End of the Semester

It is the last day of April, with two days left of work there is so many great memories and experiences to look back on. My Foreign Policy Professor had the class do some sort of theater works based on our internships and class sessions-- so we decided to do charades...very funny and a little awkward when Maisch went up himself and acted out a couple funny scenes we had written down. Some example were getting coffee for your supervisor on the hill or falling asleep in class or making fun of Professor Maisch and his ridiculous sayings with his peruvian accent. For example, he always called us ""sleepyheads" or "siesta monsters" and called himself "a tropical bird" or our "friendly frustrated latin american dictator." By the end, it was well, entertaining (but really annoying). His sense of humor is crazy, like the time he jumped out from a building with a mask on when he tricked us into thinking we were seeing an Ambassador speak but really we were having a picnic in the park.

Then all the funny people in my class- the foreigners...the three Germans with their thick accents, the frenchman who thought France was the best, the funny Bulgarian, the innocent and sweet guy from Sweden who always sought peace, and the quiorky guy from Afghanistan and the amazing politician from Senegal. Everyone was so genuine and really made this semester interesting and spicy.

From Obama speaking at a rally at AU and Ashley Judd at the Women Development conference, Richard Gere at the Tibetan hearing on the hill and with Ricky Martin, who I saw yesterday, launch a campaign against trafficking in DC and in Latin America, at the Inter-American Development Bank-- I am so lucky to see so much excitment.

What a great end of the semester...there are so many opportunities and great things about DC..I will definitely return!

My great Roomates!

It is funny, a student's life...eating, sleeping, going to class, and studying in our room and reading...that's about it. So sometimes we go a little crazy in our rooms...

But, I so lucked out with such great roommates, this year and the last two years...here are some funny pictures of us...such good memories:






Noemie and Ashley in NYC

Nostalgia

I was reading an article about Spain in the Eagle, American University's newspaper, and I got sooo Spain-sick...here is the article and some random pictures from Spain..a little recap if you will:

There's no real taste like home
Cross-Cultural Dispatch: Madrid, Spain

By Carolyn Phenicie on 4/24/08

The easiest way to sum up the wave of feelings I've had here is to describe my relationship with Spanish food.

It begins much the way standard "culture shock" does - with excitement about all the new possibilities and opportunities in the host country. Chocolate and churros all the time! The world's best oranges grown nearby!

And, for a while, that's what it was. I rejoiced in trying all the new foods presented to me: Croquettes and Spanish tortilla - an omelet with potatoes, not a flour cake in the Mexican sense of the word - were culinary adventures to be enjoyed.

Once I got used to the food, however, the second stage, a relationship of almost anger, set in. Along with "Oh my God, why won't someone speak to me in English?!" and "Why is no one ever on time?!" came "I would kill for a turkey sandwich right now."

Other members of my program and I would compare the meals our señoras had prepared, becoming visibly jealous over reports of salads, particularly when they included more than iceberg lettuce, oil and vinegar. Vegetables, other than potatoes and beans, aren't common in Spanish cooking. Anything that arrived grilled, baked or not covered in a heavy, oily sauce was also given high marks.

After a few weeks of usually fruitless hunts for former staples of my diet like baby carrots and peanut butter, I grew to accept the food. Just as I got used to making my everyday dealings in Spanish, despite the frequent frustrations experienced by both myself and whatever poor soul had to deal with my occasionally mangled excuse for the language, I grew to accept Spanish food. I accepted my usual lunch of chorizo on white bread and days with far less produce than I would like.

Now, however, as my time in Spain draws to a close, I'm having conflicting feelings toward Spanish food and, consequently, Spanish culture. I know I'll never again have as good a tortilla as my señora makes, nor will the paella in the States ever taste as amazing as it does here. And I know I'll never again live in a city with as much amazing art as Madrid can claim, nor is it likely my nights out will begin at 11 p.m. and end around 6 a.m.

Yet as I try and make the most of my last few weeks here, I'm increasingly excited about going home to a land of Diet Coke (Coke Light isn't the same, no matter what anyone tells you), pretzels and readily available bad Chinese food. I'm thrilled that I will soon be back in the land of culture as high as the Smithsonian and Kennedy Center and as low as "America's Next Top Model."

