Entries by McManus, Laura

When we left DC, we boarded the plane wearing baby blue hoodies with the words “Got WIP?” on the back. We all got it, but I don’t think anyone else did!

WIP isn’t just an internship program, its far, far more than that. When I applied for WIP, I was hooked by the internships and the chance of spending the summer in America, but by being chosen as a member of the team I got far more than I expected.

WIP is a service and leadership program which will challenge you in ways you didn’t think were possible. It challenges you through the sheer pace of the program and the extraordinary situation in which you find yourself in. The first week you will spend walking around DC in your ultimate power suit, with 25-30 people, which I can promise you by the end of the week you will be lost without. This is the beauty of WIP. You are all in the same boat, everyone is feeling out of their depths and therefore is more open to having a little chat with you while hiding under a tree to escape the 40 degree heat!

WIP is intense, but it is worth the effort. There is no other program in the world like it. It brings together such a diverse group of people and offers them the most amazing internships. Then, through the leadership curriculum and being part of the group, interns learn and expand on their own interpersonal, professional and team skills, usually without even realising it!

WIP will be the time of your life, for all the reasons that I’ve stated and many more. Don't think about it, Just do it!

Working in the Law Library was pretty flexible, I was allowed to start at any time between 6.30am and 8.30am, I chose 8.30am! I would normally come in and drop my bags, turn on my computer etc, before going in to say hi to my supervisor, Clare. This wasn’t a requirement, but I liked to do it every morning just to say hi and fill her in on what I was at the night before and chat about my plans for the day. Sometimes Clare would be going for her break at this time (she starts work at 6.30am) so I might either go with her for my coffee and doughnut (so healthy I know!) or I’d just go to my office and start into whatever I was working on. I normally took my lunch from 1pm-2pm but you can take it any time between 11am and 2pm. You also get two 20minute breaks, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, but these aren’t taken in any official way, you can go and get a coffee when you want. I finished work officially at 5pm but you can stay later if needed either for WIP or for your own research.

The atmosphere in the Library is very relaxed. I had my own office and my own projects to get on with so the pace of the day really depended on how hard I wanted to push myself, which was nice as there were some days when I was really exhausted after WIP events or there were WIP events during the day. Also I was encouraged to go to Congressional Hearings which are a brilliant opportunity to see Capitol Hill in all its glory.

Before I arrived in the Library, I’d been in contact with Clare my supervisor and we had discussed different research projects that I could work on while I was at the library. I did an independent piece of research on Anti-Terrorism Laws in Northern Ireland and in the UK in general, and I also did a presentation on my report on my last day in the Library. I was also involved in responding to Congressional requests and private readers’ requests. This is where a question is asked on a particular area of law. Normally these are for jurisdictions you are familiar with (for me, this was British law) but you can be given ones for other jurisdictions, which are pretty simple research tasks. Another duty is to keep up to date with legal developments in your home jurisdiction in order to write a paragraph on it for the World Law Bulletin which is sent to Congress, so I would have always had the BBC News website, the Times and the Guardian websites on my computer.

I would strongly recommend this internship to anyone who is self-motivated and can work very independently this is important as you can go through the day without a whole lot of interaction with other people and there are no other interns in the office. However, it was brilliant to see a law degree being put to use in ways other than practising and also the skills you learn there are invaluable.

It’s actually happened, the first of our group have left! Bye SAWIPers!

I’m starting to question my own intelligence, as I really don’t pay much attention to things when they happen! The night before I came to Washington, I still didn’t believe I was leaving home for 8 weeks. It didn’t actually hit me until we landed in Washington, and now, as we all say goodbye to the SAWIPers, it hits me that I too will be leaving soon. I’m starting to think about things like do I have enough credit on my phone to tide me over until I leave? $9.47 left and 11 days…. Considering AT&T see fit to deduct $1 a day, it probably won’t last but there is NO WAY I’m putting more money in that phone!

