I got down to Foggy Bottom insanely early because, as I've noted before, getting anywhere is just insane at this point. I miss the Wheaton station. It's totally a "don't know what you've got till it's gone" type of thing. It's so absurdly convenient. Anyway, so when I finally got to Foggy Bottom all the way from the Rockville station, I had some extra time to kill and did a little exploring. I then realized that it was 90 degrees out, and I didn't want to look like I'd jumped in a pool while wearing professional attire, so I grabbed lunch at the GWU Pita Pit and admired their air conditioning.
I then met up with other intern L and we found the State Department. We had both been convinced that we would get lost trying to find it. For once in my 18 years of existence, we were incorrect. Mainly because we had to make absolutely no turns to get there. The lobby was right off 23rd street.
The briefing was interesting, as a rep from the OAS detailed the changes and developments of US relations with the Western Hemisphere. Per usual, this ignored Canada. Because seriously, when you're dealing with Cuba and upheaval in Honduras, someone has to get ignored. Canada is usually a good candidate for things like this. I'm not so sure how valuable the information will be for the WIFP, but whatever. I got to wear a pass that said in big letters, "ESCORT REQUIRED" and got to explore the depths of the State Department.
And by that, I mean I got to see the lobby and like 3 different hallways. And a set of stairs. Therefore, totally worth it.
The conference room they put us in had tables set in a square with U.N-esque microphones at each place, which was pretty snazzy. Totally inexplicable, however, was the insane number of huge fake plants put in the center of the tables. It was like there was a forest in the conference room.
Also interesting is that they sell bouquets outside the state department. I am not sure if this is solely in response to Hil's broken elbow or something, or if state department workers are just constantly in need of a cheering up. Even better was that the labels on the types of bouquets were "Fancy" and "Extra Fancy."
That is my type of description. I am obviously meant for future employment in the federal government. Or the floral business.
It then took me over 2 hours to get home. Awesome.
Now, I'm off to do my mother proud and shove things around in my room so that my floor is visible.
