Well, I made it through Boot Camp! It certainly was a long week, but I legitimately enjoyed all of it and feel like I learned a ton. Yesterday we went over video, which was VERY overwhelming because I have absolutely no experience in it. On top of that, we were trained on the two types of cameras that we're allowed to use in a two hour block first thing in the morning. As if that's not intimidating enough, the man who taught us was having to move very quickly because of time constraints, so he stood at the front of the room and basically showed us what the camera did by pointing at tiny buttons I couldn't see and using terms I didn't understand (like white balance) but that I was too afraid to ask questions about because it seemed like everyone else in class understood. It was an incredibly frustrating morning. I was almost in tears by the end of it, but I took a deep breath and thought about Amos's advice to just ride with the program, even the frustrating parts, and approached the afternoon with an open mind. I'm glad that I did, because I found out that I am by far not the only person who hasn't handled a video camera before. Amos paired us in teams of two - people who had experience and people who didn't. I was lucky enough to get paired with my roommate McKenna, and we were sent out onto the streets of DC to shoot video! We got some awesome footage of some characters in the park across the street from the White House. One called himself "Nature Boy" and was obviously a crazy homeless man but had some very philosophical things to say, and the other is a woman named Concepcion who has been protesting in front of the White House for 30 years, day and night, after losing a terrible custody battle for her child. We got decent feedback on our video, and I picked up on the video editing software we learned very quickly. It felt good to be presented with a challenge and manage to work my way through it.
I can't believe I've only been in D.C. for a week! It feels like so much longer. We've already started distinguishing ourselves from tourists. I'm loving my roommates and the other people in the program. There are only 3 guys, but they all seem really cool. We're going to explore Georgetown tomorrow and have a BBQ at Amos's house on Sunday, and we have a project due by next Friday, so our groups will be working on them a lot over the weekend since we all start our internships on Monday.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Memorial Day and Boot Camp
We've been having some technical issues with the Internet in the building, so I'm just now getting a chance to post this. The weekend was a blur, but I already feel like I've been here for ages.
Saturday our roommates arrived, and they are fantastic. I don't think they could have put four better girls together. Aside from the fact that I'm the only non-vegetarian of the group, we're all very similar and we get along great. We went out to dinner on Saturday night and out on the town after that.
Sunday we did some grocery shopping and shopping for the apartment, which was a day-long adventure because Target is one train change and several subway stops away, and we decided to walk the 10 blocks to Trader Joe's (and walk back carrying incredibly heavy bags of groceries). I've discovered quickly here that reusable bags are a must. Almost everywhere charges for plastic bags. It's really a good way to encourage reusable bags and green behavior if that's what your motive is, I suppose. Also a good way to nickel and dime your customers into buying reusable bags with your name on them (I now own $2 worth of Trader Joe's shopping bags). Sunday nights aren't exactly hopping in D.C. - guess we're not that far out of the Bible belt - so we ended up at a tiny Chinese restaurant we discovered with a couple of other people from the program. After that, we went back up to the roof of our building, which is my favorite feature by far. It has a great view of the Washington monument, the Capital, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial, which we can see all lit up at night. Apparently rooftop access is limited in D.C. as well, because we've met people who don't live in our building up there. Sunday night there were some young college interns on the Hill up there, so we spent some time hanging out with them.
On Memorial Day we decided to trek down the Mall to watch the PBS Memorial Day concert featuring BB King. After a two mile hike that included seeing the National Memorial Day parade, a visit the the Smithsonian American History Museum where we saw Dorothy's slippers and all the first ladies dresses and a trip to happy hour at a Mexican restaurant (1/2 price nachos, ya'll!), we ended up on the lawn on the Capital where the concert was to take place. We collapsed in the grass, exhausted, and started to notice after about half an hour that no one else was on the lawn, even though it was 6:30 and the gates had opened at five. Long story short, the concert had been on Sunday night. We decided it wasn't a total waste, though, because we got to see a lot of the city.
We've been through two days of class now. Tuesday was orientation day, and we also took a walking tour of the city (most of which the roommates and I had already seen). We also went to this amazing museum called Newseum, which (shocker), was about the history of news. They had an amazing archive that had newspapers literally back to the 16th century and then the front page of almost every historic event since then. Absolutely amazing. Jay Black - you did a great job teaching us media history because I was a total nerd about a lot of stuff in there (i.e. Thomas Nast's original drawing of Santa Claus and the original printing of the Moon Hoax). There was also a tribute to 9/11 coverage and Katrina coverage, both of which were very moving.
