Well once again another week has flown by. I’m starting to get the feeling that time really doesn’t care about my feelings, how rude. But I guess this is what happens when you become an… “adult” (quite a scary thought). I’m learning that being an “adult” means losing track of time on a fairly regular basis and working a crazy amount (but I do love my work at Share Our Strength). As quickly as the weeks seem to fly by down here, I can’t complain because they are constantly filled with fun things.
This week, for example, I got to listen to Gillian Sorensen from the United Nations speak. She was part of TWC’s President's Lecture Series. Now I’m not going to lie, sometimes I find these lectures less than fascinating. They point of them is great, but after running around all weekend and getting up super early to go to work, I’m not always super enthusiastic about them and I don’t always want to go.
However, this one was pretty great. I took a human rights course while I studied in London and found it incredibly fascinating. We focused on the UN and the human rights covenants set forth by the Human Rights Council. Listening to Sorensen speak was great because it reminded me of everything I had studied in that course and it raised a lot of questions for me. One, for example, is why has the U.S. not signed or ratified any of the human rights covenants? It seems incredibly strange to me that our country has refused to officially accept these documents, which protect people from torture, discrimination and so forth. This was definitely one lecture I really enjoyed.
I enjoyed it almost as much as I enjoyed hearing that George Stephanopoulos...will be at Conference of Leaders!!! SWEET! I’m very excited if not a bit tense considering the event is only two weeks away. Seriously grandfather time you couldn’t give us just a few more days? Jeez. But in all seriousness the office has really entered crunch time. We’re trying to get Service Day squared away and I have just been given the task of creating a truly kick ass poster of the reception complete with facts, photos, and information about this past year. I’ve started compiling my materials and I think its going to turn out pretty well, but I’m still freaking out a bit, I mean this is going to be on display for everyone to see. I don’t want to be the intern who glue sticks a photo upside down…. it could happen.
Now about my epic trip, my trip to the land of fall foliage, D- hop (Durham House of Pizza) pizza, wildcats, ice hockey, falafel, and academia. That’s right I went to one of the greatest places a person can go, the University of New Hampshire. There a swarm of Regent’s College spring 2009 students were waiting. That’s right this weekend a mass of truly great people I studied in London with converged on my home campus of UNH for a weekend of awesomeness. I have to say, I really did miss these people and seeing them again was truly amazing.
It all began with a 10 pm train Thursday night from Union Station. Yes, that’s right I said a 10 pm train. I know how ridiculous that sounds; honestly who wants to spend their night on a train!? But I wanted to maximize the amount of time I’d have at UNH and not take off too many days from work (we’re still incredibly busy and I don’t foresee that changing any time soon). So I hopped on the underground (sorry, the Metro) at 8:30 pm and took the hour long trip into the city. From there I spent my night attempting to find sleep on an Amtrak. I awoke to find myself at Boston’s South Station. Groggy, tired, and desperately wanting to brush my teeth, I hurried off the train and onto the T and made my way to North Station where another train was waiting… At 9 am I made the final leg of my journey to Durham NH. At this point, if I never ride another train again, I’ll be a very happy person. Well… that’s not true, I love trains, we just need to take a break for while.
The weekend was AMAZING! It was great to see all my friends again. People came who I never expected to show up and it was two days of nonstop fun. Being back on the UNH campus was wonderful. Its beautiful this time of year, and after being away for nearly a year, I’m definitely getting ready to go back. I’m ready for breakfast at The Bagelry, walking on T-Hall Lawn, taking history classes in Horton and especially hanging out with some of the coolest people ever. I’m not saying I’m done with D.C.--this city is full of so many wonderful and exciting things.
Top 2 Places to Visit:
1. The Capitol Building: This one I feel, is a given. I mean if you’re going to spend time in our nation’s capital, you should probably go see where the House and the Senate meet to decide what goes on in our country. I’m just saying, coming to D.C. and not seeing the Capitol Building is like going to London and not seeing Big Ben… its weird. This place is actually a really cool place to visit. You can see the entire mall from the back side of the building and walk up to the balcony. The visitor’s center is fully of really fascinating information about the history of our government and there is always the chance you might see someone cool, whether it’s a congressman, senator, or even a congressional aid running through the plaza out front on their way to a meeting. Plus there are tons of great photo ops!
2. UNH: Now I realize this is not in Washington D.C., however, you should still come check it out anyway. (Basically this blog has become a shameless plug for my home university… sorry!). Seriously though UNH is AWESOME! We have Gnarls the wildcat mascot, the greatest hockey team ever with fans who chant things that no decent person would ever think to say, Diamond Library (the mecca of libraries in my opinion), boulder field, rock climbing, and who could forget wonderful College Woods, one of the most beautiful places in New England. We are also home to Polly’s Pocket’s falafel, Durham House of Pizza, The Knot and Libby’s (all cool places to check out in our rather small “downtown” area). There’s always something going on and as the last four three and a half years have gone by I’ve truly come to love this place. So if you ever find yourself up in the Live Free or Die state, head to Durham for some friendly people, good times, and fun.
This Week's Top 5 Songs:
1. Kings of Leon: “Use Somebody”
2. Old Crow Medicine Show: “Wagon Wheel”
3. Wyclef Jean: “Sweetest Girl”
4. The Verve: “Bittersweet Symphony”
5. The Avett Brothers: “January Wedding”
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