Arrival in Washington

Well, my blog posts were short lived, but I've decided to try and revive the blog. I'm going to try and give at least weekly updates on my life here in DC so that family and friends will know what I'm up to. It's almost 1:30 AM here which means it's 11:30 back home. I haven't even begun to adjust to the new time zone so I'm not tired, but I'll try to keep this short.

On Tuesday I will start an internship with the Treasury Department. I will be working in the Western Hemisphere office under International Affairs. I'm really quite excited to begin. I decided to get to DC a few days early to get all settled in. Upon arriving at Ronald Reagan International Airport, I quickly met a few people who are interns from BYU. Many of us are staying at BYU's Barlow Center. It is a dormitory/church office right off Pennsylvania Ave about one or two miles northwest of the White House. We all rode the subway from the airport to a place about three or four blocks from the Barlow Center and we did the rest on foot. It is very exciting to be outside of Utah again.

It's been refreshing to see people of all walks of life intermingling throughout the city. I spent some of the evening unpacking, but since I packed so light this took much less time than I expected. Another BYU student and I rode the subway to Costco, and bought a little more than we could comfortably carry on our own. We had to take several breaks as we carried giant stacks of wholesale burritos, sodas, breads, etc. through the crowded streets. The looks on the faces of those we passed kept me entertained as I struggled to not drop what must have been at least a fifty-pound load.

The rest of the evening was spent getting to know the other interns staying here. We spent some time walking out on the street. After we decided we'd had enough we went back to watch basketball. I miss Camille, but I'm excited to explore the town and make plans for all the fun things we'll do together when she flys out. Since I finished all my errands so early, I don't have much to do tomorrow. I think I'll sleep in and then head to the National Art Gallery or Library of Congress. I'm going to look for a nice place to read. I'm working on "Cat's Cradle" by Kurt Vonnegut. I also started Cormac McCarthy's "Cities of the Plane" and "There Are No Children Here" by Alex Kotlowitz. I normally don't take on more than two books at once, but I have some extra time. So far the Vonnegut has been the most entertaining. I love his irreverant and satirical humor. I'll try and spice up this blog with some pictures from my travels around town tomorrow. I may spend some time with the other interns, but the thought of exploring some of the more out of the way sights is appealing. I think I'll do what I want to do--at least for tomorrow.