SAWIP are an incredible group of people. Their passion for their country and their drive are remarkable. I can safely say that WIP functioned better as a group because of having SAWIP there, and I know personally, that I got more from the SAWIPs than they probably got from me (mind you, Christo was starting to get pretty good at mimicking a ‘Norn Iron’ accent, a couple more weeks and I’m sure we would have got a fair amount of laughs out of him mimicking my accent, in his own Afrikaans accent!). I’m wishing now that I spent more time “having it” with them, but I’ll take one for the team and go to South Africa to visit them. I’m selfless like that……

As everyone’s mind turns to home, the question “what are you going to do next?” seems to come up a lot. I’ve never been so grateful at the fact that I have another year of university to go, as it means that this question doesn’t have as much importance for me as it does some of the others! Truthfully though, this ‘tour of duty’ as I like to call it has really opened my eyes to the possibilities and opportunities that are open to me. The day at the UN and my work placement in the Law Library of Congress have really changed my outlook on what I can do with my degree and being given the opportunity to attend Congressional hearings on issues like Guantanamo Bay and Darfur has made topics like Human Rights Law and International Law far, far more interesting than I ever thought they could be. Suffice to say the old Solicitor/Barrister route in Belfast just doesn’t have the same appeal it used to….. Sorry Dad!

In other news, Soccer Sunday looms large on the horizon. With a trophy involved, there is all the more to play for! The boys are already talking tactics, I wouldn’t be surprised if they arrived on Sunday with an official kit sponsored by Adidas! We are also into our final week of shopping, and as the pressure gets too much for some, we resort to internet shopping (mentioning no names Neal Gartland!) and to really ram home the point that we are going home soon, my sister has a countdown timer until I come home. 10 days of DC left…

12 days straight without a day off and Laura starts to lose it….. a little more than usual.

So our itinerary over the last two weeks has looked something like this;

Monday: aka Super Monday 4 amazing speakers including Mark Shields and Harold Ickes (the honor of meeting Mr Ickes in particular only hit home when I was reading a Vanity Fair article on the bus home from New York in which Mr Ickes was featured pretty heavily!) Visit to St Albans school in the evening and then to Starbucks to work on my speech.
Tuesday: Work, then Speechwriting at night (we got Chinese food – it was the best Chinese I’d had in ages!)

Wednesday: Work in the morning, met Hilliary Clinton in the afternoon (as you do!), before the WIP Congressional Forum in the evening. A REALLY crazy day! A huge success for the Program in that we had 10 Congressmen attend and many spoke very highly of WIP and their experiences with it. My favourite memory of the day is getting lost somewhere in the maze of underground tunnels between the Rayburn building and the Russell building, with Colm leading the way (somewhat blindly!)

Thursday: Work, then I managed to make it home before dark for the first time all week! I don’t think my host family recognized me! Oh and Pat made mashed potato and peas specially for me, yum yum!

Friday: Catholic Business Breakfast in Virginia in the morning (beginning at 7.30am!!! What’s that about??) Retreat day at in Virginia, and Soccer Friday (Heather and I gave the boys a run for their money, we might have got a little overcompetitive and there may have been some dodgy tackles involved……)

Saturday: New York Bus up in the morning, Shopping in Chinatown, dinner, Monster Energy drinks, dancing in salsa club – this was the funniest experience as none of us knew how to Salsa, then finally, Time Square in search of late night ice-cream! (McDonalds had run out! Boo!)

Sunday: Breakfast in Central Park, shopping on 5th Avenue with Judi, Beast Boat ride where I got absolutely drenched, I swear I would have been drier if I had actually jumped into the Hudson River!, dinner overlooking the Hudson River and all the bridges (I was told to think of it as BMW – Brooklyn, something, something….) Red Bull Energy drinks, Times Square for coffee, collapsed into bed.

