The End

Yesterday I met with Patty Beneke in the Hart Senate building. She is a chair person of Natural Energy. She gave some good tips as well as great insights for internships next summer. Came back to the center and worked on a bit of paperwork. Said good bye to Katie... We were going to go to the Nats game when Katie called and said she had forgot everything in her closet!! They were already 2 hours away. We all jumped off the metro packed Lauren's car and headed to Gettysburg to meet her! It was a great road trip and I couldn't think of a better way to spend my last night with the amazing people I have been working with this summer.

We are headed to breakfast for the last time before we all part. Headed to the airport to meet Ann and Kirby and then the rest of the gang later in the afternoon.

Best summer of my life.

It's raining

Today was an office day. Had breakfast and then went and worked on evaluations. Also had my exit interview with my bosses Molly and Freeman. Had another exit interview with HR. Worked on some other paperwork..it was boring. I like being out and about in this wonderful city..but it's raining!

Fun Day

Today we went to Splashdown Waterpark in Virginia to celebrate completing CWF. Darielle, Katie, Lauren and myself all then attended the Broadway show "Spring Awakening" at the Kennedy Center this evening. It was very good.

Tuesday

Woke up this morning feel a bit ill. I think it is from going going going with out stopping. Luckily, we only had to work this afternoon. From 1:30 - 4:30 we did an evaluation and discussion of the program. We discussed what went well, what we should change, and how we grew as facilitators and communicators.

Our Human Resources Director, Lita Haaer, took all nine of us out for supper at a Mongolian Grill. She was very helpful in giving us tips for future job searches as well as what those in HR look for in employees. Gave us pointers on resumes, cover letters, and interview answers. Very useful info for the future.

I had a surprise for me today, my Texas delegation sent me a dozen yellow roses!!! (The yellow rose of Texas) They all wrote me very sweet and sincere messages that had me almost in tears. I have been so fortunate to work in such a positive atmosphere this summer with great people who are encouraging and supportive. I have experienced so much and met so many wonderful people. It is going to be hard to leave this wonderful city - that I have fallen in love with.

New York City!

We woke up early Saturday morning to leave DC and travel to NYC at 7 AM. Arrived to DC at about 10:30. We went to our hotel and checked our bags so we wouldn't have to carry them around with us all day. Walked to Times Square which was only about 7 blocks away and stood in amazement. We went to M & M world and the Hershey Factory and a few other stores. There is a ticket booth in Times Square that sells tickets for half price about 3 hours before the show. In Times Square we saw Dr. Phil - got a few pictures of him. We got tickets for the 8 PM showing of the Little Mermaid. It was AMAZING! The sets, costumes, singing, lightening, etc. were phenominal!!! I can't even describe how cool it was so actually see a show on Broadway! Walked to Rockafeller Center and a few others places. Then we went back to the hotel and slept...

Sunday morning we went to Central Park and walked around. We decided to take a row boat out for an hour. It was a relaxing morning and we had a picnic lunch in the park. We then got coffee at Starbucks and wandered around the city to find some things we were looking for. Went to the biggest Cathedral in the US and 5th in the world. It was gorgeous! We then took the Metro to ground zero and walked around. There is a huge gap in the middle where the twin towers stood. They are starting to rebuild but it will take awhile. There was a church that we wandered to next to ground zero which was a "relief place" for firefighters and police men during 9/11. They are in the process of building a memorial so this church has a few things saved over the past couple years. It was sad and brought back all the memories of that day. We then went to Chinatown! Talk about an experience!! Streets lined up and down with vendors trying to sell you knock off purses, glasses, and watches. They will do just about anything to sell you something. We had supper at Little Italy - amazing pasta.

Today we woke up EXTRA early. 4 AM! Left our hotel at about 5 AM to get in line for Good Morning America! We were the first ones in the stand by line and were fortunate to actually get in the studio. Jordan Sparks, American Idol winner was the concert performer and we stood right next to her. The hosts, my favorite being Diane Sawyer, stood next to us and came and talked to us as well. I had my Aunt Deb watching me and she said she saw me on TV! Yay! The Patridge Family was also there. After GMA we took the metro to Battery Park. From there we got on the Ferry that took us to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Spent a couple of hours there and then headed back to the hotel to get our bags and travel back to DC!

