Saturday, January 8, 2011

Hello, blogosphere!

I am interning at National Geographic Traveler magazine for the month of January. The opportunity was offered by an Oberlin alum who's an editor there, and I found it on our Career Services website when doing a little late-night internet-surfing back in the fall. The myriad ways I procrastinate often involve looking up what to do next, which has so far served me pretty well.

I worked Monday to Friday this week, coming in between 9:30 and 11am and leaving between 4:30 and 6. It's been altogether delightful, I have to say. Totally unlike my previous work experience and internships in some ways, though those experiences have certainly informed this one. I love the constant armchair-traveling for seven hours a day. I think that's a lovely way to spend your work week, actually: looking up what to do in the Twin Cities, checking in with fellow staff on Twitter, fact-checking lists of activities in Hong Kong, proofreading an article about Brazil.

And I'm getting to know DC, as well. I'm living in a guest apartment owned by some wonderfully generous family friends in Alexandria, VA, a town just outside of the district. It's about a 20 minute bus ride to the Metro station, where I catch a 25-minute train to Farragut West, which is a stop in the northwest quadrant (DC is divided into four segments by direction) equidistant between the glorious National Geographic Society building and the White House. Apparently, President Obama and I both work in a neighborhood called "The Golden Triangle."

Favorite thing about DC so far: the plethora of food trucks! Food trucks are a trend that I don't think has hit Chicago in full force yet (at least, not to my knowledge): mobile mini-restaurants that drive around the city, stopping at various hotspots so that commuters can grab a pizza slice, gourmet cupcake, or hot chocolate on the go! Once a week, at Farragut Square just a block from where I work, something called "Farragut Fridays" happens, and five or six of these trucks station themselves temporarily around the perimeter of the park!

Yesterday, I got a slice of veggie pizza, a pumpkin spice cupcake, and hot chocolate. I have to say that I could probably find better versions of all these things in real, stationary restaurants in the area, but it was a novelty-- and pretty convenient-- to just walk out of Nat Geo and wait in the cold afternoon on line with several DC natives! How authentic, I thought, how unusual! Never mind the chill.

1 comment:

  1. Hey! This is Stephanie from Listful Thinking. I really think you're right-- we may secretly be the same person. I interned in D.C. this summer and it was great but I imagine it's 5,000 times better when it's not 8 billion degrees outside every day. (I may have a tendency to exaggerate numbers.) As for being able to beat you in a fight, I have noodle arms. I don't think I could take anyone. So let's just never start throwing punches and save everyone some embarrassment.

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