Today in class we had a crash course in which I felt I learned more than I have in two years of my journalism major at Mercer (no offense, Mercer journalism department). One thing stands out to me, though. Mercer absolutely has to develop a better broadcast journalism program. We have virtually no training in it, and we are terribly behind. Kayleigh and I are in the extreme minority of people who have never dealt with Final Cut Pro, and I feel like I'm the only person who has never shot video. I take a lot of responsibility for this because I've elected not to take classes like Digital Storytelling, but hey, college kids are in college for a reason - we don't always know what's best for us. I strongly believe some form of broadcast education should be REQUIRED for the major. That being said, today was writing day, and as that is my strength, I feel like I did very well. Not to toot my own horn, but I feel like I beasted the news writing assignment of the early afternoon, but I also got some very helpful constructive criticism from Amos. I'm having difficulty transferring my print self to broadcast writing (I'm stuck on using big words), but Andrea Seabrook from NPR (who held our writing seminar this afternoon) seemed fairly pleased with Kayleigh and I's piece, although she also offered some helpful criticism.
All in all, this has been a wonderful experience so far. I'm waiting for homesickness to kick in because I'm feeling the first twinges of it and know from experience it starts during the second week or so. Luckily, I'll be kept so busy that I don't expect to feel it that much, and modern technology is such that I don't feel disconnected from family and friends.
I learn how to use a video camera at 9:30 in the morning, so I'm going to sleep now to be ready and rested!
Saturday our roommates arrived, and they are fantastic. I don't think they could have put four better girls together. Aside from the fact that I'm the only non-vegetarian of the group, we're all very similar and we get along great. We went out to dinner on Saturday night and out on the town after that.
Sunday we did some grocery shopping and shopping for the apartment, which was a day-long adventure because Target is one train change and several subway stops away, and we decided to walk the 10 blocks to Trader Joe's (and walk back carrying incredibly heavy bags of groceries). I've discovered quickly here that reusable bags are a must. Almost everywhere charges for plastic bags. It's really a good way to encourage reusable bags and green behavior if that's what your motive is, I suppose. Also a good way to nickel and dime your customers into buying reusable bags with your name on them (I now own $2 worth of Trader Joe's shopping bags). Sunday nights aren't exactly hopping in D.C. - guess we're not that far out of the Bible belt - so we ended up at a tiny Chinese restaurant we discovered with a couple of other people from the program. After that, we went back up to the roof of our building, which is my favorite feature by far. It has a great view of the Washington monument, the Capital, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial, which we can see all lit up at night. Apparently rooftop access is limited in D.C. as well, because we've met people who don't live in our building up there. Sunday night there were some young college interns on the Hill up there, so we spent some time hanging out with them.
On Memorial Day we decided to trek down the Mall to watch the PBS Memorial Day concert featuring BB King. After a two mile hike that included seeing the National Memorial Day parade, a visit the the Smithsonian American History Museum where we saw Dorothy's slippers and all the first ladies dresses and a trip to happy hour at a Mexican restaurant (1/2 price nachos, ya'll!), we ended up on the lawn on the Capital where the concert was to take place. We collapsed in the grass, exhausted, and started to notice after about half an hour that no one else was on the lawn, even though it was 6:30 and the gates had opened at five. Long story short, the concert had been on Sunday night. We decided it wasn't a total waste, though, because we got to see a lot of the city.
We've been through two days of class now. Tuesday was orientation day, and we also took a walking tour of the city (most of which the roommates and I had already seen). We also went to this amazing museum called Newseum, which (shocker), was about the history of news. They had an amazing archive that had newspapers literally back to the 16th century and then the front page of almost every historic event since then. Absolutely amazing. Jay Black - you did a great job teaching us media history because I was a total nerd about a lot of stuff in there (i.e. Thomas Nast's original drawing of Santa Claus and the original printing of the Moon Hoax). There was also a tribute to 9/11 coverage and Katrina coverage, both of which were very moving.
Today in class we had a crash course in which I felt I learned more than I have in two years of my journalism major at Mercer (no offense, Mercer journalism department). One thing stands out to me, though. Mercer absolutely has to develop a better broadcast journalism program. We have virtually no training in it, and we are terribly behind. Kayleigh and I are in the extreme minority of people who have never dealt with Final Cut Pro, and I feel like I'm the only person who has never shot video. I take a lot of responsibility for this because I've elected not to take classes like Digital Storytelling, but hey, college kids are in college for a reason - we don't always know what's best for us. I strongly believe some form of broadcast education should be REQUIRED for the major. That being said, today was writing day, and as that is my strength, I feel like I did very well. Not to toot my own horn, but I feel like I beasted the news writing assignment of the early afternoon, but I also got some very helpful constructive criticism from Amos. I'm having difficulty transferring my print self to broadcast writing (I'm stuck on using big words), but Andrea Seabrook from NPR (who held our writing seminar this afternoon) seemed fairly pleased with Kayleigh and I's piece, although she also offered some helpful criticism.
