I’ve been home just about a week now. When people ask me about what I did in Washington, I’ve realized that I have to summarize the whole experience into about a one-minute speech. If I were to try and tell them stories from start to finish, our conversation would last for hours.

Well, the day we’ve all been waiting for has come and gone. In case you hadn’t heard, the United States of America has elected President Barack Obama to stay in office for the next four years. I was fortunate enough to get to witness this historic day in our nation’s capital, and it’s a day I won’t ever forget.

Thirteen is not a bad luck number after all. In just three days I managed to turn that belief all the way around. Let me tell you the story one by one.

This weekend, interns in the Resident and Academic Facility, and most of the east coast had to prepare for an uninvited guest: Hurricane Sandy. This weekend people experienced angst, excitement, fear, happiness. Maybe some of those emotions could be attributed to Halloween.

The Washington Center will be open Wednesday, October 31.  Both Residential and Academic Facilities have power and we recommend students to report to their internship sites tomorrow, or call/email their internship site supervisors to ask if they should report their internship tomorrow.  Programming and classes will run as scheduled. Headquarters will also be open tomorrow.

If you have any questions, please send an email to communications@twc.edu.

This was a great week in Washington, especially for eating.  I had a nice visit with my mother and brother who stayed here for the weekend, got to watch multiple political debates (which I thoroughly enjoyed), and got to eat some great dinners.

Norman Y. Mineta, Former Secretary of Transportation for the Bush Administration, was honored with the 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award at The Washington Center’s annual Gala event. This award is bestowed on an individual committed to opportunity and youth leadership.  This year, TWC chose Mineta for his role as both a pioneer and outstanding leader, who is internationally recognized for his dedication to public service.

What a week it’s been. I am fully immersed into career life now, making me super busy.  I’ve attended two sessions of my class and am still just as enthusiastic about it as I was last week. The Washington Center sure gives us a lot to do, but busy is good; the weeks fly by. What I’ve noticed about Washington D.C. is that it feels lot like Boston to me, with the Metro/T, size of the city, and the culture. The difference is that Washington is filled with people you do want to meet, whereas Boston seems to be filled with people you don’t.

Wake up. It is time. The distant voice of some reporter summarizing the final scores on last night games, mixed with the sound of someone cooking breakfast made me face the unavoidable truth — It is really time to wake up.

It's been two weeks since I got here and I can barely believe it!

I have already become an insider, like my friends used to say. Two weeks ago, all I knew about the streets of Washington, D.C. was from online maps and tour guides. Now here I am, walking to my internship site, giving directions to American tourists, moving around the metro, taking buses and even recommending good places to eat, just as if I have lived in this city for many years! Time does fly while you are here!