A week in Washington DC

From the first class transportation system to the Romanesque buildings, Washington DC truly is a beautiful city. As my subway/train surfaced and passed through Arlington, I am reminded of how many soldiers died fighting for this country. I have only been here for a week and already there has been another casualty of war. Not really, but one of my roommates decided this program was a mistake… A "very" expensive mistake. He discovered that in order to graduate by this summer he had to take some upper division Italian classes only offered in the spring at UCLA. I guess it isnt so bad. He did get to spend his spring break in Washington, DC.

Besides that sad news, everything else has been great. I love the UCDC center. The pictures on the ucdc.edu website really do not do it justice. The center is located in the heart of DC and is only 4 years old. Being only 6 blocks away from the White House doesnt hurt either. Cool people from other UC's are also going to make for a good quarter. My only complaint about the center so far is that my shower broke and is not going to be fixed until Monday. Oh well, nothing’s perfect...

I began my internship last Tuesday and it has been pretty cool so far. I only have to work 27 hours a week so it’s not too bad. I haven’t seen the hill when congress is in session so I am in for a good show the week coming up. Some of the many tasks of my job include answering phone calls, data entry of questionnaires from constituents, sorting mail, and the best part, giving tours of the Capitol building. I did not know this but interns on the Hill almost always double as tour guides for constituents from their office's district. Here is a pic of the building I give tours of: Capitol Building. This building houses the Senate and House of Reps. It's pretty cool because its connected to all the house and senate buildings through underground passages. Speaking of underground, DC has a great subway system and I love the idea of needing to take it to work everyday. It really is relaxing not having to drive.

Pray for the Pope and don’t miss me too much in LA.