"I'm sorry, what was your name again?" That's something I've been hearing a lot for the past week. "Fabiana," I've been replying patiently; I expected this. Don't get me wrong, it's not like people back home in Miami or at the University of Florida can usually understand my name on the first try. But it has become increasingly obvious that Dorothy is not in Kansas anymore.

I was born in Caracas, Venezuela almost exactly 21 years ago. I was raised in Miami, Florida and spent the majority of my life there until I moved to an incredibly tiny, albeit lovable, town called Gainesville three years ago to attend the University of Florida (Go Gators!). My two majors are Psychology and Criminology. I actually found out about The Washington Center when a representative came and spoke in my Psychology and Law class last Spring. She described the experiences that my fellow bloggers and I will be describing to you throughout the next 14 weeks, and I was instantly motivated to apply. Spending a semester interning in Washington, D.C. with students my age from all around the world ? Yes, please.

When the representative told us students from all around the world would be applying, I thought that I would maybe meet one or two kids from England or maybe even Spain. People always say things like that to make their programs seem more diverse. I arrived at the Residential Academic Facility (the RAF, as we vets like to call it) and met my three roommates in this order:

• Nicole. The cutest, tiny redhead from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania I have ever met (and the impact of that statement is not diminished because I had never before met anyone from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). When Nicole and I saw that we would be sharing a bedroom and a bathroom, we hit it off instantly. We bonded by putting up a "tree of life" tapestry together after we found out that we both love yoga, cooking and baking, the CBS show The Big Bang Theory, and, apparently, black-and-white patterned bedclothes.

• Taylor. An environmentally conscious, tall, friendly, Next Top Model-looking Asian-Canadian girl. Wow! A Canadian roommate. There aren't many Canadians where I'm from either. This program is really diverse, I thought. We had conversations about our internships, classes we were taking, where we were from, and she re-sparked my interest in the green movement by reminding me that "at the end of the day, you should have more items in your recycling bin than in your trash can."

• And finally, Grace. Or, I suppose, more accurately, Gao Ya. She arrived last because she had just gotten off a 13-hour flight from Beijing, China. CHINA. OK, I thought, that lady back at UF was NOT joking about that whole international thing. I have learned so many things from Grace's background and the Chinese culture, and I've only known her for about a week! Likewise, I've taught her several things, like the wonder that is the white chocolate macadamia nut cookie, how to use the dishwasher, and that you don't have to boil water to purify it before you drink it here in America.

This semester promises a lot of fun experiences, new life (and Forensic Psychology) lessons, and genuine, hard work during my time here in the nation's capital. And even though nobody can pronounce or remember my name... I suspect that this is the beginning of a semester that I will never forget.