Monday: Cliona, Sarah, Vuyo and I shared a room in New York. Despite several alarms being set, we slept through them all, only to wake up with half an hour to make it down to the lobby. We did it, don’t ask me how, but we did it! Our visit to the UN, decked out in Dress Code One+ (that means perfection in the WIP world!) included seminars on the roles of peacekeepers, the UN Secretary General and the United Nations Population Fund, It was so inspiring! This was followed by 1 hour of speed shopping for I Love NY t-shirts, dinner in an Irish bar, stretched out across 3 seats on the bus home and the aisle (people had to jump over me, I wasn’t going to move!), home and collapse into bed! An amazing day, credit for which must go to Colm! Well done you!

Tuesday: Work, home at a decent hour, and then I went to the cinema and for late night ice cream (this is one of my favourite activities!) with my host sister Steph and her friends, where we discussed the merits of the 10 second rule when you drop food. I think we all came to a consensus that there is a sliding scale which considers other factors such as the food itself and the conditions around you, ie cleanliness, level of hunger etc.

Wednesday: Work, WIP Politics Panel event. This is probably one of the things I love the most about being here, the fact that DC is consumed by politics and you can’t help but be swept away by it. I could have happily listened to the Panel talk for a good few hours! Home to Bethesda for some Chinese food with the group and then, I’m sensing something of a pattern here, late night ice ream with Judi, Neal and the Buggy. I was so full of energy when I got home that I went for a run! Finding time, and energy, for a run here is hard, especially when you couple it with the heat, so when I get a chance I take it, even if it is 11.30pm at night and still 80oF.

Thursday: Work, Senate Hearing on Guantanamo Bay Interrogation Rules – as this was such a high profile hearing it was being shown over the internet, so I got to sit in the comfort of my office and listen to a Senator ask if torture was allowed in times of war. He was met with a simple answer. No. He then went on to ask if torture was allowed if it got results. Again, the answer was NO! It was exasperating to listen to! After work it was off to the WIP office to meet the Board of Directors, the ones I met were lovely and a BIG thanks must go to them for keeping the program running!!

Friday: Work, pulling together my report to hand in next Friday on my last day of work so I’m busy busy! Also getting myself mentally prepared for the Soccor Sunday grudge match, there is a trophy involved now so its even more serious than before! Going to the SAWIP farewell party tonight. Its crazy to think that they are going so soon, because that means that I’m going home soon too! NOOO!

Best thing about today? Its Friday, therefore no early morning tomorrow and that can only mean good things

Northern Ireland and the Good Friday Agreement: Ten Years On

Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen, my name is Laura McManus. I am a final year student at the University of Ulster at Magee studying Law and Accountancy and as perhaps the greatest member of the Washington Ireland Program 2008, I am interning in the Law department of the Library of Congress. Despite being a conscientious legal scholar, I think I can say with some conviction, this is the most amount of time I’ve ever spent in a Law library!

Just five days ago, I sat with my fellow interns, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, in the rain may I add, in awe of America’s patriotism as they celebrated the birth of these United States. By contrast, in Northern Ireland we do not have one day which the entire country can celebrate in this way. We have what the French would call a “double dear-esh-mont”, which in English, is a sense of a double identity.

I come from a mixed background, which in Northern Ireland terms, means mixed religion not mixed race! I was not raised as a Protestant or Catholic. Having attended a Protestant Grammar school in the heart of a Catholic town, I went on to study in a predominantly Catholic campus, in one of the most divided cities in Northern Ireland. I was raised as a contradiction and I stand here before you as a question mark. Having never felt like I have belonged to either community, I have never identified with Northern Ireland. I am not alone in this. A lack of identity is one of the fundamental problems facing Northern Ireland today. It will be one of the biggest challenges in the coming years as we strive to move away from green and orange politics and instead deal with real issues which impact all people.

Northern Ireland can boast of having a world class education system with some of the most intelligent students in the world. However, many of these young and talented individuals choose to work and study outside of Northern Ireland and sadly, many never return. Northern Ireland has changed for the better, it is a country to be proud of, and we must now work towards bringing these minds back home and therein stop the so called “brain drain”. We do this by working together to create an identity to be proud of.

