Wrapping things up

So my time in DC is coming to a close. I have been busy saying good bye to people, figuring out how I am going to get back up to Jersey and just getting organized for the craziness that will be my senior year. I have had such a good time down here and have learned so much (don't worry there will be a few more posts so this isn't my good bye post yet). But my bestie Lauren as left me all alone here at Africa Action which makes me sad but I will live, I suppose. My roommate Kani leaves me tomorrow which is equally distressing. Yesterday my supervisor Rickie took me out to eat at a gorgeous restaurant on the Potomac I got to see the infamous Watergate, Georgetown Harbor and the Kennedy Center. I hadn't had the chance to explore that area of the city yet and it was so much fun to do it with Rickie (I hope I am as interesting as her when I am older - a former nun, former race car driver, all around badass woman)

Here are some excellent articles for those who have been following my news postings

Nigeria's latest AIDS policies:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/08/17/nigeria.hiv.marriage/index.html

More from Nigeria:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8208932.stm

And I thought this was amazing
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/8193615.stm

ANNNNDDDD my favorite issue, the DRC
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/africa/-/1066/641538/-/137lonsz/-/

Much Anticipated DC Pictures

Darfur Rally in NYC

Sorry it has been awhile

Sorry that it has been such a long time since I last posted, it has been a crazy couple of weeks here in DC. After getting back from rafting in PA I noticed that my right leg kept cramping up and my knee kept locking. I went to a doctor and I had strained a muscle and was ordered to stay off of it, so I while I have still been training I am not training as hard as I could be. It has gotten much better though but now I am fighting a cold! Summer colds I think are the worst. Anyways the first weekend of Aug I was back in NYC this time for the All Points West festival. For those who know me, I LOVE live music. Some of my favorite bands played, but it poured and poured. So it turned into a huge mud pit (cue Woodstock 1999) - which actually made it even funner. My friend Joe and I just wore our plastic ponchos and hunkered down for the long haul of being wet. The sun finally came out and by the time Jay-Z came on the sky was clear and beautiful. I was able to see Vampire Weekend, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Jay-Z, We are Scientists, Black Keys and Coldplay!! So much fun. I also was able to a lot of my friends which I have really missed. It is hard to believe that this time next year we are all going to be on different paths and not together. I don't want to think about it yet!!!





















Got back to DC that Monday, my friend Joe came down with me to visit DC. We went to screen on the green that night with a lot of friends and the next day played tourist. Later in the week my friend Meloday came into town and we did Jazz in the Park and hung out with friends in the city.

There is some other exciting things that are happening at our place of work..... you will have to wait and see what it is though.....

Some headlines for you all!

Amazing article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8161199.stm

More on the Congo situation:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/world/africa/25briefs-Congo.html?ref=africa

Charles Taylor:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/07/27/world/AP-EU-War-Crimes-Taylor.html

And for anyone who uses oil:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/26/AR2009072602499.html

A crazy week ahead....

So after an exhausting and fun weekend in NYC I am back here in DC. I had a blast this last weekend - got into Manhattan around 10 headed into South Orange where I went out to good old Cryans with everyone in town. The next day I was able to just relax and go into the city and meet up with people. Rafting down the Delaware on Saturday was exactly what I needed. We were aptly named the Hag Yacht - all of us straight girls with our fearless leader Ryan paddling our way for 6 hours down the river. I got lots of sun and fortunately didn't burn that much. I got back in last night around 5 and headed over to a fellow intern, Meryl's house. I ate lots of good vegan food and met new people.

This next week is going to be crazy though - I have a bunch of deadlines both at the office, for my credit and with speech. I am still squeezing in Screen on the Green tonight. They are showing Dog Day Afternoon - so if anyone is around DC and wants to come just give me a call!!

I will be putting pictures up of the rafting soon!

Also...

Our Executive Director Gerald LeMelle was interviewed on CNN regarding Obama's recent trip to Ghana.

http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/international/2009/07/14/inside.africa.obama.ghana.bk.b.cnn?iref=videosearch

Pictures from our Darfur rally

We had a great rally in front of the White House yesterday. We marched from there to the State Department, and although it was hot, it was a great afternoon. It was organized by Damanga which is a Darfurian Diaspora group here in the US that works on putting political pressure on the US government to pursue ICC war criminals.

