Tourist from New Jersey? At least that's how I felt as I pulled into D.C. on Sunday, January 27th. It was my first time ever in the city, and I couldn't have been more excited. At one point, my dad pulled down 1st Street NE and I had a clear view of the Capitol Building directly in front of me, so - being the excited first time visitor I was - I stuck my whole body outside of the car window to take a picture!

My first ever picture of Capitol Hill!

I guess I should really tell you more about myself before I jump in with my crazy stories (which you will hear many of over the semester, I'm sure). I'm from Sewell, NJ, a town in South Jersey, but I spent my undergraduate career at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, North Jersey. I major in Communication with a concentration in Television & Radio Production and Political Science. I have absolutely loved and appreciated my time at Monmouth and I've done so much there, but I felt that I got all that I could out of being at the institution. I decided it was time to take a risk, to venture from my comfort zone. I decided that The Washington Center's semester-long internship was the next step for me.

After my first drive through the city with my parents, the adventures didn't stop. During my first day in D.C., I moved into my apartment with a girl I actually went to high school with - Katie Mount - and figured out the Metro. In the next few days I sipped beers with an old friend now living in D.C. and toured the Capitol Building (my down-the-street-picture is now a pretty silly one).

Kate takes on the Metro

And wins! I have to say that, as silly as it sounds, one of my biggest fears coming to D.C. was figuring out how the heck to use public transportation. See, I grew up in the suburbs of South Jersey and spent my undergraduate career living in a different suburb of Jersey. I had traveled to various cities a few times, but never had to navigate a subway or train or bus system before. Days before coming to D.C., I started having nightmares - legitimate nightmares - about getting lost and stranded on the Metro. On the first day here, a friend from Monmouth, Anthony, took my roommate (also from Monmouth) Miriam and I to the Metro and showed us the ropes. The system is actually pretty easy to figure out and what's good is that I know the stop I have to get off at for my internship so I was able to plan my whole route. And by the third day here, I have to say I was quite the professional at working the Metro system.. *brushes shoulders off.* I even showed Katie how to swipe her SmartTrip card and get on the subway and told her the tricks of the trade - actually the same EXACT thing that Anthony told me. I'm so super ready to OWN public transportation this semester.

The Big Board

Drinks anyone? After unpacking and moving in, it was definitely time for a nice brewski to kick off my time in this amazing city. I would be lying if I said I was going to get up and go to my internship, come home, go to class, do my work, and never go out. I enjoy the social scene, and was excited to start finding cool places to go on the first night. A group of us Monmouth students got together and ventured out into the city, led by a friend of ours who spent last semester (Fall 2012) as a TWC intern and now works in D.C. Her name is Monia Abou Ghali and I have to say I admire her to no end. She just graduated from Monmouth and got hired by her internship site! She's now living in D.C., away from her family and friends, working a full-time job. I look up to her for that. I was also super stoked when she took us out and showed us some spots on H Street - a supposedly hip area where we will apparently spend much of our time. Monia shared the details of her experience with TWC and her internship, and motivated us to be the best we could be in D.C. It was an invaluable way to spend the first night of the semester, the first night of this next step in my life.

Oh. My. Goodness. What. A. Day. Touring the Capitol Building and the Library of Congress was... incredible. I mean words don't really describe how I felt when I was taking the tour, but maybe these pictures can help you live the moment... hopefully! They don't do Capitol Hill justice... you have to see it with your own eyes, but I'll take a stab at it...

The view walking up to the Capitol from East Capitol Street.

This (above) is a panoramic shot of the Rotunda inside the Capitol Building. Although, I do have to say, this does not even begin to capture the immensity nor the beauty of the room. The art (statues and frescoes galore!) all have pretty interesting stories behind them.

Just a mere sampling of the art (above) ... this is the ceiling of the Rotunda. The painting is the apotheosis of George Washington. An apotheosis is the glorification or raising of a human subject to divinity. Because of his impact on the founding of our nation, it depicts Washington (on the right side of the circle with fabric draped across him) as more than the average human.

Above: The plaque where John Quincy Adams' desk was located when he served in the House of Representatives, located in the original House chamber. Our tour told us about the myth that Adams used to eavesdrop on his fellow congressmen from the location of his desk. Our tour guide went across the room and whispered and we could hear him PERFECTLY from where we stood, circled around that plaque. MIND. BLOWN. However, our guide told us that the room was not built as it is now until after Adams' time in the House, making that story a myth. MIND. BLOWN. AGAIN.

After our tour of the Capitol Building, my roommates Miriam and Katie and I visited the Library of Congress... no big deal!

The tunnel from the Capitol Building to the Library of Congress; filled with exhibits!

Panoramic shot (above) of the inside of the Library of Congress. Amazing architecture, and if you venture to the second floor, you can take a small set of steps up to a viewing platform overlooking the reading room - coolest room I've ever seen in a library!

My roommates Miriam (from Monmouth), Katie (from Stockton - I also went to high school with her), and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a photo with the Capitol as our backdrop.

After venturing out briefly into the city, I have to say I'm super stoked to begin my internship! I have a funny feeling this semester is going to fly by, and I can't wait to make the most of it!