Over the last 10 years, there have been vast changes for both Ireland and Northern Ireland and we all hope that the most fundamental and lasting changes are still to come. This sea change will be brought about by the next generation. A generation, who’s horizons are not bound by road blockades and who’s aspirations are not curbed by violence. It is the duty of my generation to be that change that we want the next generation to see in Northern Ireland, Ireland and the rest of the world.

Going back to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, as I sat alongside my friends, with a bin bag and a borrowed umbrella to protect me from the elements, I began to appreciate a new sense of identity and a shared sense of belonging. For this realisation, I would like to thank my fellow WIPpers.

In the past 10 years since the Good Friday Agreement, Northern Ireland has changed almost beyond recognition, but while it has come a long way, it still has much further to go before we can truly say that the country has an identity beyond green and orange politics.

Thank you.

It was through bleery eyes at about midnight last Thursday night that I found out that I would be one of the chosen few to speak at the 9th Annual WIP Congressional Forum. I read the email, twice, and then thought, “I’m tired, I’ll think about this tomorrow.” For those of you who know me well, this is something I do quite often when it comes to my opinions. I’m not one to rock the boat, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t speak up when I see someone being taken advantage of, or being run over the top of. WIP is such a whirlwind of events, it would be hard to describe everything and do each individual moment justice, or to even work out how I feel about the things that have happened over the last 4 weeks and the friendships I have made. But I have made some incredible friendships.

Last Thursday the group took a big step and decided to sit down and discuss who we are, where we come from and what we see as the issues at home. Now to any other group this wouldn’t be such a problem, the SAWIPers seemed to do it with relative ease, but we are from Ireland and Northern Ireland, and that in itself presents a problem. But we did it. We each took our 3 minutes and layed out our thoughts and views with incredible honesty and courage. After the talk, and ALL the emails leading up to it, I went home, well and truly drained of all my energy, only to read my emails and find that I was to have my ‘leadership moment’ this week. Oh Joys. Worse was to come. The topic was to be The Good Friday Agreement 10 years on. Disaster. I’ll be honest and say that after the talk on Thursday, the last thing I wanted to do was write a speech on the GFA. I’m not a political person, I know very little about politics in Northern Ireland, I’ve actively made a choice to steer clear of it and therefore I didn’t feel qualified to stand up and talk about it in front of WIP, SAWIP, host families, intern supervisors and a couple of Congressmen thrown in for good measure. I panicked, then I ignored the fast approaching draft deadline, then I panicked some more when the deadline came and went and I was still staring at a blank computer screen where my speech was meant to be. I seriously considered pulling out of the event, I told Megan and Kieran how uncomfortable I was with the topic. Give me Guantanamo Bay, give me the problems in the Middle East, but do not give me Northern Ireland! The final version of my speech changed an hour before I spoke, and even then, sitting on the podium, I was changing words here and there.

The words and the sentiment that became my speech are not my own, I cannot take credit for them. My speech was a group effort, when I was writing it, I thought about everything that had been said on Thursday night and tried to do the group justice. So credit ultimately must go to them. Credit must also go to JC and Kieran for all their support and encouragement over the past few days. THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!

When you read my speech, picture it like this; Me standing behind a podium on which the stamp of Congress is hanging on by a wing and a prayer (if it falls, Andy may just lose his job!!) a room full of people clearly tired of standing for about an hour and half by the time I get up to speak and JC, Phil, Heather and a couple of other people going mad with camera flashes. Oh, and as I’m so nervous, I trip over just about every 2nd word!

Ok now I think you're ready to read it............