All in all, this has been a wonderful experience so far. I'm waiting for homesickness to kick in because I'm feeling the first twinges of it and know from experience it starts during the second week or so. Luckily, I'll be kept so busy that I don't expect to feel it that much, and modern technology is such that I don't feel disconnected from family and friends.
I learn how to use a video camera at 9:30 in the morning, so I'm going to sleep now to be ready and rested!
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Arrival!
After a long train ride and a rather hectic experience with GW Housing yesterday, Kayleigh and I are settled in our apartment!
Our trip began with a delayed train due to trees falling on the track as a result of the storms on Thursday night in Georgia. We waited almost three hours before we finally boarded the train and got moving! The ride was about 14 hours long, and, since it was overnight, we didn't get to see that much scenery. I slept fairly well throughout the night, though, and saw all of Virginia on the way into DC.
Once we claimed our bags at Union Station, we decided that we would not be able to navigate the Metro with them, so we hailed a cab to take us to our dorm. We were assuming that there would be a lobby area where we could leave our bags while we went to get our keys and check in. We were wrong. Apparently an access card is required to even get into the building. So, we were left with no choice but to drag our suitcases the four blocks to the SIWJ main office where we could leave them while we checked in. We went across the street to get our GW ID cards made, which we were not thrilled about, since we had been on the train for 14 hours and looked terrible in the pictures. After that, we walked another couple of blocks and got our keys and access cards to the dorm. At this point, we were too exhausted to drag our bags anymore, and Kayleigh had extra boxes that she needed to bring from the office, so we got a cab for a total of 5 blocks to our dorm. After hauling our luggage out of the cab and watching it drive off, we both tried to swipe our access cards only to find out that they did not work. Just as we were beginning to get very frustrated, a custodian who worked in the building came by and let us in. Our keys worked, so we were able to get up to the room and put our stuff up before trekking back to the office to get different access cards. Needless to say, we were starving and exhausted by this point. We walked to a restaurant we had spotted nearby and had dinner, then came back and went to the rooftop of the building, which has an excellent view of the city. Both of us were tired, sweaty and sore, so we took showers and went to bed early last night.
Today we woke up early and went to the Starbucks downstairs for coffee since we don't have a coffee maker in the apartment yet (another of our roommates is bringing it when she gets in tonight). After breakfast, we ventured onto the Metro to go to Target for some apartment items we didn't have. We have a CVS very close to the apartment, but we needed things like hangers and a bathroom trash can that we didn't think we could find there. Plus it was good experience to use the Metro! We don't have plates and bowls at the apartment yet, so we just grabbed salads from CVS (yes, they do have those!), and ate lunch at our apartment. Kayleigh's Senior Capstone professor Dr. Walker has a son named Luke living in DC, and he got Kayleigh in touch with him a few months back, so we met up with him and one of his friends after lunch. We met them at the White House (which is about 4 blocks from our apartment!), and from there we went past the Washington Monument to the WWII memorial, the Vietnam memorial and past the reflecting pool (which is currently under construction and has no water) to the Lincoln memorial and past the Korean War memorial on our way back. Since we covered all that today, we're looking at going to the Mall and Capital tomorrow.
So far, I'm having the time of my life! Boot camp starts at 10 a.m. (way later in the morning than we were afraid of!) on Tuesday, and we'll be getting the full schedule of the week's events tomorrow, which I'll post on here.
I don't have a memory card for my camera yet, and my iPhone is being funny about uploading photos to Facebook, but I've uploaded a few and will upload more as soon as I can.
Our trip began with a delayed train due to trees falling on the track as a result of the storms on Thursday night in Georgia. We waited almost three hours before we finally boarded the train and got moving! The ride was about 14 hours long, and, since it was overnight, we didn't get to see that much scenery. I slept fairly well throughout the night, though, and saw all of Virginia on the way into DC.
Once we claimed our bags at Union Station, we decided that we would not be able to navigate the Metro with them, so we hailed a cab to take us to our dorm. We were assuming that there would be a lobby area where we could leave our bags while we went to get our keys and check in. We were wrong. Apparently an access card is required to even get into the building. So, we were left with no choice but to drag our suitcases the four blocks to the SIWJ main office where we could leave them while we checked in. We went across the street to get our GW ID cards made, which we were not thrilled about, since we had been on the train for 14 hours and looked terrible in the pictures. After that, we walked another couple of blocks and got our keys and access cards to the dorm. At this point, we were too exhausted to drag our bags anymore, and Kayleigh had extra boxes that she needed to bring from the office, so we got a cab for a total of 5 blocks to our dorm. After hauling our luggage out of the cab and watching it drive off, we both tried to swipe our access cards only to find out that they did not work. Just as we were beginning to get very frustrated, a custodian who worked in the building came by and let us in. Our keys worked, so we were able to get up to the room and put our stuff up before trekking back to the office to get different access cards. Needless to say, we were starving and exhausted by this point. We walked to a restaurant we had spotted nearby and had dinner, then came back and went to the rooftop of the building, which has an excellent view of the city. Both of us were tired, sweaty and sore, so we took showers and went to bed early last night.
