Firstly, I must apologize for my lack of attentiveness to this blog, I promise that I will update it more regularly from here on out. Now that I am midway into my third week of my summer internship, I feel like I have learned some various things about living in this city.

1.       Metro, Metro, Metro. If you are a poor college student, like myself, or don’t have the time or patience to commute daily to work, take the Metro. It is far cheaper than driving, between the cost for gas and for parking – parking alone can cost you anywhere from $10-$20 a day!! I pay around $6-$7 a day for my Metro commute. (Biking is an option too)

2.       Know your route. If you are planning on using the Metro system, do some research in advance. Find out which bus and rail routes that you will need to take (WMATA has a trip planner that does a good job at planning a route). I have found out though that you can find cheaper/ sometimes quicker routes if you do a little digging yourself.  Since rail charges per stop (like 25-50 cents I think), maybe consider riding the bus a little farther, and boarding at a rail that is closer to your destination.

3.       Smallish city with a big city mentality. This is more for the “small-country” people who may be reading this. Living/working in a city a lot different than living/working in a small town or community. People are much more goal oriented and job focused, so don’t take too much offense if people don’t seem as polite or compassionate as they do back home. Everyone has a place that they are trying to get to, and get there quickly -- you will too.

4.       Expensive, but not if you plan. Coming into this city, I had my expectations that everything was going to be ridiculously expensive, rent especially. And while rent is fairly pricey, it is certainly not in any mean unmanageable – though this is easier to say since I am a paid-intern. Food and drinks down here are relatively pricey, but right around what you would expect in this city. Beer has run me anywhere from $3 during happy hour, to around $7 at a more formal establishment.  But a twelve-pack at Giant can run anywhere from $8 to $16 or $20 (depending on the quality of beer). Food wise, if you shop ahead of time, and pack your meals, you can save yourself quite a bit of money as well. Instead of paying around $7-$10 for lunch, you make a cheap lunch for less than $2 sometimes – savings do add up.

5.       Socialize! Can’t really say I have had too much success doing this yet, though I do realize I have only been down here for a few weeks. The social experience, from what I have heard from many people, can make or break your experience here. Furthermore, you wouldn’t just be doing this for the friendship aspect of it, but also the networking opportunities! The more people you know, the more you can potentially meet. I ashamedly resorted to meeting some peeps online, just so I had a place to start, in regards to making friends here – so I if I go missing all of the sudden, at least you will know why ;)

6.       Just experience the city. Allow yourself to just embrace the city, rather than simply staying focused on your job or internship, or even on your expectations that you created prior to arriving here. There is so much here to do, and so many opportunities to create new and beautiful memories. Even if the city doesn’t “suit your fancy”, at least try and make the most out of the time that you will be down here. This point, I suppose, could be applied to all of your experiences in life.

Enough lecturing for today! I hope that my advice can help you in some sort of way in the near or distant future. I, myself, should try and adhere more to these tips, and any tips that you all would like to share! Writing rational thoughts isn’t that difficult. Turning these thoughts into action is the difficult part, especially considering how I, with probably many people, get caught up in our day-to-day lives, and forget to take our life experiences into perspective.

I’d love to hear your feedback or reactions down below.

Peace, love, and booze,

Daryl

It has been a little over a week since I have arrived here in Washington D.C. and so far, for the most part, it has been a fun experience! I had some jitters early on (spilled coffee on myself), to having trouble finding my way home via Metro and ended up having to take a taxi! To top it off, my new shoes decided to break themselves in on my heels, leaving lovely ol' blisters to accompany me on my travels. But enough with the bad, I shall now share some of my good experiences!

Besides the rough first day, which I would assume that most people on their first days at work usually encounter difficulties of some sort. what is it that I am doing? I am interning a firm called McAllister & Quinn, which is near the White House! They, or we, lobby for nonprofits, educational institutions, and other organizations. And so far, I think I have learned quite a bit about what lobbyists actually do -- they normally get bashed by anyone and everyone, and yet, few really know what their jobs entail. I am still learning quite about about what they do.

Normally at work, I am just assigned various projects. Initially, I didn't have anything to do. But as I completed one assignment, two more seemed to appear. And now, I typically have a consistent work load, or at least something to attend to. The typical works usually consists of sending out fundraising emails, doing research for one of the directors' clients, or doing front desk duty (answering phones). With the increase in work, I have noticed that the days have been drifting by quicker than before. Unlike manual labor jobs, like at factories, they are very lax about breaks and lunch, and about vacation days, which is great. In fact, I just found out today that I will have the 4th of July off, as well as the day proceeding it! That's enough about my work, now onto some of the other aspects of D.C.!

Last week, I walked around the city a bit after work. Of course I had to bring my camera along! I walked around McPherson square, which has a little park in the center of it. That is where I found this cute little specimen on the right I believe! I love that nature still exists within this concrete jungle! I found some other critters along my way as well on that beautiful day. Some were by a red brick church, while others where near a statue surrounded by a circular intersection (these are common in D.C., though they probably have an official name that I have yet to learn). Speaking of nature, I took a little trip to a hidden gem within this city.

The National Arboretum (Ar-boor-e-tum) in Washington D.C... There is so much that I could talk about this little paradise, so I am going to keep it short for this post. On your left is the Capitol Columns. I am not sure why they are there, but they sure were amazing to see in real life! In my next post, I will share the history of these columns, as I will actually do some research prior to writing that one! Furthermore, I will describe what it was like visiting this magnificent place, and journeying around the little paths that exist within the woods there! Thanks for reading :)


                                                                                                       Warm regards,
                                                                                                                Daryl Simons Jr.