1. Judi and Neal: my best memories involve these 2 manics in some shape or form, so I felt they should go at the top of the list! I can’t go into specifics as we have a moto of “what happens on the Metro, stays on the Metro” mind you, most of the photos would probably explain better than any words!
2. Walking past the Supreme Court on my way to work: there is ALWAYS someone outside it with some sort of placard. Last week, it was the Anti-Death Penalty group, while yesterday it was the Anti-Abortion group. There was also some random guy talking over a microphone about the military, but there was no one really listening, it was lunchtime and it was hot so I wasn’t going to hang around either….
3. Mondays: I don’t have to get up as early as normal as we all meet in the WIP office, which is closer than my work. Plus it’s a chance to see everyone and swap gossip from the weekend, something I can always oblige…..
4. STIPEND!! Although, unfortunately $100 doesn’t got that far…..
5. Being girlie and getting my nails done: I’m doing my bit for the economy plus its so cheap it would be a crime not to!
6. Lunch in the Longworth building: its soooo cheap and then Neal and I go outside and lie on the grass outside the Library of Congress, I’m not sure if you’re allowed to but no-one has stopped us yet…..
7. WIP and SAWIP 2008: An incredible group of people. We have the most incredible amount of fun together but we also challenge each other. I can honestly say there is no where else I would rather be right now than with these people (credit for that sentence must go to Alan Ralph!)

High Point of the trip so far:
Singing on the bus home from Hemlock: all I can do to describe it is smile, shake my head and say “Incredible”. That was the moment when we actually became WIP 2008.

Low Point:
SORE FEET!

In other news, the previously mentioned game of “Birdie on the Wire” is now internationally famous, and of course, the downside to fame is the paparazzi, grrrr!

I’ve been made aware of the fact that I’ve developed a bit of a cult following at home, (I’m preparing my acceptance speech for the Pulitzer Prize after this entry) so I’ve resolved to blog more often, plus it’s cheaper than ringing home!

This weekend was busy busy busy! It all started with getting up at 6am on Saturday (this already puts the day in negative equity as far as I’m concerned!) and journeying to the DC WIP office before getting the bus to Hemlock which is an ‘Educational Experience’. It forced us to work within teams to complete tasks, and I use the word ‘force’ as we were deliberately put into groups with people that we hadn’t spent that much time with over the course of the trip so far. So I was ripped apart from my 2 partners in crime Judi and Neal, and sent packing with another group! Our group started the day with a game of “Birdie on the Wire”, which involved me running at Vuyo and jumping on her, trying to get off the ground, before anyone else in order to win (she was the wire, I was the birdie, I’ll admit it was a strange game!) I thought I was particularly talented at this game as Vuyo and I made it down to the last 2 teams, but I think this was more due to Vuyo’s ability to catch me and laugh at the same time! As she put it, there was something about a screaming blonde Irish girl running at her full pelt and jumping on her, that made her laugh out loud every time! (For proof, see the photos!) We were then given the challenge of getting the group of 10 or so people from one place to another, while we were only allowed to stand on 4 planks of wood, but lets not forget the obstacles that we had to negociate over and around! Add to this the fact that half of us weren’t allowed to speak, and the other half were blindfolded! This culminated in me sitting blindfolded on a obstacle saying, “Hello? Guys? Have you left me behind? Udo is that you? Helllllllllllllllllllllooooooooooooooooooooooo???” Only to be met with giggles in response from the ones who weren’t allowed to talk! I’ll never trust them again! After lunch we merged with another group to try some different tasks which involved getting a piece of wood through a loop 10, 12 or 14 feet in the air. Suffice to say, you know you are part of a special group when your CEO allows you to hoist them in 10 foot in the air with no supports bar some WIPpers and SAWIPpers (Well done Megan, Cliona and Roz!)

After a very long and hot day we retreated to the O’Hara’s for a FANTASTIC BBQ/pool party (I was straight in for some much needed relief!). Heather and I got in some practise for the Ultimate Frisbee Competition coming up, while the boys continued with their North v South do-or-die football tournament. I honestly think my life was in jeorpardy a couple of time when I had to venture onto the pitch a couple of times to retrieve the Frisbee! Then it was back to DC, with some help from Alan leading us in song! If someone had told me that he would have sang (or shouted) himself hoarse with an hour’s worth of classic tunes, I wouldn’t have believed them! But honestly, it was the best hour on this trip so far! So well, done Ralphie (and all his backup singers, of which I count myself as one!)

