I have
been busy lately. My summer internship at FSI ended and I'm still
working at my paid internship at DLS where I edit the English
portions of foreign language curriculum for special forces contracts.
I also have been working with a native Quechua speaker to record,
transliterate, and edit his sound files for another curriculum
contract. So long story short, I listen to TONS of news, Ted talks,
music, and church talks everyday. It's GREAT.
The
last week of my State Department internship, I decided the school I'm
admitted to will not be the best fit for me and perhaps the Masters
in Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason will give me the
skills and knowledge I need to work in national security. So I'm
switching, and if I wait till next year, I can get in-state or half
off tuition, so I'll be spending a year working, volunteering, and
gaining experience, at the very least.
Here's
what else I've been up to:
A NY trip to see Abby and a play:
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Abs and I visited the 9/11 Memorial. It
reminded me of mourning and not much hope. There was a tree that had
survived the attacks that was still growing there. That was symbolic
of new life.
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| Mourning, it was very sincere and good and solemn. |
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Here's the tree that survived.
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We must be related. Unbeknownst to
either of us, Abs and I matched that day. One of the new towers being
built is in the background.
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Met up with the Heiselts. Lizzie just
gave birth to Elsa. Their family is cute and fun.
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met up with friends David and Rachel for
Abby's friend's, Matthew Green's, play Mormon in Chief,
about a tweet gone viral from a member of the ward of a Mormon
presidential candidate.
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Fellow
intern, Esthella's, and my last day at FSI. I learned a ton and it
was the best internship ever!!
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Some
day, the Hillary will be Hilary. :)
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My
supervisors, John and Jim. John's a professor and Jim's a career
foreign service officer and a Mormon :)
I went
hiking Old Rag in the Shenandoahs this weekend and accidentally
deleted all my pictures from that! Sad. But know that on the 2 hour
drive out there, I watched the rolling hills, distant blue mountains
and vast eastern woodland still stretching out on either side of me
and commented to the folks in the car in general: “This is what the
Davey Crocketts saw and conquered as their first barrier to the
West!” and then added, “Once they got past the Appalachians,
Manifest Destiny, the American Spirit, and a certain sense of
self-righteousness drove them forward till they reached the other
ocean!” I also got excited that Pocahontas lived around woods like
those. Being in such green and thick woods recharged me and getting
to boulder was also fun.
Last
weekend, a couple people from church, Rachel, my old roommated, and
Max from school walked down Old Town Alexandria along King Street,
ate a Greek place and then went to a piano bar. The 70+ year old
Piano Lady, Pat, played at our request and we sang a lot. Opera
singers and other great singers were apparently regulars and belted
out and sometimes danced to Pat's tunes. It was sweet. Loved it.
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