...comes from some other beginning's end!
I hope this post finds everyone well.
If you have not heard the news already, I am finally employed (again)! I am leaving my internship a little early for a full time job. It's primarily for assisting the development department of a nonprofit organization, entering in their gifts and helping out in other areas. I also have been volunteering on Sundays teaching adults ESL at a church in Columbia Heights. For the foreseeable future, D.C. will be home.
D.C. is probably the most frustrating city I have ever lived in. The city stops at the slightest hint of snow, shutting down schools and federal offices...only for the "snowquester" to fizzle into it rain. I think the weather is windier than Chicago. I can't even remember how many days I feel as if I have been almost knocked off my feet by wind! I'm hoping this is just a winter phenomenon.
After experiencing the beautiful subways of Korea and Japan, to get on the D.C. Metro was a total shock. The first time I got on a train I thought it was just a really old subway car, long forgotten to be decommissioned. Nope...that's just how they all look. The platforms are dangerously small and overcrowded, with nothing to prevent you from falling or being pushed onto the tracks below. The buses are much the same story--Minneapolis, I would say, has a much better bus system than D.C., especially concerned with weekend service. One particularly ridiculous Sunday, my class finished at 3:00. I did not get home until 5:00--I made no other stops/errands in between. I waited for the bus for over an hour before one finally decided to show up (two scheduled buses never came). Of course, this was one of the super cold and windy days, so it was quite miserable.
However, now that spring is upon us, I've been able to go out and about a little more and see different places, so that's nice. I have already seen most of the touristy sights in D.C. from a trip in high school, but I still can't resist the draw of the cherry blossoms later this week. I'll have to put up some pictures later this week. This is my last week at my internship, then I start my new job on April 8th!
Until next time,
Karin
