The Smithsonian, Snow, Studying and Shindigs: A Week and a Half Recap

Once again, time is flying by! At the beginning of my journey here in Washington DC it was much easier to find the time to write on my blog and recap the events that have transpired but now time is simply moving too quickly!

My research seminar is really ramping up so much of my free time has been absorbed in deep thought about how best to organize my paper and coming up with plans b, c, d, etc. in case my ideal research plan does not pan out. I will be able to use information directly from my internship so I am excited to dig into it and maybe even present data and information that my department already had in a new way.

I haven't been doing as much sightseeing lately as I would like to be but I did a fabulous walk around the monuments late Friday evening. A few friends and I walked from the UC Washington Center past the White House and down to the National Mall. I feel like the Mall takes on a new personality in the evening. It is simply even less lively than it is during the day and the evening was quite cold to top it off! On Saturday we did a little walk around Dupont Circle and weekly grocery run--finally a day to relax! On Sunday we returned to Georgetown to visit the library (so studious!) and of course to use my buy one get one free coupon at Sprinkles. I am not sure I have eaten so many cupcakes in the course of a little over a month but I am definitely not complaining. We also sampled a local french cafe which was pretty tasty.

In terms of my internship, it continues to be different every day! I stay pretty busy for the most part and have learned a lot already. I have three bosses and a valuable thing I have constantly been exposed to is their differences in leadership styles and expectations. Although I may have to do very similar tasks for each, one may want it done in a very specific way whereas another doesn't give very detailed instructions nor expects it to be a certain way. For me, this is reminiscent of and also foreshadowing of working in audit under different audit seniors and managers.

The bulk of last week and much of this week I spent booking hotels, searching for music from 1865-1910 having to do with Westward expansion, taking part in conference calls with museum educators, searching for images that also have to do with Westward Expansion, women's rights, abolition and organizing lesson plans to be used in our upcoming programs. A highlight of this week was getting speakers for my desk! Seriously it was kind of a big deal. Also they were brand new, which just goes to show that the government is spending money on some things besides staplers which I cannot track down..