Yo!

Okay so let’s start with the basics. My name is Vanessa Bennett. I’m a senior at UNH and I’m about to embark on an internship at the amazing DC nonprofit, Share Our Strength. And this, is my blog… :)

Now before I begin discussing life in D.C. let me first explain the title of my blog. I am a HUGE fan of Lupe Fiasco, as far as I’m concerned, he can do no wrong. After meeting with my blogging supervisor, I was sitting in my apartment in Rockville, MD struggling hopelessly to come up with a title for my blog. I had bounced ideas off everyone and had some very interesting suggestions come my way, but nothing jumped out at me. I was about to throw in the towel, so to speak, and settle on “My Time in D.C.” (very uncreative, I know), when Lupe’s “Kick, Push” came on. Now this song is one of my FAVORITE songs. It has an incredible beat and amazing lyrics and I can listen to it over and over again without ever getting tired of it. So I chose to combine my love for Lupe Fiasco with my first attempts at being a blogger and from this came “Let’s Kick, and Push, and Coast into the District”. Now I’m just hoping that some of his beautiful lyricism rubs off on me ;)

As I said before, I’ve never blogged before, so this should be an interesting experience. However, I’ve found that trying new things tends to be both interesting and amazing. I’m from a small town in New Hampshire. It’s full of farms, cows, there is no underground system, and like Cheers, “Everyone knows your name”. It’s the sort of place where you can’t go anywhere without bumping into someone who knows you through a friend of a friend’s cousin. This is why I chose last January to pack up my life and travel across the big blue ocean to London, England for the semester.

What advice can I give you about that? GO TO LONDON IMMEDIATELY!!!

It was a life changing experience, the city is truly one of the greatest cities in the world, with the most wonderful people you’ll ever meet (quick shout out to the Regent’s College Spring 2009 Study Abroad Class, you guys rock!) and I would go back in a heartbeat. In fact London was such an amazing experience that I have managed to retain some of the lingo, I continue to refer to trash cans as “rubbish bins” and the DC Metro as “the underground” much to my roommates' dismay.

I had such a wonderful time in London that I’ve chosen again to pick up my life and now I’m here in D.C. The journey at 5:30 am on Wednesday September 2nd, when I crammed my suitcases into my roommate’s car and we drove 9 hours to Rockville, Maryland, my new home. This road trip included a premade D.C. mix (complete with Lupe Fiasco of course), a wrong turn that almost resulted in us driving right into New York City, stomach upsetting pizza from a highway rest stop on the Jersey Turnpike, and 20 minutes spent driving aimlessly around Rockville trying to find our apartment. So all in all… a pretty great time ;) But not as great a time as my first few days in the city.

After two days of orientation where I met tons of great people and learned about life as a TWC intern, I spent the weekend exploring Georgetown with other TWC interns and my roommates,(I was pleasantly surprised to see that there is a Boston Red Sox sports bar in the area… GO SOX!)...

visiting some of the monuments and museums and hanging around Rockville. Getting out into the city made me suddenly realize that, yes, I am in fact now living in DC. I know that I probably should have realized this earlier on but it took not only seeing the National Mall and Washington Monument, but nearly getting lost in Adams Morgan, wandering the Smithsonian Gardens and visiting the Rockville Library to make it real… go figure :)

This week I also went to see our local baseball team The Nationals play! It was the best way to end my work day, running three blocks to my underground station, changing trains in Chinatown and then yelling and cheering on my team. However the experience was very different from other games I’ve been too. I’m from Red Sox country where the fans are loud, often times obnoxious, and get so into the game that its kind of scary. Here at Nationals Park...

my roommate and I sat in an almost empty section of the stands and were the only two cheering. It was still a really cool way to see another part of the city and an awesome way to spend the evening. (Plus I saw a Ben Folds look a like on the underground and that pretty much made my day.)

Now I don’t want you all to think that all I’m doing down here is wandering the city streets avoiding my internship responsibilities. I’ve been at my internship now for three days and I have to say… Share Our Strength is pretty amazing. I’ve got my own “cube” (cubical) and I feel like a real professional attending various meetings and having a real office to go to. There is a lot of work and at first it was overwhelming, but I’m getting more and more excited for the projects I’m going to be working on. I’m going to be apart of some really wonderful things with this organization and I’ll even get to attend the USDA Farmer’s Market every Friday on the National Mall… pretty great right! I feel like this is going to be a great place to learn more about nonprofits and about the kinds of things I want to do when I graduate. With this internship I feel like a real adult, taking the Metro to work, having my own cubicle and tasks to fulfill. I always shunned the day when I would have to leave college and be an adult, but now I’m sort of excited at the prospect of life post undergrad.

Wow, who knew so much could happen in such a short amount of time or that TWC would be so much fun!?

Until next time, I leave you with the following pearls of wisdom, enjoy:

This Week's Top 2 Places to Visit While in the City:

1. The Black Cat: It’s a grungy music club showcasing local, indie, and alternative bands. The atmosphere is loud and as you walk through the front doors you immediately feel the bass from the band playing on the main stage. It’s a great place to see a band and hang out with friends, although you may have to settle on the PacMan arcade game for your table… ;)

2. The Hirshhorn Museum: One of the places I fell in love with in London was the Tate Modern, the Hirshhorn is the US version of this. The building is shaped like a doughnut and there is a massive fountain in the center. There are works by numerous modern artists and I spent my Labor Day wandering aimlessly through the galleries taking in each piece of artwork. There is the most beautiful panoramic view of the city from the top floor of the museum and the coolest penguin sculpture on the lower level. J This is definitely a place to go when you feel like getting “lost” for a bit.

Top 5 Songs of the Week:
1. Lupe Fiasco: “Kick, Push”
2. We Are Scientists: “Altered Beast”
3. The Wombats: “Little Miss Pipedream”
4. Handsome Furs: “All We Want Baby Is Everything”
5. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin: “House Fire”