Ready or not, we're gonna be here tomorrow, wild with hope in spite of everything…

Thanks to The Submarines for this week’s blog title!!!   

Well, its all over. My time in DC has come to an end and after fleeing an impending snow storm, driving through the night, and listening to a wonderful mix of jams, I’ve finally made it back to New Hampshire. Its really hard to believe that I’m no longer living in DC, that my internship is over, and that another semester has come and gone. Its even harder to believe that I’ll be graduating in 5 months!! But my time in DC was truly phenomenal and I once again STRONGLY encourage all of you to take part in this wonderful opportunity.

I was supposed to leave the city Saturday morning, but due to the treacherous blizzard making its way quickly up the eastern seaboard, my roommate and I were forced to leave Friday afternoon. We made our way home through the night with hourly updates regarding how far behind us the weather was. We reminisced about our time in the District while listening to only the best 90’s hits and mentally prepared ourselves for life back in New Hampshire. It was yet another wonderful 9 hour car ride, but I ended up realizing that car rides are something I actually enjoy! Go figure! 

I think the reason I am saddest to leave DC is leaving my internship.  Its been an incredibly wonderful experience and I’ve gained so much from my time with Share Our Strength’s Operation Frontline. Its been an eye opening experience, one that’s taught me tremendous amounts of a variety of things and one that’s helped me to grow a great deal. Its been a truly rewarding experience and i can’t believe its over. While I’m not ready to graduate just yet, I know that when that time comes I’ll be ready; I may not want it to come, but I’ll be ready. So here’s a big thank you to the OFL team, Meghan, Hayley, Leigh Ann, Laura, Janet, and Cathy!!!  Thanks for everything!!! :)

So what’s next for this blogger? Well its back to Wildcat country to finish school. UNH is calling me, and its definitely time to go back and be a college student for a few more months. After I graduate… well, who knows? Maybe I’ll be back in London, living and working in that beautiful and wonderful city. Maybe I’ll be working for AmeriCorps out in Seattle or down in New Orleans. Hopefully I’ll be taking some time to fulfill my dream of bumming around the US while attempting to be Jack Kerouac. (I’m not saying I’ll write a book, although that could be cool, but I’d love to bum around for a bit) Or maybe, if I’m lucky, I’ll be doing all of these things. Either way I’m excited for the next adventure/experience in store for me, whatever it may be. 

Taking part in The Washington Center Internship program was a really wonderful experience and I highly, highly recommend it. I’ve learned that saying goodbye is, well, hard. Especially when you have to say goodbye to people and places and experiences that were truly wonderful. After having to leave London, and now leaving DC  what I’ve learned about it is that if the people  and the experiences were  truly phenomenal and life changing then as hard as it is to say goodbye, its never truly sad. If you can look back and be filled with happiness by the memories of the people you met and the things you did, then in the end, its okay to say goodbye. Like London, my time in DC was pretty great and while this city may not be the city for me, its still a wonderful place to visit with endless things to do and see.

Okay, enough with the sappy rhetoric. J (Although I guess it is sort of par for the course).  In honor of this being my final blog posting I’ve included the top 15 songs and places to visit of the semester. The songs that I think were post important and the places I enjoyed the most during my time here. I hope you enjoy them and I sincerely hope you come to Washington, DC. Even if its not through TWC, you have to visit this city because it truly is a wonderful place.

Top 5 Songs of the Week:

1. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin: "Travel Song"
2. The Rumble Strips: "Girls and Boys"
3. The Kooks: "She Moves In Her Own Way"
4. Jenny Lewis: "Godspeed"
5. Broken Social Scene: "Stars and Sons"


Top 15 Songs of the Semester:


1. Lupe Fiasco: "Kick, Push"
2. Matt and Kim: "Good Old Fashioned Nightmare"
3. Jurassic 5: "Concrete Schoolyard"
4. Josh Ritter: "Girl In The War"
5. The Clash: "Straight To Hell"
6. Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah: "Let the Cool Goddess Rust Away"
7. The Avett Brotheres: "I and Love and You"
8. French Kicks: "So Far We Are"
9. The Kooks: "Shine On"
10. Darwin Deez: "Bad Day"
11. The White Stripes: "Hotel Yorba"
12. Jamie T: "Sticks and Stones"
13. The Helio Sequence: "Lately"
14. Broken Social Scene: "Stars and Sons"
15. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin: "Travel Song"


Top 15 Places to Visit of the Semester

1. Black Cat
2. The Hirshhorn Museum
3. USDA Farmers Markets
4. The National Museum of American History
5. Saint Ex
6. University of New Hampshire
7. Meridian Hill Park
8. U St./14th St. Corridor
9. Ben's Chili Bowl
10. The Kennedy Center
11. The Vietnam War Memorial
12. Old Town Alexandria
13. The Friendly Toast (NH)
14. Holocaust Museum
15. The Capitol Building