02/10/2016
Five weeks into my DC journey, and I’m still going strong! I’ve learned to work a room at a networking event, strike a balance between my internship and classes, and aimlessly wander around the city without finding myself helplessly lost. Having also recently learned how to adjust to homesickness...
01/25/2016
As I write this, it is now my second official snow day. As a California native who never really ventured to far from home, I must admit this is still all amazingly surprising and surreal, to say the least. The first time I saw snow was last week. I was so shocked I halted in my tracks in awe to...
01/20/2016
In 2014, after having just transferred to Cal, I decided I’d take it upon myself to independently apply for an internship in Washington, D.C. and begin dabbling in the political world. Though I had a stellar experience interning for Congressman Mike Honda, because I was on my own, I was forced to...
11/18/2015
In the past few months, a lot of my peers at the UCDC program and myself included have been debating between staying in the Bay Area after graduation, soaking under the glorious year-around sun and eating 99-cent avocados, or moving to the East Coast, experiencing actual seasons and living a more...
11/05/2015
Since I last wrote, my time in D.C. seems more eventful than what I thought it could possibly be. I have been tired often, however, it is actually really enjoyable to stay on my feet! As I said in my last post, my birthday passed and one of my best friends spent the week with me, which was such a...
11/02/2015
Disgust, then sorrow, and finally anger flashed across my face. I blamed this deluge of sudden emotions on a New York Times article —the white lettered headline, framed against a colorful rug and pair of shackled feet, declared “ The Chains of Mental Illness in West Africa .” This piece, authored...
10/20/2015
I cannot believe that an entire month has passed since my last blog. Time sure flies by quickly around here! Many exciting things have happened since the end of September, and I am happy to say that I am really starting to like this city. Sometimes (and at the risk of being slightly creepy), as I...
10/08/2015
Since, I last wrote, things have changed - mainly, I no longer feel like a foreigner in the capital! Suddenly, I got into the swing of things…as if I always wake up at 6:30 a.m. for work, or that I always come home and chef up dinner as well as lunch for the next day, or that my office has always...
09/22/2015
To be honest, when I first landed at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, I really did not have a clear idea of or much expectation about how my semester in D.C. would unfold--after all, I have never been to America's national capital or seen much of the East Coast at all. But fast...
09/09/2015
Part One -- Arriving in a New Place & Discovery of a New Space! The days leading up to my departure seem so surreal… Between classes, final projects, and preparations for my trip, I haven’t had the time to sit and think about the fact that I will be relocating in a few days. I am a Libra and...