It was a GREAT weekend and experienced so much in a short period of time! I know I am leaving out a lot but I am exhausted

Finally Friday!!f

Woke up early this morning and got about 40 people on the metro and to their final destination safely during rush hour! It is always quite an experience for me, the delegates, and the other passengers of the metro. Went to the Library of Congress, Chinatown and then came back to center. Printed off programs for the talent show and did some paperwork about my internship with my boss Molly. Talent show, closing ceremony, and dance..waking up at 5:45 to get ready for NYC!

Alison Sweeney

My group went to JFK center to see the play Shear Madness. While we were there we spotted Alison Sweeney! She is the host of the TV Show the Biggest Loser and was also on on Fear Factor or Survivor..not positive. She was sweet and we took a picture with her.

This morning we went to Arlington National Cemetery, Iwo Jima, WWII. Had committee meetings and congressional session. Starting to pack for NYC!

Sotomayor

Today started off with taking my Texas Delegation to the Library of Congress, lunch, and then for their appointment with their representative. They didn't have me on the list for the Capitol Tour so instead I got in line for tickets to sit in on the confirmation hearing for Sotomayor. I was number 18 and they cut off at 20 for the first group. It was a neat experience to see all the cameras, news reporters, senators, and even Sotomayor herself! The Senator from Pennsylvania drilled on her questions about abortion.

After that I went back to the Library of Congress and got a library card and then I sat on the hill and read my book. My Washington group had a White House Tour and that is all planned six months in advance. So, I kind of had the afternoon off.

Had dinner at Union Station, started to head for the bus when we hear that there has been GUN SHOTS on capitol hill...oh great! Our bus picked us up and we headed to the Air Force Memorial. On our way we drove past where the shooting took place and saw the news crews swarming the place. Tonight the Air Force played classical music, it was ideal.

Tuesday

Wrote a bill this morning about restricting file sharing and then headed to the National Cathedral. Came back to the center and did action plans, lunch, derby, town hall, and actions plans part two. Capitol Hill orientation went well and we have a big day ahead of us!

Our delegates this week from the New York Life Scholarship need a lot more structure and guidance as opposed to previous weeks. They also want to be referred to as Lil P, Word, and Princess... just to throw a few names out. I keep telling them that I will refer to them by their actually name. They call me "Miss Angela" for some reason or sometimes even "Teacher"

Looking forward to going to NYC this weekend!

BRAD PAISLEY!

So tonight during nightview we found out that Brad Paisley was at the Lincoln Memorial filming a music video. I gave my commentary for the Korean Memorial and Craig and I ran over there and stood within 2 feet of him! IT WAS AMAZING!

Went to Mt. Vernon this morning and had workshops and committee meetings this afternoon.
Good group and good chaps.

Last week of CWF!!

This is the last week of CWF! And it is definitely a change in pace. This week we have delegations who are here with a program called New York Life. The program gives opportunities to inner city youth. We have a huge group here from Cleveland, Ohio - New York City - and Minneapolis, MN. They are FULL of energy and different perspectives. Many of them do not speak English well, or it is their second language. It makes me want to work extra hard to make their time amazing in DC. It has been made clear that many of them have never and may not have the opportunity again to attend a leadership conference like this.

My groups this week are from Texas and Washington State. All together I have 25. This is the smallest group I have had so I am looking forward to getting to know all of them.

Can't wait to see my mommy in less than two weeks!!!

Georgetown

Saturday consisted of walking around Georgetown and going to a few shops. I didn't buy anything because the stores are very high end. It is fun to see how ritzy people dress in that area. You also see people with Harvard, Princeton, Georgetown and Yale shirts and know they actually probably go to those elite colleges. We also took a boat ride on the C & O Canal. Came back to the center and took a nap. Went out at about 10:00 to a ping pong pizza bar and just getting back home.

Finally Friday

Woke up at 5:30 am to get in line for Washington Monument tickets for my group. They took White House pictures, Holocaust Museum, Washington Monument, and Smithsonian Museums. We took the metro home. If you want to have people stare at you - lead a group of 53 students through the DC metro during rush hour. It's great fun.

While they were at the museums Darielle and I went to the Freer and Sackler Gallery of Art and saw some really cool exhibits. One was of the Tsar's and was really interesting. We had lunch with our friend Brian who has an internship with the US Treasury. So, we met up and ate at the USDA cafe. Then we went to L'Enfant Plaza followed by Pentagon City mall where I believe I got a concussion. I hit my head hard on this electric box in the metro when I sat down. I have a giant goose egg on my head and felt nautious after it happened.

Had talent show, closing ceremony, and then the dance. Indiana is gone!! In comes my group from Texas!

Oklahoma!!!

Started the day off at Arlington National Cemetery. I am still speechless when I go week after week and see the many funerals taking place each day. We then went to Iwo Jima followed by WWII. Had Congressional session in the afternoon and then headed to OKLAHOMA!! Indiana had tickets for the dinner theater in Columbia. The show was great and the food was too!

Capitol Hill Day

Oh what a day! I guess I have been very spoiled this whole summer and blessed to have such amazing chaperons. My chaperons this week are really oblivious to the fact that they are supposed to be responsible for the children they bring. For instance one my chaperons budged all of my kids in order to get the best seat in the Supreme Court lecture, brought everything NOT allowed in the capitol, (after we had spent a whole 30 minutes the previous night explaining what you can and and cannot bring) ditched our red coat led tour of the capitol and wandered around (which is illegal!!!) and are always completely unaware of helping 53 high schoolers cross busy intersections. ( I serve as crossing guard this week as well) I have never met adults in my life who do not listen to directions like these folks do.

But other than that.... the kids had nine different meetings with 9 different representatives from the state of Indiana. It was difficult to arrange and organize who needed to go when are where but it was done! We had a capitol visitors tour and then headed to union station for dinner. Following dinner we went to the Air Force Memorial and listened to their band play. The music was amazing and it was just what I needed to help to calm me down after a stressful day!

Monday

Started the day off at Mount Vernon. It was a beautiful morning! Came back to center and had lunch and then committee meetings. I have Indiana this week. There are 53 of them and they are excited to be here! Darielle and I are teamed up so it helps to have a another PA with you in the city. Our nightview tour went extremely well! Tired so heading for bed.

Friday, Sat, Sun

Friday I woke up at 5:45 to get in line in order to get Washington Monument tickets for my group. The line was over a mile long, but I was in the first 50 people and was able to obtain 45 tickets. The group spent the afternoon on the mall. Had lunch with Katie, Darielle, and Jordan at Old Ebitt's - an amazing place to eat near the white house. Talent show took place at night, closing ceremonies, and then dance.

Sat. Woke up and said good-bye to my Missouri group and then got ready for the 4th! Began the morning off by having a brunch at an Arkansas senate staffers apartment. Went to the 2 hour long parade - it was amazing! Bands from all over and different cultures were represented throughout the whole parade. Had lunch at this amazing brewery (I'm taking the gang who is coming at the end of July there!!) Went to Corey's apartment on the George Washington University campus and walked around for a bit. Headed back to Capitol hill, went through security and sat on the hill from about 5:30 - 9:30 pm. TONS of people, thousands everywhere!! The concert was so much fun! Everybody was singing and dancing too Aretha Franklin, Natasha Benigfield, Barry Manilow, the Sesame Street cast and many more. The National Symphony played patriotic songs throughout the whole firework show!! It was the best firework display! It was a great way to spend the 4th!

Sunday - woke up and had breakfast. Laying in bed till my group from Indiana comes

Happy Birthday Mom!! I love you so much and can't wait to give you a huge hug on July 25th when I pick you up from the airport!!

The Color Purple

I just got back from our cultural heritage night. My group had ticket's to see The Color Purple, a broadway show produced by Oprah. IT WAS AMAZING! Great talent!

Started the day off at Arlington National Cemetery then Vietnam Wall. One of my chaperone's friend died in Vietnam so we looked his name up and sketched it on a piece of paper. Very moving and sad.

Capitol Hill Day

Today started off with a picture opportunity at the White House. Sasha and Malia Obama were outside with the security guards around them. We then went to Souivenier City and let the kids get some t-shirts and other junk. Stood in line for over an hour at the National Archieves and then had lunch at the Old Post Office. Went to the capitol for a tour and then union station for supper. Twilight Tattoo was cancelled AGAIN because of the rain so my group went down to a fish market and walked around and the Georgetown area.