I realized that my previous posts about my time here in DC have been mostly about classes and my internship, so I thought I would give an update on some of the things we've been doing here for fun!
Most weekends we got out to a club at least one of the nights especially since we all love to dance. Our favorite one is a place called Hawk & Dove. It's a more casual place but they play the best music and we've had a great time every time we've gone. We don't go to house parties like we would if we were at our home schools because we don't know many people who actually go to American University, but we've been having so much fun exploring the nightlife in the city!
Before baseball season ended we went to a National's game. The stadium was really cool and our seats were really good even though we were up high. Even though we were up high it felt like we were still close to the field. Even though they lost, we got to see a three-run home run and some other really good plays!
We also went to a Wizards game one Friday night. We got to see them play the Mavericks so it was so cool to see Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki, Sean Marion and then Wizards players like Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler play. I loved seeing Caron Butler play. We loved him when he was at UConn and it was great seeing him play again. My favorite part was seeing him dunk, talk about being able to jump!
My friend Katie and I were in our element because the women's National basketball team tryouts were held here at American. We got the chance to see the players scrimmage and be coached by Geno Auriemma. This was an amazing chance for both of us since we are both huge basketball fans! Not to mention as a huge fan of the UConn women as well, it was great to see Geno coach and watch Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Aisjha Jones, Tina Charles, Maya Moore, and Renee Montgomery play! We also saw Candace Parker, Candice Wiggins, Angel McCoughtry, Kara Lawson, and so many others! It was like Katie and I were little kids in a candy store haha. To top everything off, we got the chance to get autographs; it was amazing!
Earlier in the semester, we went to a festival downtown that reminded me a lot of stART on the Street in Worcester. This one was for DC Fashion Week but they had different tents set up with people's crafts, jewelry, and clothing. It was a gorgeous day when we went and it was so cool to walk down another part of downtown DC.
Halloween was great here too! The fun started when we went to different thrift stores to get our Halloween costumes. We all found great things to make our outfits for very cheap! We explored areas of DC that we never get to see when we're riding the metro underground. We walked around different areas with shops and restaurants and ended up finding a great frozen yogurt place. Then on Halloween we got to go trick-or-treating at some of the embassies. Talk about gorgeous buildings in a beautiful area. The people were all so nice and it was such a cool experience. That night we went real trick-or-treating in the residential areas around campus because our one of our friends is an international student, has lived abroad her whole life, and has never gone before. We got some great candy and had so much fun being little kids again! We went out that night to a Halloween party, met some nice people, and had a really great night!
Finally, today I went with some friends from class to a NAVY football game in Annapolis. It was so great to be at a football game again. There were so many people there, it wasn't too old, and the game was really good.
So in addition to our classes and internships being really great, we've been having a wonderful time in general! I feel like I've done a lot of things that I wouldn't have been able to do anywhere else!
Saturday, November 14, 2009
I Love DC
Things have not slowed down at all since we've been here. We are meeting incredible people everyday we have class and I am learning a lot at my internship.
The past two weeks have included some of the highlights of my time here so far. Last week, we got to go to the Supreme Court to watch an oral argument. I could not believe I was sitting there watching the nine justices listen to a case that they would rule on. I couldn't believe that I was even getting to see the justices. I think I will always remember the feeling of looking at the bench and being in awe that I was looking at them sitting in their tall black chairs in their black robes grilling the attorneys for each side with questions. I loved seeing how each of the justices acted. I loved hearing the questions they asked, the tones they used, and the attitudes they gave the attorneys. Justice Ginsburg was on fire with one of the attorneys; he couldn't get one answer out completely before she was arguing with him and asking him another question. Justice Sotomayor had such a strong attitude; I don't think anyone could help thinking "You go girl!" especially since she is the junior justice in her first year. Justice Stevens is still incredibly sharp; he is so smart and composed. I would have never guessed that he is 89 years old if I hadn't known that already. Justice Scalia looked so funny because he sits very low in his chair and rocks back. From the audience all you can see is from his nose up.
