I really didn't think it had been that long since I had last posted but it seems that it has! I think it has something to do with getting used to the 9-5 working lifestyle. To recap last week: I worked 3 days and on the second day I continued working on my Lewis and Clark project and was given three more seminar locations that I can begin working on. My basic duties revolving around each seminar require creating the schedule of events for the length of the programs which last about 2-3 days, compiling/creating lesson plans to be presented to teachers, contacting and confirming performers, speakers and museum educators, creating budgets, designing the covers of binders to be distributed to teachers and attending relevant conference calls. Working on four different projects simultaneously has been somewhat overwhelming but I am really trying to take everything one step at a time as the saying goes. I attended my first Smithsonian Associates wide meeting which was interesting and gave me the inside scoop on what the new tagline for the Smithsonian is going to be.
On Thursday I had my research seminar followed by a visit to the Library of Congress where we received extensive instruction on how to use their databases and create queries that are more intentional, less random trial and error. Inside the rotunda at the Library of Congress was such a beautiful sight but unfortunately you cannot take pictures. Another highlight was getting my lifetime card to the Library of Congress!
On Friday none of my fellow interns or my bosses were in the office which was an interesting change to the normal routine. I still had plenty of work to do from watering my boss' plant to following up on an email with the subject line "Flash mob in the lobby--five minutes." It turns out that flash mob actually translates into "we really needed to get your attention and get you to the lobby in order to announce the sudden influx of memberships we have secured." It was exciting news but I was expecting at least a glimpse of some dancing! In the evening I went to a local bar called the Mighty Pint where various UCDCer's keep winning free Happy Hours! This was followed up by some karaoke and dancing.
Saturday was a fabulous day of relaxation. A few friends and I tried out a local pizza place called Bertuccis which was pretty decent and I topped off my pizza dinner with a shake from Shake Shack. Later, myself and a friend took an evening stroll down to the Washington monument to see what my commute would be like to work if I walked every day. I enjoyed seeing the snow still on the ground, in front of the White House and stuck to benches!
Sunday was a mixture of relaxation and working on my research proposal. I spent much of my time combing through research before actually writing the proposal but I really think it helped to solidify practical approaches I can take and also illuminate some of the problems I may run into during the course of my research. Looking forward to a productive week and hoping that the projected rain doesn't actually come!
No comments:
Post a Comment