The Last Weekend in Washington

One last week, and then it’s off to Milan.

The view down K Street from the office.

So we’re down to the final week of the summer in DC. It’s been a very productive three months at Americans for the Arts, gaining lots of experience in project management, social impact research, and data analysis. I’m already getting packed for the move to Milan, and beginning to tie up the loose ends. I finish work on Friday, fly out Saturday, and arrive in Milan on Sunday.

With regards to the work, the research project for my internship is virtually complete. The final report was handed in last week, and my team made a presentation to the organization on our results on Tuesday. It was an honour to be told by the CEO that he liked our work.

All that’s left to do is review the project, hand over the ownership of the files to my supervisor, and push out some marketing pieces for public release (it’s always nice when you can do a project whose outcomes are published).

I’m hoping that there’ll be slightly less work required this week, so that I can make some last minute visits to the museums that I haven’t seen yet. The Smithsonian museums on the National Mall are so numerous that I’ll be lucky to have visited half of them by the time I leave.

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Saturday's a Rugby Day

For the last weekend in DC, it was a chance to relax a little. I played one last game of touch rugby on the National Mall on Saturday, a pastime which has kept me fit over the summer (or at least reminded me how unfit I am). During the last match, the Presidential helicopter flew over, which was a sight in itself. After the game it was lunch in Chinatown, before heading home for a quiet afternoon and dinner with one of my colleagues. Sunday was spent catching up with a friend from Australia who had just arrived in town to do some research work. It was nice to see them and to help them settle into DC.

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The National Mall

As has become tradition on this blog upon leaving a place, here’s a short list of things I will and will not miss.

Things I’ll Miss: 

• Fellow Interns – The group of interns that I shared an office with this summer were nothing short of fantastic. Very smart and ambitious people. It was a great honour to work alongside them and to share in the internship experience.
• The National Mall – DC is most definitely a walking city, and the best place to walk is the long stretch of the Mall, from the Capitol building in the east, past all the grand buildings of the museums and government departments, over the rise to the Washington Monument, and along the reflecting pool to the Lincoln Memorial. There’s nothing quite like it anywhere else.
• Five Guys – Burgers and Fries. It’s no Whataburger, but it’s got a charm all its own (and free peanuts while you wait).
• M.E. Swing’s – My favourite espresso bar in the District.
• Dinners on the Back Porch – Sitting under the ceiling fan, watching squirrels dart between tree branches as the sun sets through the trees, then watching the glow of the lightning bugs as they fly around the garden. A good way to spend an evening.
  

Things I Won’t Miss:

• Humidity – As much as rugby on the National Mall is fun, what’s less fun is doing it in the thick, soupy humid air of the city. It feels like you are running around covered in woollen blankets.
• The Otherwise Fickle Weather – Once the humidity gets too much, then the storms come and soak you to the skin. Or they do not come. Who knows? Humidity is the only constant. Everything else is a blind guess. You carry an umbrella at all times, even on the clearest day.
• Cost of Living – How anybody can afford to live in this city long-term is beyond me. Nothing is cheap in DC, be it the groceries, eating out, or public transport, speaking of which...
• Long Commutes – To minimise the cost of rent, I ended up living over the border in Maryland, meaning a fairly long daily commute on the Metro, bookended by long walks at either end in the humidity. It was okay the first few times, but I’m over it.
  

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Still, in all, living in DC has been a great experience. It’s a nice city. Maybe one day I’ll visit again.

Hopefully, the next entry will be from Milan, assuming that flights and settling in go to plan, and that the jetlag isn’t too brutal (thankfully I hear that the Italians know a thing or two about espresso...). Pre-lagging starts tomorrow; with any luck I will just jump on the plane, fall asleep and wake up in Europe.

Arrivederci DC! Ciao Milano!