Then it was off to church on Sunday morning. Now, I think its worth pointing out that I don’t often venture through the doors of a church, but what WIP says, Laura does, so I begrudgingly donned my Dress Code One and tottled off to church. Mount Lebanon Baptist Church was intense to say the least, but none the less enjoyable. Someone else has described it as “a smaller more Protestant version of Sister Act” and I’d have to agree, at one point Judi and I were expecting Kanye West to jump up on stage singing “Jesus Walks”! The music was fantastic, and the preacher hilarious (politics and religion mixed in with references to Oreo cookies – that’s my sort of religion!)

Finally, we ended the weekend with a celebration of lovely lovely Aoibhin’s 21st birthday (it has become a theme of WIP to have a 21st birthday every week!).

I’m sorry to let everyone at home know that I’m not homesick and if things keep going the way they are I don’t think I will be! But I do promise to actually call this week…… If I have time! xxxx

I'll warn you now, this is the second time I've written this entry (the computer lost the first version!) so it will not be nearly as witty, insightful or life-changing as the first! But hey, maybe the in the second version I’ll make some even more life-changing remarks… or maybe not!

Last week was all about the Ice cream! First there was the Capitol Hill Ice Cream social (I'm not sure if I count as being on "the hill' but ice cream was involved so I went!) on Thursday and then the WIP Intern Ice Cream Social on Friday evening. Now, having never been to an Ice cream social before, I wasn't quite sure how to go about getting my ice cream, so I'm sure I looked like a real idiot when I asked, "Do I just take this? Do I need to pay?" Personally, I thought it was better just to check as I was in high heels and didn't want to have to run away from security with my stolen ice cream and I didn't want to be at the center of a diplomatic incident between the WIP office and the US government! Then on Friday WIP held an evening Ice cream social for the Interns from everyone’s offices on the roof of an oh-so-posh looking building with views all across the city. As I’m the only intern in my office, I didn’t bring any, but still it was a really good chance to put faces to names of everyone I had been hearing about and also to get to know the SAWIPpers a bit better!

I’m really starting to enjoy working at the Library of Congress. I’ve learnt my way around the building a bit better and I’ve stopped setting off the alarms when I open a door (if you open the door too quickly after swiping your security pass - yes I have one and before you ask, the photo is awful, I’m looking the wrong way – it sets the alarms off and they are SO loud!). I think last week was a shock to the system for us all, as we had been thrown into a situation where we were living in the pockets of people we really didn’t know, but by the end of the first week we couldn’t imagine not seeing everyone everyday! Then to all be split up and not have the safety of the group was, to me anyway, really hard! But now I feel I’ve settled in much better at work. My supervisor, Clare, is really good at giving me work which she thinks will be interesting and she doesn’t mind me going to Congressional hearings either which is always a plus because it gives me a chance to get out of the office! Yesterday I went to a Senate hearing on the Accountability for Crimes against Humanity, which was incredibly interesting as it talked about the current situation in Darfur and current gaps in the US law which means that there is no criminal law in the USA which holds people responsible for Crimes against Humanity. I’m hoping to go to another one tomorrow on Guantanamo Bay and Interrogation Rules, which is particularly applicable to the research I’m doing here on Preventive Detention Laws. I spent this morning in an emergency drill for biochemical attacks. Everyone else had their emergency bags with water, masks, gloves etc but I don't have one, which brings me to the conclusion that in the hierarchy of the workplace interns die first! Some people just told me to hope that nothing happens in the next 6 weeks that I'm here or I as I put it, let it happen on a Monday cos I'm not in on Mondays! I don't think that they were overly impressed with that comment, especially coming from a foreigner....

So, just to sum up, basically I love it here! I don’t think I’ll realise how much I love it until I leave, and instead of walking past the Supreme Court and Capitol Hill everyday to get to work, I’ll be walking past the Spar and the post office! But thankfully, I’ve still 5 more weeks of DC to come!

