10-day DC Seminar

You will be amazed the number of things you can squeeze into 10 days. In our 10-day seminar before we left for Australia, we did everything from DC exploration and mock interviews to guest lecturers and cookies and coffee at the Australian embassy.

The Metro station is conveniently located right behind our apartment complex which made it pretty easy to get around DC. One of our assignments for TWC was to explore the city in preparation for all the exploring we would be doing when we got to Sydney. Our “Sydney group” split in half and set out to see most of DC in day. If have been to DC before you would know that it is a grand feat to try and see it all in day because of DC size and overcrowding; yet, we were destined to get it done. My group of five visited seven landmarks that were spread across DC.

Columbia Heights, where we began our journey

Memorial Day Weekend Parade on U-Street near the African-American Civil War Museum. The parade was commemorating the African-Americans that had served our country.

At Friendship Arch in Chinatown trying not to get run over by the bikers participating in Rolling Thunder

See no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil at the Folger Shakespeare Library

Although we did not get to see all of DC, we did see a great deal of it and lots of fun exploring.
Our first day of the seminar was pretty much the standard day 1 introduction. The only exception being the mock interviews, where we had an opportunity to practice for the interview we would have at our internship site.

The first day of the seminar was a bit redundant but the days to follow were much better. The seminar combines education with experience. We had read a number of articles about Australian culture, government, and the environment. Our readings were backed up by guest speakers that were either Aussie-natives or just extremely knowledgeable about Australia. The speakers were honest, sometimes brutally, about what we should expect in Australia. But I appreciated their insight, advice, and jokes.

The interns during our lunch

The sites we visited were also a great supplement to our readings about Australia. We sipped coffee and ate cookies and chocolate covered strawberries with the personnel at the Australian embassy, where we also got advised about main attractions and nightlife in Australia by the head of customs and traditions.

That was one of my favorite site visits. We also visited the CATO Institute, where we heard from an Adelaide native, Salli James, about trade and economics in both the United States and Australia.

Some other places we visited include: Oceana, Asia Society, and Capitol Hill. Capitol Hill was one of the most memorable visits for most people because we were able to see a few rooms that people usually only see on TV or never see at all. For example, we got to sit and take pictures in Nancy Pelosi’s private office.

At the end of the seminar we paired up and gave a 20 minute presentation on a specific topic that dealt with Australia. The presentations reiterated everything we had learned the last nine days and made us even more prepared to leave for Australia. The last event of the seminar was the farewell dinner that TWC hosted at Elephant and Castle.

The seminar is over now and it is time to re-pack my bags and mentally prepare for the long journey I have ahead of me. Tomorrow I will begin my 21 hour trip to the Down Under!! It is hooroo to DC and g’day to Australia!!

A perfect way to explain what we have done in DC and forecast what we will do in Sydney

Hooroo