Settling In

To begin with, I was very sad to hear today that Senator Kennedy has died. He was truly an inspiring figure and he undoubtedly was one of the greatest Senators the United States has ever seen. I hope that we can push through the health care legislation, and perhaps they will dedicate the bill to Kennedy given his commitment to the issue throughout his career.

I have spent the past week settling into my dorm, learning how to navigate the metro system, and searching/interviewing for internships. It is very odd going through all of this orientation. It really makes me feel like a freshman again, which is not something that I was expecting. I must say it's not the greatest feeling in the world, but oh well. The internship search is going pretty well, I had two interviews yesterday, so I put on my new suit and heels and made my way to the offices of these organizations. Both interviews went pretty well I think, and hopefully I will hear back from them early next week. I also started class officially today. My professor and classmates seem great, and there is a rather large number of international students here, so the different perspectives will, I'm sure, add greatly to our conversations.

Today in class we had an "Introduction to International Law and Organizations" lecture, but tomorrow and Friday we are heading into the city to hear some speakers. Tomorrow we will be at the Library of Congress to hear a speaker talk about International Law, Sources, and Resources, and Friday we are going to the Newseum, which is supposedly really cool, to hear about International Law in the news and how it affects our daily lives.

I spent a little more time wandering around the Mall this past week. We went to the National Archives and saw the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights. Of course, we watched National Treasure later that week : ) It is very impressive that these documents remain pretty much intact. We also went to the White House Visitor Center and the National Gallery of Art. Unfortunately both days we got rained out so didn't see as much as we would have liked. The weather is still pretty hot and humid.

All in all, things are going very well. I'm excited to jump into my class, I think that our professor will do a great job balancing lectures with speakers and outings, and we should be studying some interesting things. I'm also eager to settle an internship and start working. I think this program is perfectly balanced because it includes both class time and "real world" experience. I've also met some great people from all over the country and world for that matter, so I expect it to be an excellent semester!

More pictures will be coming soon!

Until next time,
Rachel