Then this past Monday, our class got to go back to the Supreme Court with one of the American Politics classes from the Washington Semester Program and have meeting with Justice Scalia! It was incredible to meet him. We got to learn about his views on originalism, precedent, and ask him questions. He also kept us laughing as he has a very sarcastic sense of humor.
We've met more Members of Congress, officials at government agencies like the FDA, and more judges, both local and federal. I love class and getting to learn about our government by meeting the people who are involved in running it.
Interning at the Attorney General's Office has really helped me see what being a lawyer is like. The people in the office are so nice and helpful that it makes working there so much nicer. Lately I've been given a lot more responsibility too in terms of assignments so that's been really nice. I'm getting the chance to write documents for Esther, one of the attorney's I'm working with, such as discovery requests and letters. Discovery refers to the part of the litigation process where each side of the case is investigating and trying to obtain information from the other side. I've also gotten the chance to do some research and take care of organizing things dealing with a bunch of cases.
This past week I even got to go to a panel discussion at Georgetown Law School with Esther about the Second Amendment. It was really nice to go because I've learned so much about the right to bear arms last spring semester in the Constitutional Law class I took and this semester here in DC. While I've been here we've heard both sides of the issue as we've talked to representatives from the NRA and the Brady Group. The panel was so interesting because I got to see attorney who argued the Heller case and is going to argue the upcoming Chicago case speak as well as three other scholars/attorneys. Not to mention I got to see parts of the Law School which is so nice.
We have another crazy week coming up this week before we all head home for Thanksgiving. As of right now we are supposed to be meeting with four Members of Congress on Wednesday; I can't wait!
The past two weeks have included some of the highlights of my time here so far. Last week, we got to go to the Supreme Court to watch an oral argument. I could not believe I was sitting there watching the nine justices listen to a case that they would rule on. I couldn't believe that I was even getting to see the justices. I think I will always remember the feeling of looking at the bench and being in awe that I was looking at them sitting in their tall black chairs in their black robes grilling the attorneys for each side with questions. I loved seeing how each of the justices acted. I loved hearing the questions they asked, the tones they used, and the attitudes they gave the attorneys. Justice Ginsburg was on fire with one of the attorneys; he couldn't get one answer out completely before she was arguing with him and asking him another question. Justice Sotomayor had such a strong attitude; I don't think anyone could help thinking "You go girl!" especially since she is the junior justice in her first year. Justice Stevens is still incredibly sharp; he is so smart and composed. I would have never guessed that he is 89 years old if I hadn't known that already. Justice Scalia looked so funny because he sits very low in his chair and rocks back. From the audience all you can see is from his nose up.
Then this past Monday, our class got to go back to the Supreme Court with one of the American Politics classes from the Washington Semester Program and have meeting with Justice Scalia! It was incredible to meet him. We got to learn about his views on originalism, precedent, and ask him questions. He also kept us laughing as he has a very sarcastic sense of humor.
We've met more Members of Congress, officials at government agencies like the FDA, and more judges, both local and federal. I love class and getting to learn about our government by meeting the people who are involved in running it.
Interning at the Attorney General's Office has really helped me see what being a lawyer is like. The people in the office are so nice and helpful that it makes working there so much nicer. Lately I've been given a lot more responsibility too in terms of assignments so that's been really nice. I'm getting the chance to write documents for Esther, one of the attorney's I'm working with, such as discovery requests and letters. Discovery refers to the part of the litigation process where each side of the case is investigating and trying to obtain information from the other side. I've also gotten the chance to do some research and take care of organizing things dealing with a bunch of cases.
This past week I even got to go to a panel discussion at Georgetown Law School with Esther about the Second Amendment. It was really nice to go because I've learned so much about the right to bear arms last spring semester in the Constitutional Law class I took and this semester here in DC. While I've been here we've heard both sides of the issue as we've talked to representatives from the NRA and the Brady Group. The panel was so interesting because I got to see attorney who argued the Heller case and is going to argue the upcoming Chicago case speak as well as three other scholars/attorneys. Not to mention I got to see parts of the Law School which is so nice.
We have another crazy week coming up this week before we all head home for Thanksgiving. As of right now we are supposed to be meeting with four Members of Congress on Wednesday; I can't wait!
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