Alexander Nguyen
Management Information Systems senior
It sneaks up on you, and all of a sudden you’re trading your thick winter coat for a fleece denim jacket and now you get mad at yourself when you forget your sunglasses. All of a sudden you’re weaving through crowds of tourists on the mall and giving them the stink eye when they block the left side of the escalators. All of a sudden you’re arguing with friends about the optimal metro stop: how many changes, red, blue, or yellow. All of a sudden you’re calling these people your friends. And all of a sudden you realize that you’re going to miss them. And just like that you’re backspacing “3” and typing “4-1,” you’re feverishly texting your friends back at home to get you a cap and gown, and you’re realizing that it’s finally happening. The beginning of the end. It sneaks up on you.
D.C. has been nothing that I ever expected it to be and I am thankful that it has been that way. Because, had I been able to predict how living and working in this city would be like from my schema of far-flung media and imagination of impressionist clarity, then I don’t think it would be worth experiencing. My time here has been far from perfect but as the trees that line the Tidal Basin become laden with pink clouds that float to the ground and reflect like cotton candy off the water, I have realized that I wouldn’t have it any other way. I have become enamored with D.C. and in the process I nearly forgot that I would have to leave it all. It snuck up on me.
Akshay Soman
Finance Senior
March has just passed and our time in D.C. is slowly drawing to a close. With only about three weeks remaining, it saddens me to realize that we will be leaving soon but I have decided to enjoy as much of the experience as I possibly can now. Looking back at the month of March, I enjoyed several experiences over the course of the month. For one, I had the opportunity to volunteer at a Bollywood dance competition in Fairfax, Virginia. Back in Texas, I used to compete at such competitions with my team from UH, so it was nice to continue my passion for dance here in the DMV area as a volunteer.
A couple of weeks ago, two of my best friends flew in to visit me and our other friend. We had an amazing time trying out the different delicacies D.C. has to offer, exploring new places and attractions that I have not yet seen including the Lincoln Memorial, and experiencing the vibrant nightlife. This weekend was special to me as I felt a piece of home come back while also exploring and sharing my new home with my friends.
With the three weeks ahead, I plan to visit my nearby hometown of Philadelphia, try the best restaurants of my favorite cuisines (as prescribed by Yelp!), and to revisit some of my favorite places including the Holocaust Museum. My internship will be wrapping up soon as well and I plan to carry on the meaningful relationships I made in the office going forward into my professional career.
Rahni “Reece” Stewart
Marketing sophomore
So this month has been a whirlwind, and I am very exhausted. But I have a had a good bit of fun, from going to brunch to getting see musicals, and getting a reader’s card at the Library of Congress. Overall, D.C. is a good time, and true to form I’m finally getting the hang of it right at the end.
Kobe Terrier
Management senior
CHERRY BLOSSOMS!
Those two words essentially sum up the entire month of March. The cherry blossoms are an amazing sight to see, attracting tourists from all over the world. It is hard to believe that I only have one month left in this spectacular city!
My third month in D.C. has been an amazing experience! The pictures attached are of the view from the Speaker’s Balcony of the U.S. Capitol, the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin with the Jefferson Memorial and the Washington Monument in the background, and the White House! Washington, D.C. is full of amazing scenery and architecture that I have been grateful for over the past three months!
The past three months have been amazing, and April is sure to follow in suit. I am not ready to leave D.C. yet; however, we leave in just a few weeks! I will miss this city tremendously, but I am excited to be back in Houston and graduate this May!”
Hina Uddin
Finance Senior
March in D.C. means warmer weather and cherry blossom season. March was also the month that I became a local. While my Houstonians were enjoying the rodeo, I was whisking some visiting friends about the capital city. Monuments were seen, brunch was had (multiple times), and I finally went paddle boating in the Tidal Basin.
At work, my bosses continued to challenge me with exciting work and invite me to meetings with foreign dignitaries and activists. There was a moment this month where I felt like a real part of my office, a humble civil servant who was actually enacting change in the international community – that was a wonderful feeling.
Last week, I went to the National Mall after work one evening to sit and reflect on my time in D.C. As the Cherry Blossoms and Magnolias bloomed, signaling the start of a new season, I could not help but be reminded of the end of my time here. My tickets for home are all booked which means there are only 21 days until I see my friends and family and feel the Houston sun, once again. That also means that there are only 21 days of wandering about the streets of D.C., 21 days of admiring the monuments, and 21 days left of feeling like a Washingtonian.
