The distinctive buzz of my cell phone woke me up way too early for a Saturday. Then I remembered — my train was leaving for Baltimore in less than twenty minutes!   I rushed out of my apartment and found some of my friends waiting for me in the lobby. We hurried to Union Station and got there just as the train was preparing to leave — it wasn’t that bad, only one of us was left behind. The Marines would be ashamed of us.  

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.  

Last week was Mexican Independence Day! As you probably know, we Mexicans take that pretty seriously, so I went with all my country fellows to the Organization of American States here in Washington, D.C., where the Mexican Ambassador — Arturo Sarukhan — would host this big party in order to commemorate the beginning of the Mexican Independence movement.  

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!

Hey! I’m Hector. I was selected as a part of a small group of young people in my state — Queretaro, in Mexico — to receive a scholarship to attend the Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars in Washington, D.C. Hector with other scholarship recipients.