Here are some photos:

I spoke too soon.....

Yep just saw the real world crew again.... 2 of the females in the house were at sweet green at DuPont having a "dramatic" and what I am sure was "intelligent" and "important" conversation..... I feel like MAC makeup might be a sponsor

Another reminder....

also just to remind everyone and let any new readers know - I am running in the NYC marathon Nov 1st for the Run to Remember Team for the Alzheimer's Association. I am running in memory of Grandmother Mary Coady

I have raised $355 so far. My goal is to raise $5000! So anyone who wants to donate, even just a few dollars!!

https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=314993&supid=259783036

I am also fully accepting encouragement, prayers, thoughts and tips. It is my first marathon :)

A Mild Summer

So I just want to start off by saying I have been damn lucky - the weather here in DC has been more than tolerable. Usually it is sweltering and humid but it has been great, some really hot days but overall its been awesome! This last weekend was so much fun. I went to my first nationals game!! And although it was no Yankees (thanks Peter!) it was still a blast, plus I got to hang out with my good buddy Mike. Saturday night, my friend Monica came down and we went to DC United game which was AMAZING. For those who have been to sporting events with me or even just watched a game, I get a little rambunctious and I found my kindred spirits - plus I have been playing soccer since I was 4 (INTRAMURAL WHIGS UNITED!). I was covered in beer by the end of the game. We sat by the Real World kids - seriously if I see them one more time... they are lame I miss the old days of Boston, Miami, even Chicago! The kids are way too trendy for their own good, I just saw 7 too thin, ultra hip kids being followed by a greasy camera man and instantly recognized them after Lauren and I saw them in DuPont Circle. DC really is a small city...
Tonight my roommates, some other friends and I are going to Screen on the Green. The city runs old classics on a huge screen and everyone sits on the mall and watches and tonight's movie is Close Encounters of the Third Kind.... which is in my top 5 favorite movies. It shall be epic. And this weekend I am heading back to Jersey for a couple days - I miss my friends and I also have my annual rafting trip on Saturday. I can't wait to see everyone!!

My internship is going great, still working on my grants and making some serious headway. It has been a great experience. For anyone in DC on Wednesday there is a rally for Darfur. It is essential that people are there, it is an amazing cause!! Nothing too exciting at the museum just another fun weekend, although I have noticed that I am exhausted by Sunday nights after being on my feet both days.

So I attached some pictures my friend Monica took at the game. Unfortunately, my camera for some reason has just decided that it isn't going to work anymore so I won't have photos but hopefully I find a cheap camera soon (cough DAD cough)

Interesting article

Anyone interested in AFRICOM and its future

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=63716

Also...

Anyone in DC is invited and strongly encouraged to attend this rally!! please come!!

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=99978357947&ref=mf

and sign this petition:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=I_2f0jF0dF_2bhoplSstGAHLWA_3d_3d

Our organization has been one of the leaders against the genocide in Darfur. The violence must end.

Fun week!!

My roommate Rachel decided to surprise me and come down for a couple days!! We went to my fave dc restaurant last night - Good Stuff (who for Top Chef junkies, is owned by Spike) and then we walked around the Capitol Building at night enjoying the monuments at night. It was beautiful.

Here are some links (sorry I haven't been staying on these as much as I could have):

DRC -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8151959.stm

Somalia -
http://allafrica.com/stories/200907150006.html

World Cup news -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8151180.stm

The past week.....

This past week has been quite a handful. Things are moving a long at the internship, I'm knee deep in a grant right now that I am working on (fingers crossed, it is accepted!!) I am also finally finding my way at the museum. The older volunteers, many of whom have been at the museum since it has opened, are including me in their little family which is awesome. This weekend I am going to a Nat's game and a DC United game! and for anyone who knows me - I LOVE live sports, especially soccer!! I will definitely be posting pictures of that :) I attended a fulbright info session last week as well. Getting excited, but I will admit it was a little intimidating to see the other people applying, they seemed pretty intense. I am doing research this week at the Library of Congress (which will be awesome) and I have begun emailing professors over in Israel.

