Welcome to my semester in DC!

For those of you who might not know, I'm spending my spring semester in Washington, DC. I arrived last Tuesday, January 8, and I've been settling in ever since. I wasn't sure if I wanted to have a blog for this semester, but some people who read my Singapore blog two summers ago requested that I keep another one for this study "abroad" experience. It probably will not be updated as frequently as my other blog, but if you're interested in keeping up with what I'm up to, feel free to check this out as frequently (or infrequently) as you would like. That said, of course, I would love to receive an email or phone call. I mean, I am still in the country after all.

So I arrived on Tuesday with a Rendezvous loaded with plastic totes packed with clothes and, honestly, more clothes. Oh, and my parents. I drove most of the way, marveling at how big Virginia is for about four of the six hours. We got to the WISH office (Washington Student Intern Housing) and I got the key to our house and my room. It's in the neighborhood behind Capitol Hill. I won't give out the precise address due to my irrational fear of the world wide web, but if you're interested in having it just shoot me an email or call me or something. I am a two minute walk to the Supreme Court building and a five minute walk to the Capitol building. Essentially, it's a fantastic location nestled in a row of old houses.

Naturally, though, the house is not without its lovely quirks. I've been here for four days and already I've discovered a few of its less desirable traits. For instance, the hot water heater has stopped performing its one duty of warming the water. The maintenance guy said it'll take a couple of days to fix, so for now we're all taking freezing showers that take your breath away in seconds. Also, my bed creaks more than the hardwood floors, which is quite a feat, let me assure you. Nonetheless, these quirks are just part of its Capitol Hill character.

The house's location is the best part, really, and my housemates. So far things have been pretty fun, especially since none of us has had anything to do other than a few hours of class on Thursday.

Speaking of which, I guess I should explain what this program actually entails. This is a study abroad program through the Honors program at UNC. I am here studying domestic policy both in a classroom and in an internship. I work for four days a week and have two classes on Thursdays. My classes are both related to issues of public policy, particularly as it relates to national domestic policy. The other track is foreign policy. There are thirteen of us on the program and living in the house (with an extra guy from the University of Kentucky), nine of whom are in foreign policy and the rest in domestic policy. That means there are just four of us in classes together on Thursdays with Dr. Podoff. He is an economist who has worked with senators and senatorial committees, and who has taught at universities.

Class was actually really interesting on Thursday. The academic portion of the program is rigorous enough to ensure that we get a good amount of educational benefit from our studies. However, it also allows for the fact that we will be working full time four days a week. The class is taught from an economic perspective, but that isn't unusual considering the basis for most of my public policy classes in the past. Cost-benefit analysis and the balance between pros and cons play a large role in the formulation of public policy. Hopefully in my internship I will be able to see the process of researching problems, identifying solutions, devising policies, and advocating and implementing those policies.

I will be working at the American Enterprise Institute with the Political Corner and the Election Reform Project. The latter is a joint endeavor with Brookings, probably one of the most well known research organizations in the world, if not the foremost think tank in the United States. AEI is not quite as well known from what I know about think tanks (probably not that much, all told), but it is still easily recognized. Politically, AEI aligns more with conservative ideology, but like anything else, it cannot be put so easily into one category. For instance, the joint project with Brookings, traditionally a left-leaning institute, suggests that political ideology does not always dictate stances on policy. AEI is still an organization of individual researchers and scholars with their own sets of beliefs and political affiliations.

I start work on Monday and will be working 9am to 5pm every weekday except Thursdays. I plan to post again in a few days when I have something to report on my experience there. I'll also load some pictures when I upload them onto my computer.

Hopefully this has been a sufficient introduction to my blog for the semester and can at least provide a taste of my experiences here in Washington, DC. Thanks for reading!

Edit (1/14): I changed the settings so anyone can comment on the blog. They had it set automatically so only google users could comment. If my mom sent you information about the blog, you shouldn't have to worry about using her account to comment. I also removed word verification, but if I start getting spammed, then I'll turn that back on.