Whether I ultimately yearn to return to the land of ham and paella remains to be seen, but, undoubtedly, any future culture shock will be reflected in my attitudes toward food.



I miss my friends from Spain, the ones who I studied with- the Americans and the Spanairds and especially my Spanish Mom's cooking...ohh Crazy Conchi....

Barcelona:

Bike riding on the beach


My best friends in Spain

My school in Bilbao

Northern Spain and the Church Island we hiked to



Toledo, Spain

Everyone in front of the Gernika tree

My 9-5 Day on the Hill

I spent all day yesterday on the hill, attending three hearings. In the morning I went to a press release and a panel discussion with Representative Carolyn Malony who has done a lot of work in the House for labor trafficking and child labor in the shrimp industry. Also the US Ambassador for Human Trafficking, Mark Laygon, who heads the trafficking office, spoke and the Executive Director from the Solidarity Center all spoke about a new report released on the shrimp farming industry and what countries the US buys tainted shrimp from. For example, Bangladesh and Thailand. I hear about all these great events from Polaris Project, they have so many connections and resources it is great.

Then the next event I attended was on NATO and the Bucharest Summit last week. There were a bunch of Eastern Europeans there speaking all sorts of different languages, it was great. So i had to leave early to make a hearing on Tibet, called a Path Towards Peace, and of course there were a bunch of Tibetans there. For people who don't know, there have been huge peaceful protests in the last couple of months in response to the increased Chinese oppression in the Tibetan Autonomous Region. CHina claims a One Country Policy, claiming right to govern over and control Tibet, but they have been infringing on Tibetan rights and sovereignty for years and today is the outcome of this. So Barbara Boxer was the Chairwoman holding the hearing and it was so great to see her in action asking strong questions to the panelists, such as the Undersecretary of State, Mr. Negroponte who is Under Secretary Rice. Then to my surprise, wondering why there were forests of press, Richard Gere came in and was nother one of the Panelist members to talk about Tibet. He plays a major role in calling attention to abuses in Tibet and winning their freedom. He is a Chairman on the International Campaign for Tibet and does a lot of work with the Tibetan Autonomous Region with the Gere Foudnation, of which he is the President.

So it was a great day. Last night I also had my last International Children's issues course. It is wierd to think my semester is almost over. I am so comfotably settled and like DC and am left with the yearning for more. Maybe I will haev to move back here one day. There are so many opportunities and NGO headquarters here...it is like a candy store for me.

USF in DC

Last Thursday night I met the Director of the McCarthy Center at USF who was putting on a dinner for the USF students in DC and the recent alums of my school. So I met my friend Laura, who I went to Cambodia with last May- we were in Erasmus together, and a couple other kids from our program and went to Dupont circle to meet everyone at Bucca De Beppos. Of course our dinner is at this funky Italian restaurant with weird pictures on the wall. Only in conservative DC would people from San Francisco socialize and meet new people in a crazy setting here. To my surprise the President of the University came too! Father Privett is awesome- I must have met him three or so times, but I shook his hand and talked a little with him. He was called here to have a private audience with the Pope- I guess all the Presidents of the Jesuit Universities were. Pretty cool- I told him to tell the Pope I say "What's up!" He just laughed.
It was so great to meet people who had just graduated in DC and see what they are doing now...they are going to be great connections. There was this one couple, Tom and Dedra, about thirty years old at my table telling us about their kickball league here- called NAKID (No, Adult Kickball Isn't Dumb) and the stories they were telling were hilarious. The website is great- I think there is a little game that goes on and a lot of drinking. Then there were two other women who have done a lot of traveling who were great to talk to, Kate and Hilary. It is always great hanging out with older people to hear their stories and to see what they have done knowing it is always an option for me in the future.
Check out the NAKID website: www.playnakid.com
So here are some pictures of the dinner with Patrick Murphy- the Director of the McCarthy Center (which is actually sending me to Nicaragua this summer too) and the students with Father Privett (Laura is the one next to the short Father Privett)
First of all, it was such a beautiful day in DC!

Here is the Director of the McCarthy Center speaking to the group, his center sent us all here to DC.


Father Privett is the second one from the left and my friend Laura who was in Erasmus with me last year in in between he and I.

