Saturday, September 8, 2018

The first week

Hi!

So my first week at the office has come to a close. It was fun, terrifying, and exciting. What a confusing mess of emotions.

Tuesday was my first day: orientation. There were a lot of interns; 200 is the number I heard. I got told a lot of stuff about how the organization works and the structure and got my photo taken and everything! At the end of the day, I met my supervisor and most of the others in my office.

Wednesday is going to be a fairly boring saga. I did a lot of reading trying to catch up on what each of my coworkers is doing right now so that I can help them adequately. That was it. I didn't have access to any computer systems during that day, so I just did a ton of reading. OH. I was also introduced to the head of my department, which was nerve-wracking. My boss's boss introduced me to her boss's boss. At least I didn't have to do anything other than ask questions.

Thursday, I got access to enough of the computer systems to get email and do training. I sat down with one of my coworkers and learned some things that he was doing; it was very enlightening. Then I met with my boss's assistant boss and we had a great conversation. One of my coworkers asked me to do something and I couldn't because I didn't have access to the relevant part of the system yet, so that was a bust.

Friday, I finally got access to all of the systems I need to do my job. That was very exciting. I got to read some things and get more caught up. I did more training. I had my first work project (it was small) which was doing some research and drafting an email reply to somebody who had requested information. And then we had a "welcome wagon" party. That was fun! I chatted with more of my coworkers, some I hadn't really had a chance to get to know yet.

The weekend is pretty mellow. I think we (roommates and I) are going to a wine & cheese event at a local bookstore. I'll attach some pictures when it's over. They have some pretty awesome book section markings. Due to it being in DC, some of them are hilarious.

All in all, I think it was a good first week and I'm definitely excited to do more next week! Happy Saturday!

Á bientôt!

Thursday, August 30, 2018

I have arrived

Welcome to DC!

Home of the White House, the Washington Monument, political undercurrents, and scores of interns, including me.

I'm going to try to keep everyone updated through this blog. Bug me if I don't keep up, though there will likely be a couple of weeks where I don't have anything new to post, once I get settled in to my work and the city.

Day 1 (not the day I flew in; that doesn't count. Also not the day after; I spent that day getting to the apartment and getting unpacked and settled, so officially today, the 30th):

Today, I rode the Metro! It's not all that different from the England's Underground or Paris' Metro, which is awesome because I've been on both more than a few times. I love riding the Metro in any location. I think I could make it a full-time job, just sitting there watching people hop on and off. Don't tempt me.

I got my groceries delivered, because that's a thing that can happen here and I love it. The delivery guy was super nice and the free shipping deal doesn't hurt at all. Prices are pretty much the same as any grocery store. Neat-o. So today, I made a burger (patty). I browned some garlic and onions, then added butter and browned that as well. Threw the patty onto the pan and browned that. Let me tell you guys: it was amazing. I'm a genius. Unfortunately, my avocados weren't ripe, so I just cut up some tomatoes and made cucumber sticks and ate those instead. Aaaaand I just realized I forgot to grab a banana while I was at Starbucks. Shoot dang,

Life not being an employee Starbucks is amazing, by the way. That job just got too stressful. I'm bored as all get-out not having a job, but I'm using the time to get ahead on my homework and get a little glimpse of the city.

It is also thundering outside, so I'm going to stop typing and go see that!

Au revoir, mes bons amis!

My walk to Union Station:
 Union Station:
 The view from the apartment I share with 5 other girls: