Almost Done :(

Only two days more of our internships... this has absolutely flown by! The word that I think best describes this experience is fun. This has been incredibly fun. Not including Whitworth-related homework, I haven't had any work to do for my internship outside of being at my internship. The weekends have been free for exploring and hanging out with the other interns and our hosts, the Stones. Last night, we had a donut making party at our house, complete with T-Swift and deep-fried Oreos! Our hosts are seriously awesome. And so is Stacey, for teaching us how to make donuts!

The online exhibition I have been working on is in the process of being edited and published online by our web person! That project has been finishing nicely. The education team (my supervisor and we three interns) got to meet with the Peru team (the ones planning the 2014 Folklife Festival) to learn what cultural themes and festival participants they are planning on for the festival. We now have a better idea of what to include in the children's magazine to which we are contributing.

OH, I now have a readers' card for the Library of Congress! That means I can go into the reading rooms for research or errands that my supervisor sends me on. On Tuesday, we got a tour of the LOC  by a guy from our office who was kind enough to take half of his day to show it off to a few of us curious interns. Besides getting a very informative tour, we even got to go into the beautiful main reading room. In my opinion, the Library of Congress is the coolest place to be in D.C.

Tuesday is our last internship day. My supervisor is having two other interns and I over for dinner that night. My supervisor is AWESOME. She knows a lot about how things work around the Center and in the Smithsonian in general since she has been there for so long. She is very approachable and helpful, and we often discuss things as a team over tea and cookies.

She makes sure we are contributing to the Center in valuable ways but doesn't ever make us feel overwhelmed with work.  I am so happy to have had this placement where I get to use different skills, discover what I am good and not so good at, and learn from seasoned and eager professionals.

I have a lot of people to thank for this experience, both in Spokane and D.C. There have been a few parts of my experience at Whitworth that have made it worth every dime, and this is one of them. How cool is it that I applied within Whitworth to be an intern at the Smithsonian and that they set me up with awesome hosts to live with while I am here? Too cool. I really hope that another group gets to do this!

 

We found a park!

What a wonderful world

I saw trees of green, red roses too
I saw them bloom for me and you
and I thought to myself
what a wonderful world

I saw skies of blue and clouds of white
the bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
and I thought to myself
what a wonderful world...

As a former band kid, sometimes I find the best way to express an experience is through a song lyric. And Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" pretty much sums up my time in DC (originally I was going to use the "I've had the time of my life" song from Dirty Dancing but after the first few lines the song doesn't really apply).

This past month has been concentrated with adventure after adventure, and making memories I will cherish for the rest of my life. I learned so much about my career. I lived my dream before the dream (life goal is to be a freelance travel writer. I got to travel write without worrying about making money and paying rent. The dream before the dream). I crossed items off my bucket list (sit in a limo, watch the Supreme Court). I did things outside my comfort zone (hold a three inch Madagascar cockroach). I learned about American history and identity, which I really value as I'm leaving in a few weeks to go to Sydney for a semester. I met amazing people, from a woman who writes poems for the NYP to a public relations role model who worked for Clinton and major sports teams (I want to BE her in a few years, she's incredibly awesome!) I got up early and stayed out late, I ate new and weird food, I pushed myself to avoid routine as much as possible and take advantage of being in one of the best cities in the world. I grew and matured and learned and experienced.

And of course, since it's Jan Term, I binge watched Netflix too. But hey, you got to do something when all the museums close :)

If you're reading this and you had anything to do with creating this internship program, thank you thank you thank you. This trip has really left an impact on me and is one I'm so grateful I got to experience. I wouldn't trade the memories and adventures for anything in the world. It's been so amazing that it will be hard to leave. If you're interested in hearing about some of the non-intern related adventures, check out my travel blog https://rhapsodyoftravel.wordpress.com/

It's Flying By!

Week 2 was even better than Week 1! I have become more familiar with my work at my internship, and D.C. still offers a lot to explore and learn. Now that I'm a week farther into my work at the office, I've made a few significant steps on my online exhibition project and our educational outreach team has started collaborating about Peru things. It has been cool to work closely with my supervisor, who does both curating and educational outreach, because she participates in a wide scope of the work done by the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.

I could talk about how cool my supervisor is for a long time, but I'll save that for later, after I will have been around her for another week. She is very knowledgeable and funny and caring to say the least. On Tuesday we had a unit-wide staff meeting. It was nice to see how a progressive and fruitful unit like CFCH runs a bi-weekly staff meeting. They get an update from each department, become informed about outside issues, and even make the interns introduce themselves (my 5 seconds of fame)!

I love hearing other majors talk about what they study, because it is like learning what they learn without paying tuition! On Saturday, Stacey (who knows a lot about Art History) walked me through an entire building of the National Art Gallery, and it made it so very interesting! The night before, Madison (Communications major) got to sit in a limousine during our monument walk, and afterwards she explained the theories of communication that she used to talk her way into the limo without making it seem like persuasion.

Everyday life here is super fun. When I'm not at my internship, I am usually hanging at the house with the other interns or doing a museum. I really enjoy the family-style dinners our wonderful hosts provide a few times a week. Spending time with Katie on our commutes to and from CFCH and sitting next to her in the office has been really great. She says funny things and is so nice. We are both INFJs, which basically means we spend a lot of time thinking and often walk in the wrong direction.

Today was especially awesome because besides the Hawks' OT win, my aunt's sister who lives here gave us a tour of Georgetown (a classy and cute neighborhood of DC) and drove us out to a couple farther away monuments (Iwo Jima, MLK, and Jefferson). We also got to go down Embassy Row, all the while hearing bits about D.C. from someone who has lived there since 1990. Loving this Jan term!

 

Madison, myself, and Katie at Georgetown Cupcake :)

It's Flying By!

Week 2 was even better than Week 1! I have become more familiar with my work at my internship, and D.C. still offers a lot to explore and learn. Now that I'm a week farther into my work at the office, I've made a few significant steps on my online exhibition project and our educational outreach team has started collaborating about Peru things. It has been cool to work closely with my supervisor, who does both curating and educational outreach, because she participates in a wide scope of the work done by the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.

I could talk about how cool my supervisor is for a long time, but I'll save that for later, after I will have been around her for another week. She is very knowledgeable and funny and caring to say the least. On Tuesday we had a unit-wide staff meeting. It was nice to see how a progressive and fruitful unit like CFCH runs a bi-weekly staff meeting. They get an update from each department, become informed about outside issues, and even make the interns introduce themselves (my 5 seconds of fame)!

I love hearing other majors talk about what they study, because it is like learning what they learn without paying tuition! On Saturday, Stacey (who knows a lot about Art History) walked me through an entire building of the National Art Gallery, and it made it so very interesting! The night before, Madison (Communications major) got to sit in a limousine during our monument walk, and afterwards she explained the theories of communication that she used to talk her way into the limo without making it seem like persuasion.

Everyday life here is super fun. When I'm not at my internship, I am usually hanging at the house with the other interns or doing a museum. I really enjoy the family-style dinners our wonderful hosts provide a few times a week. Spending time with Katie on our commutes to and from CFCH and sitting next to her in the office has been really great. She says funny things and is so nice. We are both INFJs, which basically means we spend a lot of time thinking and often walk in the wrong direction.

Today was especially awesome because besides the Hawks' OT win, my aunt's sister who gave us a tour of Georgetown (a classy and cute neighborhood of DC) and drove us out to a couple farther away monuments (Iwo Jima, MLK, and Jefferson). We also got to go down Embassy Row, all the while hearing bits about D.C. from someone who has lived there since 1990. Loving this Jan term!

 

Madison, myself, and Katie at Georgetown Cupcake :)

Making Friends and Influencing People--Week Two!

Today, on the Metro, I remember thinking one thing: I can't believe that we are already 1/3 done with our internships! Though there are some hours in our days that feel incredibly long (Hannah and I agreed that the hour between 2:00 and 3:00 is the hardest; all we want to do is take an afternoon nap), the days and weeks themselves seem to be going by very quickly. A new intern was introduced into our office today and asked us how long we had been there, and we exchanged looks of shock when we realized that it had been a week already! Without realizing it, we became experienced pros. Right?

Maybe not so much. One thing that I really love about this internship is that I keep having new chances to try different things. My project is largely self-planned and self-executed, which means that I am constantly developing new skills: brainstorming, researching, email writing, interview conducting, sound editing, transcript typing, editing, and storytelling are a few of the new tasks I've taken on in the last seven days. All in all, I feel like I'm learning how to think like a curator, which is something that I never thought I'd have the chance to do. It's been interesting especially for me to think about creating an effective story for an audience as that pertains to a museum curator. As an English major, of course I am always thinking about audience and purpose. However, this internship is also giving me a chance to think more carefully about how pictures, visuals, and audio fit into this relationship. I never thought I'd admit it, but sometimes words are not the best ways to communicate abstract or complicated ideas.

Another thing that I am enjoying about this internship? The great people that we are meeting around the office. The Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage has more interns than many of the other sites, and frequent introductory tours mean that we often get the opportunity to meet these interns and invite them to eat lunch with us. Today there were six of us from all over the office sitting around the round table situated behind Hannah's desk, telling jokes and sampling Canadian chocolates that someone had brought into the office. I've also had the chance to meet other wonderfully friendly Smithsonian employees from other offices who are just hanging around, or who eat lunch with Folklife employees. Ultimately, I've been pleasantly surprised with how welcoming and enriching this experience has been.

It's been a lot of fun, too; but that's another blog post. :)

Playing tug of war with an orangutan and other adventures

I must confess that before I came here I didn't know much about DC. Sure, I knew about some monuments and museums but that's about it. I came fully unaware about how many treasures and adventures sit around every corner, just waiting to be discovered. One of the beauties of DC is how condensed the adventures are. Just walk down the block to the next one.

One week in of interning and I've been able to experience many adventures: reading the constitution, touching a moon rock, holding a Madagascar cockroach, eating buffalo, and so on. Every day I've gone into a new museum (and returned to my favorite: the National History museum), discovering new wonders. My internship site is right next to the castle, a great location that allows me to pop into museums over my lunch break. Walking across the street to go adventure and discover is definitely a lifestyle I can get used to.

The internship itself has already taught me so much about public relations. I have been able to practice and build upon the skills I already have, as well as develop new skills. It's only been a week, but it's been jam packed with learning about pr. But in addition to learning about the industry, I've learned about careers in general. I've learned what it's like to be at an organization where people love their jobs so much, people leave their job by retiring or dying. Very few people leave to go somewhere else because they can't imagine working somewhere else. And I see why. The atmosphere and office culture is amazing, plus the perk of being situated in the national mall. I've seen what it's like to be in an office where people are valued as individuals and praised for their work, not seen as an object to make the company money. I really enjoy going to intern each day and hope I can find a job with a similar office culture.

Plus being so close to all the museums and excitement of DC is a great perk! Yesterday I went to the zoo and played tug of war with an orangutan! It only took him three seconds to almost pull me off my chair (and that's with the thing being adjusted so you don't feel his full weight). I hope to live somewhere with a great office culture, and to live in a great city where I can spend time on my off days.

My tug of war buddy

This is cool!

      So far, so good! I have been enjoying my time here, thanks to our hosts, my workplace, and all of the learning opportunities Washington, D.C. has to offer. I arrived Sunday night, so today (Saturday) is my first day out doing something besides my internship. Right now I'm in the cafe of the National Museum of the American Indian, after having visited the Library of Congress and looking forward to my next stop, the National Air and Space Museum.

      I am interning at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. They are not a museum but rather a unit that puts on the 10-day cultural festival on the National Mall every summer that actually features people of various trades from the featured region (this year - Peru!). They are also the unit that houses Folkways Recordings, a record label that releases albums of folk music from around the world. My "project" as an intern is to assist in educational outreach leading up to this year's cultural festival. To do so, we will be contributing to a children's magazine that features different world cultures that will be publishing a Peru issue for us!

      Smithsonian people are very nice, and for many, their job is to keep learning and help others learn. The Smithsonian was created "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge." I think that is why it is such a cool place to be. I was expecting everyone to be dressed fancy and for the atosphere to be more serious and somewhat tense, but at my unit, people like to joke around and they are so helpful to us interns. The work they do interests me a lot - probably because I got such a great internship placement as a Spanish Education and Cross-Cultural Studies major. (I'm having a workplace experience in which I'm using my liberal arts majors - it's great!)

      We couldn't have asked for a better host family. They are beyond kind, hospitable, and generous, which really helps make this experience near perfect. The one and only thing that I think could be better about this experience is the Metro and its occasional delays and congestion, which says a lot about how great things are going overall. I hope that other Whitworth students get to do this in the Januaries to come. In the words of a Whitworth professor with a pretty dry sense of humor - "You better do a good job. Don't screw this up - we want other students to have the same great opportunity that you do." It is a great opportunity indeed, and so far, everything seems to be going ideally.  

This is my fellow intern Jennifer and me crossing the National Mall, taking my supervisor's suggestion to "go visit a museum for a couple hours since it's Friday and good weather!"

Impressions

Today we woke to a gorgeous sunny winter morning. Yesterday was sunny and fairly warm, but today it's colder, about 23 degrees. We've now been here a week, and it has been a surprisingly easy transition for me. Our hosts have gone out of their way to make us feel at home. We not only have a place to sleep, but new friends who share their meals and lives with us.

Washington is as formal as I thought it would be, at least with regard to dress. However, people are also more flexible and surprisingly friendly than I thought they would be. This has proved to be true even during times that test us all--like during (fairly regular) delays on the metro system, which wreak havoc on one's schedule. Thankfully, so many people rely on the metro that if you're late to work, chances are, everyone else will be too!

I've always thought Whitworth one of the friendliest places on earth, second perhaps only to Disney World. I think the employees of the Smithsonian take the prize. I don't think I've had an unkind word from anyone I've encountered (and no, I don't have a Smithsonian identification badge). The grounds people and security stop for a few seconds to chat about the weather. Museum guards share their opinions about the art and tell me other cool museums/activities/restaurants I should check out. Co-workers where I am interning go out of their way to include me in what is going on, and make sure I'm seeing/doing what I should while here in Washington. Perhaps it is different in the summer when there are more tourists about and more interns. . .?

I think we would all say that the Smithsonian has done a great job placing us at relevant internships that will provide valuable experiences. I wondered how our individual units (the Smithsonian's term for its departments/museums) would use us considering the relatively short amount of time we are here. Having interns can be helpful--extra hands to do the work--but they also take a lot of time to train so that they can do that work. However, it turns out that quite a lot of the Smithsonian's work is accomplished by interns, and the units are good at tailoring the work to individual intern goals, while using the intern to further their own.  

My internship is in Art History, working on a database project for two Asian art museums, the Freer and Sackler Galleries. The database will facilitate future research dealing with provenance issues. Currently I'm working on the database itself, but next week I will also be doing some research in the archives. Although only here a week, I've already been invited to a meeting where I was able to contribute. The work I am doing will be valuable to the Galleries, and I have been included as part of the team for this project for as long as I'm here.

Unlike the other interns, I am not near the food trucks. I tend to eat lunch at my desk while I am working, and then spend my lunch hour in nearby museums--a fair trade for me! 

This photo is taken from the entrance to the Sackler Gallery after the snow storms on Tuesday morning. The Freer and Sackler Galleries are primarily underground, and the office I work in is under this garden and the walk way on the left.

Settling In our Internships

​Greetings from Washington, D.C.! The four of us (the girls) have had a great time settling in with our hosts, Whitworth alumni. They are amazing! We especially enjoy our "family dinners," where the six of us sit around the dining room table, enjoy a homemade meal, and talk about our days. We have all been especially amazed by the hilarious and entertaining stories that they have to tell. And of course, we all love bonding over shared Whitworth experiences.


Our first day of interning was January 5th, and we all made it to our offices safe and sound. I love my project, which really gives me a lot of freedom to explore my own personal interests (Asian American culture) in a way that is open and fulfilling. It's also so interesting to be a part of office culture. This is my first time in an office setting, and everyone is so friendly and understanding, even though I have been making quite a few elementary blunders. (For instance, my all-time low today was being unable to turn on my computer's monitor. I mean, yes, I have grown up using computers, thank you. :) )


Probably one of the most exciting things about our worksite is its proximity to food trucks! Our hosts were amazing and bought us bread, lunchmeat, and condiments to make sandwiches, and between these awesome homemade lunches and the plethora of options offered outside our building, we are eating very well indeed. Hannah's goal is to eat her way through every food truck, starting with the Persian truck furthest on the right. I find her endeavor a worthy undertaking, indeed.


It's been exciting settling in, and we have all been so pleasantly surprised with how interesting our work is, and how wonderful our supervisors are. Here's hoping that the rest of this week goes as well!

First day visiting museums

Today our group adventured to the National Mall. We began at the Museum of Natural History and then split up to go to various museums that best fit our interests.

The Museum of Natural History

The first thing that stood out to me was the sheer size of everything! Elephants, whales, dinosaurs, all creatures I knew from textbooks were large. But seeing them in person was amazing.

So many exhibits begged for your attention, you could spend all day and still not fully experienced everything.


One exhibit that stood out to me was a replica of a cave, complete with cave drawings and an ancient flute playing in the background (as a flute player I loved the melody).

What I really enjoyed about this museum, besides holding a cockroach and being mesmerized by the beauty of everything, is how it informed and inspired. You not only learned but came away feeling. I felt awe, I felt humbled, I felt amazement at humanity's accomplishments, I felt small next to the T-Rex, I felt brave holding a giant cockroach without flinching, I felt like a kid again, and so on.

The air and space museum

I've never been one of those kids hypnotized by the wonders of space. I never dreamed of being an astronaut or been that excited learning about space in class. But the museum definitely got me interested (and I learned Pluto is a planet again! That was my favorite one and I was so sad when they made it not a planet when I was younger). Touching a piece of the moon, standing next to the plane of the Wright brothers, all of it really made me reflect on how amazing mankind is to achieve these feats. 

 The Spirit of St. Louis

A piece of the moon

The Wright Brothers' plane

The Museum of American History

Unfortunately, half of the wings of this museum were closed for renovations. But the exhibits that were open were amazing. From Dorothy's ruby slippers to the first menu from McDonalds, there were so many exhibits that are icons of American culture. 

This was weird to see-my phone in a museum