Monday
We started week 3 by going to our third week of programming with CHCI. We first did a check in activity with Christian and then moved on to our GW seminar with our professor. Today we discussed the terms Hispanic and Latino and how we identified ourselves. I realized that a lot of people have different opinions on these terms, and it really depends on a person's background. Many of the other CHCI interns do not like the term Hispanic and prefer Latinx or Latine, which are variations of Latino that are more inclusive. Growing up in Idaho, I wasn't exposed to Hispanics other than Mexicans. I learned that Hispanic doesn't represent all Latinos and that both the terms have countries that fall under their terms. I do not really have a problem with Hispanic or Latino, but I grew up hearing Hispanic more and it is just what I am used to. I do appreciate learning that it is different for other Latinos and now I am more informed. For the rest of the programming, CHCI taught us about emotional intelligence, how to write elevator pitches, and we mapped out a little of our futures. It was a good day, but I was exhausted by the end. I did not get a ton of pictures today, so Joan and I took one on the metro.
GC - Georgetown Cupcakes
Tuesday
Daisy and I started our day by going to Georgetown to pick up some cupcakes. Fabiola, Daisy's supervisor, sent the both of us to pick up cupcakes for the HEP/CAMP meet and greet with some USDA Latino officials. I had just gone to that shop on Sunday, and I was excited to get more cupcakes. Once we got the cupcakes we made our way to the USDA building. We met with Fabiola and discussed the day. There still was not any progress on my work status and I still needed my badge and tech. Fabiola kind of has taken me under her wing and has been guiding me a little through this confusing start. There was not anything for us to do, so we went home for a bit. Fabiola did ask if we could come back to set up before, so I went home and hit the gym for a while and then made my way back. The meet and greet was very inspiring because we were able to see many Latinos in these high positions at the USDA. It showed us that we can do it too. There was a lot of accomplished people that I will definitely try to reconnect with later. I then ended my day with a run around the mall.
Shadowing
Wednesday
On Tuesday evening, I received an email from Neha asking me if I wanted to shadow Diamond and Tharun, who both work in the Deputy Secretary's office. I agreed to it and on Wednesday I went in at 8:30 to start my day. I first began by getting to know everyone in the office. Tharun is a special advisor in the office and works with everything press and media related in the office. Diamond focuses more on the logistics of travel and events. They work together on many things because they often correlate. I also met Carmen and Shirley they both work in the Deputy's office as career employees. I got to see a little insight on the work that they do for the Deputy Secretary and how they do a lot of work behind the scenes for everything to happen. Also, on this day they celebrated Juneteenth, and they had an event during the day. I really enjoyed the keynote speaker that spoke during it. Later that day we went to the Congressional Baseball Game. It was really fun, and we got to meet Irene Bueno, one of the people supporting our internship.
Twinning with JFK
Thursday
One of my wishes for the summer was to get to go to The White House. I am so very lucky that I got the opportunity to go. Fabiola was kind enough to request two passes for Daisy and me to go on a tour. Our tour started at 9:30am and we were able to see the East Wing. We saw the theater room, Blue Room, Red Room, Green Room, many paintings and more. I found a painting of JFK and we had the same suit and tie on, so I posed like him for a picture. The East Wing was pretty nice, but I wish that we could see more of the actual house. However, I can now say that I have been to The White House. After this we went to the USDA building for a tour of the South Building Museum that Neha set up. It was very cool to see more history of the Department, the building itself, and the people that helped make the USDA what it is now.
Constructing a Plan
Friday
I did not have much to do on Friday in the office. All I went in for was to have a little meeting with Russelie. We discussed more clearly and figured out some of the things I would be doing this summer. We talked about our backgrounds, my interests, and what I want to learn. She kind of constructed a plan of different projects and tasks that I could do this summer. She also was making a list of people that I might be interested in talking to. She has a pretty good plan for me for the rest of the summer and I am very excited. After my meeting I went to the farmer's market and got some empanadas to eat. The farmer's market is definitely my favorite part of Fridays. I then went to the gym and went on a run and ended up on Theodore Roosevelt Island. At night we decided to go watch Inside Out 2. It was a very funny move and I enjoyed watching it.
Always on the Move
Weekend
On Saturday, I started the day by going to the gym and hitting some arms. After the gym I went on a run to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. Every time I go on runs outside, I try to go to a place I haven't been, so I went there. I just want to take advantage of being here as much as I can. After this Joan and I went grocery shopping at Walmart. We went with some other of our friends in the cohort to go kayaking. It was a lot of fun being on the water and seeing everything from a different perspective. On Sunday we went to the Holocaust Museum. I took a Holocaust history class in high school, so I already knew quite a bit, but I still learned more. A lot of it was very deep and heavy, but it is very important that people know what happened, so that it is not repeated. I spent the rest of the day preparing for the week.