But as I said this past week was very difficult. A very good friend of mine passed away last Monday. For those reading my blog who knew Carissa, I know that we are sharing this pain. Carissa was one of the most positive, vibrant people I have ever met. We became close in high school and although I hadn't seen her in a few years, since I moved away, we stayed in contact through facebook. Unknown to even her closest friends, Carissa had been struggling with depression for quite a while, and one day she decided she couldn't do it anymore. Unfortunately, Carissa didn't pull through. I have had just about every thought go through my head: How? Why? Was there anything any of us could have done? I can't imagine what her family is going through. I had just commented on a note of hers on facebook about how awesome her energy was, little did I know she was struggling. Carissa will be missed by many more people than I think she will ever know.

4th of July and other updates

4th of July in DC was amazing! I volunteered at the museum in the morning and then met up with my roommates and my friend Jared in the afternoon. We ended up going to a house party with a bunch of friends of my roommate Rachel. We realized that the entire neighborhood had their backyard doors open, so we ended up just party hopping. We walked down for the fireworks at the mall and sat in front of the Washington Monument for them. They were awesome. Lots of people though, to walk there and back was over 4 miles, so I was a little tired by the end. We met a lot of new people down here. I met a lot of people from North Dakota, and one of them works for Sen. Tim Johnson so it was nice to talk to some people from home.

I had the rest of the weekend off - just enjoyed being in DC. Sunday, I went into historic Alexandria and grabbed dinner with a friend. Yesterday my friend Lauren and I hung around DuPont Circle and actually ran into the DC Real World crew! We were just talking about them and we turned a corner and saw them. Their house is in that neighborhood so I have a feeling that we will be seeing them a lot out when we go out - DC is not a large city.

More on the DRC

For those I have inspired (fingers crossed) who are interested in further learning about the Congo and what you can do. Here is an excellent article about what you as an ordinary citizen here in the States can do!!

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090202/ten_things

Getting Excited!

4th of July in DC?! What could be better? I am getting really pumped to celebrate the 4th here - it should be good, fireworks and music out on the mall. A lot of friends will be in town that will make it all the better. Also I promise to start putting pictures up - finally bought some batteries for the old camera... still waiting on a new one (cough Dad cough)

Some more articles - please read the top one especially. It has HUGE implications not just for the Congo, Africa but for the institution of the United Nations as a whole.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8130746.stm

Anyone interested in Ethiopia

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8112541.stm


HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!! EAT LOTS OF BBQ!

For those who enjoy my links

We have come a long way since apartheid, but we have such a long way to go:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/30/world/africa/30safrica.html?hp

one more post today

Ok so I just set up my fund-raising page with Team Run to Remember for the New York City Marathon!

Just a reminder I am running with the Alzheimer's Association to raise at least $3000 for this cause. My personal goal is $5000.

https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=314993&supid=259783036

Even a couple of dollars will help!!

Additionally..

I hope at least some people are reading this links:

Darfur:
This one is heartbreaking and at the same time fascinating.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7923247.stm

Somalia:
This scares me.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/26/AR2009062604261.html

Also - Africa Action is on Facebook for anyone who is also on the network. Add us as a cause, join our group and donate. For anyone else who wants to donate to Africa Action here is the link
www.africaaction.org We need all the support we can get! we are doing amazing grassroots work empowering civil societies in Africa. We are focusing on Zimbabwe right now and we are expanding soon to begin addressing the situation in the Congo.

Getting settled in

So I finally think I have the metro down, the roads down and the people of DC sort of figured out. Which feels great, I love being in cities and experiencing the energy and when I feel conditioned to the area it makes it even better. Last week was a lot of fun - I finally had my first day off!! It was tough going 7 days a week and training and working on stuff so I took my day off and just read for fun in the park by the Washington monument - got a little color, probably too much color. I also feel that I am finally fitting in the office, went out with a couple of the girls last week. We went to Jazz in the Park at the Sculpture Gardens where we got caught in a torrential downpour, I was soaked and my legs are still a light shade of blue after being dyed from my skirt. Last Saturday I went to a law school information forum. There were over 150 schools there and informational panels - I found a couple programs that really appealed to me. So maybe in a few years, after I get a few other things I want to do out of my way, it might be a possibility. I am looking forward to 4th of July!!! We are going to the fireworks on the National Mall and then my roommates and I are going to a barbecue with some Marines (I'm not quite sure about that one yet, we will see...). Other than that I just had a couple more classes this week about grant writing, speaking with donors and research - which have all been really helpful.

