a self proclaimed sun-worshipper, the heat was almost unberarable..42 degrees. Us Irish are not used of any hint of warmth and it was now becoming very obvious!!
Monday saw us off to a very exciting start as we all met at the White House. We proceeded to the WIP office where we were informed about all the activities that lay ahead for the rest of the week. The afternoon brought about the first big event of the week... a trip to the Newseum. The Newseum features seven levels of galleries, theaters, retail spaces and visitor services. Its a museum dedicated to the media and journalists. It definately met my expectations and while it was educational and inspirational, it was also alot of fun.
Tuesday morning began with a seminar at the Department of Education about personality types. Accoding to the Harvard Model, I am a red! In other words, this means that I am very much a people person and love talking. I wont argue with that! It also means that I can be quite guillable.. again, I shall not disagree!!Tuesday afternoon we took the Oakley death tour. This involved visiting the different memorials throughout the city. Through the blistering heat we managed to make it to Arlington cemetery first. We saw the graves of thousands of soldiers, the grave of the unknown soldier that of President John F. Kennedy. I also witnessed the changing of the guard. Next we moved onto the Lincoln memorial. We concluded the day at the Roosevelt memorial- my favourite of all three where many resorted to paddling in the water to cool themselves off. Though the weather remained almost unbearable for the duration of the day, we all enjoyed the tour immensely.
By Wednesday the extremes of jetlag had set in. Today, I began drinking coffee.. another first for me! The intensity of the fist few days had taken its toll on me and exhaustion set in. However, today we were privleged and honoured to gain access to some of the rarest documents in the world. At the Library of Congress we were presented with manuscrpits which included the original telegram sent proclaiming that Pearl Harbour was under attack and personal letters from JFK and Lincoln. Afterwards we were taken on a tour of the library. It really is a truly remarkable building with exqisite architecture and paint work. So far the week had been truly adventerous and there was more to come!!
Thursday morning we made an appearance at J.O Wilson school. The school educates children who come primarily from disadvantaged backgrounds. Unfortunately, we could only stay for an hour, However, we tried to intoduce the children to as much Irish culture as possible in that short space of time. Myself and Neal were the presenters while the other four groups taught the children an Irish song, an Irish dance, cupla focail as gaeilge and an Irish drama. The children, as well as ourselves enjoyed every minute of it. This was the highlight of my week and I was only disappointed that we could not have stayed longer. Then we celebrated Neal's 21st birthday and presented him with a cake at the school as the children all sang happy birthday. The afternoon approached fairly rapid and it was time to get dressed into full suit attire (not the most pleasant of experiences in the blistering heat) and meet Senator Patrick Leahy on Capitol Hill. Senator Leahy chatted with us outside the Capitol about various things including the upcoming election and on a lighter note his appearance in the latest Batman movie. Like many Americans he shares a great love for the Irish and had many great things to say about the time he spent in Ireland and his friendship with U2 singer Bono. Many photographs were taken with Senator Leahy on the steps of Capitol Hill and afterwards we took a tour of the building itself. After hours of walking and climbing stairs in heels.. even I was impressed!! The Capitol is breathtaking.
Friday the 13th was a very important day for the group. We attended a lunch at the National Press Club sponsored by the Northern Ireland Bureau. Many of our work supervisors attended the event and after meeting Jessica, my supervisor, I was more at ease about beginning my Internship. Four members of the group, Elaine, Gary, Andy and Sarah gave speeches at the event. Well done guys.. you set the standard high!! In the afternoon, we went our separate ways to prepare for the biggest social event of the week.. the fancy dress party with a 1990's theme at lenore's. Neal stole the show at the party arriving in a dress, purple wig, pink feather boa and stockings, dressed at Dame Edna. There were many other great costumes including Cruella de Ville, Edward Scissors Hands and Pocahontas.. the list is endless!!! The night was a huge success and thoroughly enjoyed by all!! Lenore's margarita machine, as well as her amazing monkey bread went down a treat with everyone.
Saturday was a day of relaxation. Myself, Cliona, Neal, Sarah, Judy and Zelda went to Pentagon City for a bit of retail therapy. After hours of shopping we retreated to Virginia to prepare for a night out in Georgetown. The weather was not in our favour, however we did not allow this to dampen our spirits. The management team met up with us and we all allowed ourselves to unwind after the hectic week.
Sunday was one of my favourite days of the whole week. No sleep-in as I had anticipated... myself, Zelda and Ginny-(Zelda's host mom) went to Ocean City for the day. Ocean City is amazing but as we all agreed, its a Vegas for kids. The sun, sea, fairground, tacky shops and pizza houses provided the setting for a great day out. After soaking up the sun rays, eating junk food, riding the rollercoaster and buying inexpensive merchandise we decided to head back to Virginia. The first week in Washington proved as a truly memorable and dazzling experience... it couldn't get much better!!
