Greetings from Capitol Hill

Today I'm writing you all from sunny Washington D.C., where I'm currently in my second week of the Government FSP (Foreign Study Program). Studying abroad (or in my case, away from campus) is one of the best experiences you can have as a Dartmouth student - in fact, Dartmouth has the highest study-abroad rate of any college in the US! (About sixy-five percent of students will spend at least one term abroad, and almost twenty-five percent will go abroad for three terms.) Virtually every department in the school offers a chance to study abroad, so no matter what you want to study, you can also choose to travel!

Since I'm a Government Major, I decided that I wanted to go on one of the Government department's FSPs: London in the fall, or Washington D.C. in the spring. My concentration is American Politics, so it made much more sense for me to go to Washington, and after a few months of waiting, I found out that I'd gotten accepted to the program.

The Government FSP is a little different than most other off-campus programs; we live at a hotel, and each of the sixteen students does a full-time internship, as well as a once-a-week seminar with a Dartmouth professor. There are a number of short papers on current events, a diary to keep track of your internship's daily activities, and a final research paper. Overall, it's a pretty typical Dartmouth term, except now I ride the Metro to work in the morning, instead of walking across the Green to class.

Now I'm finally here, and I can't believe how much I've learned just from being in a Congressional office. I'm working for Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, who represents the district next to mine. (Most of the students here are working for Senators or Representatives, but we also have a few people at other places, like the Democratic Caucus and the National Archives.)

I've only been here a week, and already I've witnessed a House vote, given two tours of the Capitol building, written an original answer to piece of constituent mail, and learned the names of all the staffers and interns. (That's all in addition to the regular responsibilites of an intern here, like sorting mail, answering the phone, and stuffing envelopes, among other things.) My desk is in the Chief of Staff's office, so I get to hear all of his phone calls - sometimes he even holds important meetings in here, and I'm allowed to stay; I'm finding that the best part of this experience is what I'm learning just from listening and watching.



This past weekend, a bunch of us went to the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which takes place once a year to celebrate the famous cherry blossoms' blooming. We also visited the Jefferson and Washington memorials, went to the Air and Space Museum, and then had time to watch the Final Four in the NCAA tournament at night. I think my favorite part of the FSP so far is how close the group is - I've only known the other fifteen people for a week and I already feel like I've known them for years.

I'm excited to be back in the office, and I hope to explore the city some more next weekend. Look for more updates from me in the future!