Women Failth Development Summit to End Global Poverty

I went to this conference today with the ultimate goal of ending poverty and doing so by empowering young girls and women. So many fabulous organizations tackling this through many different angles, such as, AIDS, micro finance, education, health, domestic violence, fund raising and much more, came together to pledge to our world money and time which is power, in ending poverty among women. I was in the presence of some amazing people including: Madeleine Albright- the former Secretary of State, the former Prime Minister of Canada, Kim Cambell, the former President of the Republic of Ireland and the UN Commissioner on Human Rights, Mary Robinson and all different CEOs, executives, founders and Presidents of women's organizations- men and women alike. Ashley Judd, the Global Youth AIDS ambassador spoke magnificently- she is very passionate and dedicated to helping children and I believe she has don great work.

I was thinking to myself of who was missing from this summit. Laura Bush, though she sent a letter which was read aloud to the crowd, Mary Davey, my grandmother, Heidi Kuhn, a dear friend who started a non profit removing landmines in wartorn countries and rebuilding the land, and my mother- who I know would support this cause whole heartedly.

Something made me really think last night. I was having a great conversation about life and our lives with a friend here in DC in my dorm room, Ann, who I had just met. It is interesting how you just form true connections with people. So, she was saying, so you fly for free, as we were talking about our summer plans. I said, yes, but I have to pay the taxes, trying to make it seem as if I was not rubbing it in or too proud. She goes off on how amazing it must be for my mom to know that she has given me the world. I feel many mothers may think this when they give birth, but not literally. How privileged am I to have been given the world. Ann was talking in the present tense, saying your mother must feel so great giving you the world and knowing you are traveling and using her benefits. I bet she does feel great. It is nice not having to tell some people she is gone, but in this case, Ann is right, I know she does still feel that way even though I cannot hear it from her.

This breakthrough summit was truly amazing and there were many hugely important people at the Washington National Cathedral during the meaningful conference. Listening to men and women talk about what has not been talked about in the past, domestic violence, genital mutilation, women in government and in power was amazing, especially being in a church of all places with many different representatives of religions. Studying foreign policy and connecting to so many different people from all around the world who all want the same things is really inspiring and moving. Three young leaders spoke from Kenya, Jamaica and Uganda- talking about how they are making poverty history. It is so important on the local and direct level as well as on the large scale indirect level to do this together. While I may not know what exactly I want to do with the rest of my life, as my Grandparents constantly ask, I do know what I want to make a difference and dedicate my life to injustices and human rights to make positive changes in our world. This semester has reaffirmed my passion and dedication to helping those who cannot help themselves. Women and children are especially in need, and perhaps with help from this large community of diverse people I sat with today for four hours, listening to powerful women who want change, we can accomplish all we want to together. Where ever I go, I realized, I can work on this, and some places better than others, traveling is the great benefit of this work.

ME and DC

I had to write a statement for USF about my experience here and this is what I said and I really believe it:

What I love about DC is the diversity in people, organizations, and
interests. There is a huge mix of important people from all around the
world here representing all different ideas, groups and beliefs. Not
only do you run into a foreign embassy when you turn a corner, you
can see and meet people you never expected or never knew about. All
the opportunities I never dreamed of are available and with a strong
will and determination, you can really achieve your goals. While it
may be a challenging place to live, it is a great place to learn about
our world and ourselves. I really like this Washington Semester program,
which helps people to reach outside what you thought you may have been
limited to and to realize what your impact can do in our world and country
today.

The 4th and 5th at Home

Last weekend I went home...for a million reasons...eye doctors appointment (boring), RA training at USF for next year, but most importantly I wanted to see my dog!! Well, and my friends and family. It was great going home to warm happy California! Some people may think the flight is ridiculously long for a weekend, but it was perfect because it made me read for class. Yesterday we had a four hour debate and fake peace signing on the conflict with the Palestinians and Israelis. I had to be the expert on the Palestinian side for settlements. So I read a lot about that and talked with my roommate because she is Jewish and has spent a lot of time in Israel. I also went to Mary Heffernan's (formerly Simonson)birthday party and I got to see her family and Francie. Here she is, so adorable at 6 months old:





Here are my friends Cecily on the left and Mel on the right. Mel is going to be an RA with me next year- and we were all in Erasmus last year together. Here is Mel awkward as usual!