P.S. I can’t wait till the 4th of July!!!!!

I've been reading everyone else's journals and was starting to feel like I had neglected mine, so here I am writing my second entry in 3days! This week has been incredibly slow compared to last week and it doesn't feel like there is a whole lot to report, but I'm sure once I start writing things, I'll remember lots of things!
Everyone went their separate ways on Tuesday and started their internships. I'm at the Library of Congress and so far, it's been going really well, although I have to admit getting up 45minutes earlier and getting the Metro on my own is killing me!Today I was lucky and Neal had to go into work early as well so we got the Metro in together, meeting in Bethesda at 7.30am!! (this means that I was up at 6.15am!!) Mind you everytime I moan about being tired or having to get up early I think of my supervisor Clare who starts work at 6.30am!! I've told her she is mad and I think she agrees!
I'm researching Preventive Detention laws in the UK and comparing them to Northern Ireland during the Troubles, and then comparing it all to the US Preventive Detention laws. The issues are pretty current, especially considering the Supreme Court decision on Guantanamo Bay last week and also the House of Commons voting in favour of the Counter Terrorism Bill for the UK.
Apart from that, I have to say it has been really strange not to see everyone this week. I actually miss them all, which is surprising considering we only really knew each from last week! We lived in each others pockets all last week and now we don't see each other! But that will all change tomorrow night when we host an ice cream social for other interns from each of our offices, I think I'm going to have to borrow some interns from someone else's office as I'm the only intern in mine!
Its been a lot cooler this week than it was last week! It wore jeans for the first time 2days ago and last night I had to put on my hoodie!! This is NOT what I signed up for! There has been a lot of thunderstorms and if you get caught in them you may as well just give up and accept the fact that you will be soaked through within about 30seconds! Also for some reason Americans don't have hand-dryers in the toilets, so it's not like you can dry off when you get into a restaurant, which we all found out to our cost on Monday night! New Rule for Washington: avoid white shirts! Or you could just make friends with someone who has an umbrella! But it is meant to heat up again over the weekend, if it does I plan to do nothing other than lie in the garden or in a park and soak up some much needed sunshine! Roll on the weekend!

The first week has been absolutely crazy! Between celebrating Neal's Birthday American style, seeing all the sights of Washington in 40oC heat, meeting Senator Leahy on the steps of Capitol Building, it's all been a blur!
I'll admit I was a little nervous (ok maybe more than a little!) last friday as I had only met my fellow WIPers at Orientation and I was beginning to wonder if we would actually get on, especially as anyone from the North decided to get the bus down together on Saturday morning, at 4AM!!!! Well, we started as we meant to go on and after 21 hours of travelling, we were all still friends, although Canadian security had been suspicious of Andy (who can blame them??). I was greeted at the airport in Washington by my host family with flowers and loads of hugs! I'm staying with a "new" family in Bethesda so I'm on my best behaviour to make sure I don't put them off the program! On Sunday, we went to Lauren's host family (the ones with the pool!) for a bbq but I spent most of my time in the pool, it was the only way to deal with the heat!
During the week we got to see a lot of the sights of Washington including a behind the scenes tour of the Library of Congress, where we got to see how one of America's greatest president's dumped an old girlfriend through a letter! That is where I got the oh-so-inspiring title for this entry, basically it's just an old fashioned way of saying "it's not you, it's me"! Other highlights of the week included a visit to the J.O. Wilson Elementary school, visiting the Newseum and the Northern Ireland Bureau Luncheon at the National Press Club, where Andy, Elaine, Sarah and Gary all gave incredible speeches and made us all very proud!

So now that week one is over, I'm officially no longer a tourist but a fully fledged intern at the Library of Congress (I've got a security badge and everything!). I have my own little office, computer and most importantly, a very official looking Library of Congress email address, so I can safely say I've landed on my feet! Plus there is a Starbucks one block away, amazing!