On a fun note - I met Rick Schroeder yesterday at the Holocaust Museum! and yes, I acted like a 15 year old in 1986. He came up with his sons to the table and started asking me questions and I just stared at him (very Toula in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, for those who have seen it). Anyways it was fun to meet my first celebrity there.

Also - RIP Billy Mays. I don't know how many more celebrity deaths I can take, and the amount of time spent by Nastassia and I doing Billy Mays impressions is epic so I included a picture of him. "Billy Mays here....."

Completely unrelated but...

I love Michael Jackson's Music


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En-cHBv7UpA

This one is my favorite

Some interesting links

So as people know, I am very passionate about issues happening on the continent of Africa hence my internship. I decided that I would post some articles on a daily basis on this blog so that everyone can become more informed of the situations in Africa and how the United States has an impact in the progress, or sometimes unfortunately the regress, of issues. The place of my internship, Africa Action, is a grassroots advocacy group that targets empowering African people to help shift their situation as well as helping to strengthen US foreign policy on the continent.

Blood Diamonds:
We have all seen the movie. Check out this link from BBC about what is going on right now:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8116239.stm

AIDS Orphans:
A very real issue that can tug on your heartstrings:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/25/world/africa/25orphan.html?_r=1&hp

Congo:
This is a brilliant article published by the Washington Post. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most volatile war going on and for women reading my blog, it has been named the most dangerous place in the world for women - more dangerous than Pakistan, Iran or Iraq.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/24/AR2009062403558.html

Here in DC!!

Hi all!

I am finally settled and getting into my routine here in DC. My apartment is great. It is right by the capitol building! My roommates are awesome as well - there are 5 of us girls sharing a row house on Constitution Ave. I am in a triple room. My one roommate goes to Ohio University and my other goes to Harvard. The other two girls share a room upstairs and one goes to Mt. Holyoke and the other goes to Marquette. We are from all over and we are all studying different subjects so it has made for interesting dinner conversations.

I started volunteering at the museum first. My first day was actually the first day the museum was re-opened after the shooting. So it has been pretty intense. Volunteering is great though they have me doing everything! It is really great to work one on one with visitors. My very first day I had a survivor give me a hug and thank me for coming. So every morning I am tired, I think of that.

Africa Action has been amazing! I am taking classes at the Foundation Center and at the Social Action and Leadership School for Activists about everything from how to write a grant to how to put together a budget to how to interact and cultivate relationships with potential donors. All of these things are really going to help me in the future with potential non-profit jobs. My long term project plan with the organization is to write grants to gain better technology for Africa Action and to pursue a grant for my passion: women rights. I am still researching possible funders but my personal goal is secure funds for Africa Action to launch a campaign specifically targeted towards African women and gender equality. The workplace is great. Everyone is laid back, but highly productive. It is interesting to see a workplace where everyone pushes each other to get to that next level and share common values. It really reminds me a lot of AmeriCorps.

On the personal side, I am just staying busy. I am working on a potential Fulbright proposal by researching and emailing experts in the field I am interested in. I also bought a GRE study book (yiiiiiiikes, already have to start thinking about after next May) and I am reading lots of books. Additionally, this is my official announcement, I am training. I will be running in the NYC marathon on the Alzheimer's Association Team. For those who don't know, my paternal grandmother battled the disease and passed away in 2004 after a hard fight. Not only was she a wonderful grandmother who helped raise my sisters and I, she was a one of a kind woman whose strength really influenced who I am today. To see Alzheimer's on a first hand basis, I have become really passionate about the disease. So I decided: I have always wanted to run a marathon; this would be a great way to raise money; and it would be a way to challenge myself in a way I have never done before. So don't worry I will post the link later for my fund raising page so you will all feel obligated to donate hahahahaha!!!! and I will be complaining on the blog!

Alright so as promised to my ladies at the Career Center, I will be much better about posting here as I have constant internet access. Thanks for all of the support I have received and I have already learned so much about myself (and its only my 2nd week!).