Today we woke up early and went to the Starbucks downstairs for coffee since we don't have a coffee maker in the apartment yet (another of our roommates is bringing it when she gets in tonight). After breakfast, we ventured onto the Metro to go to Target for some apartment items we didn't have. We have a CVS very close to the apartment, but we needed things like hangers and a bathroom trash can that we didn't think we could find there. Plus it was good experience to use the Metro! We don't have plates and bowls at the apartment yet, so we just grabbed salads from CVS (yes, they do have those!), and ate lunch at our apartment. Kayleigh's Senior Capstone professor Dr. Walker has a son named Luke living in DC, and he got Kayleigh in touch with him a few months back, so we met up with him and one of his friends after lunch. We met them at the White House (which is about 4 blocks from our apartment!), and from there we went past the Washington Monument to the WWII memorial, the Vietnam memorial and past the reflecting pool (which is currently under construction and has no water) to the Lincoln memorial and past the Korean War memorial on our way back. Since we covered all that today, we're looking at going to the Mall and Capital tomorrow.
So far, I'm having the time of my life! Boot camp starts at 10 a.m. (way later in the morning than we were afraid of!) on Tuesday, and we'll be getting the full schedule of the week's events tomorrow, which I'll post on here.
I don't have a memory card for my camera yet, and my iPhone is being funny about uploading photos to Facebook, but I've uploaded a few and will upload more as soon as I can.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Departure!
The much anticipated day has finally arrived! I leave for DC on an Amtrak train at 8:21 this evening. I've had a nagging feeling for the past few days that I've forgotten to pack something, but I can't figure out what it is (and neither can my mother), so I think I'm golden.
Today is a stressful day for my family in general. My parents and I will be leaving for Atlanta early so we can stop by the hospital where my 12-year-old cousin is having spinal surgery. She has the warning signs of scoliosis, so she's having surgery now to head it off. It is a fairly routine surgery, but it takes about 8 hours, and it got a late start today, so it'll be a long day of waiting. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers throughout today and throughout the summer when she'll be recovering.
Gene Mitchell joked that I mentioned Kayleigh Irby and not him in my last post, so I'd like to say how grateful I am for how supportive he's been of me. Gene, I'll miss you very much, but I'm very excited to go, and I know you're excited for me!
I'm starting to get a bit nervous now that it's actually here. The thing I'm most concerned about is navigating the metro. Anyone who has ever ridden in a car with me knows that I have virtually no sense of direction, and any map might as well be written in Greek. Luckily, Kayleigh does have a good sense of direction, and I'm sure with her help I'll be zipping around DC like a local by August.
Today is a stressful day for my family in general. My parents and I will be leaving for Atlanta early so we can stop by the hospital where my 12-year-old cousin is having spinal surgery. She has the warning signs of scoliosis, so she's having surgery now to head it off. It is a fairly routine surgery, but it takes about 8 hours, and it got a late start today, so it'll be a long day of waiting. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers throughout today and throughout the summer when she'll be recovering.
Gene Mitchell joked that I mentioned Kayleigh Irby and not him in my last post, so I'd like to say how grateful I am for how supportive he's been of me. Gene, I'll miss you very much, but I'm very excited to go, and I know you're excited for me!
I'm starting to get a bit nervous now that it's actually here. The thing I'm most concerned about is navigating the metro. Anyone who has ever ridden in a car with me knows that I have virtually no sense of direction, and any map might as well be written in Greek. Luckily, Kayleigh does have a good sense of direction, and I'm sure with her help I'll be zipping around DC like a local by August.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Getting Ready
This time last year I was getting ready to go overseas for 4 weeks, and I would have thought that packing for that would have been more stressful than packing for DC. I was wrong! In Moldova it was acceptable to wear a T-Shirt and jeans every day, and I could get away with packing about five of those. Now I'm having to figure out how to pack work clothes, high heels, and furnish an apartment on top of that!
I'm absolutely giddy with excitement at this point - not even nervous at all. I'll be sharing a room with my dear friend Kayleigh Irby, who will be working as a public relations intern for the Georgetowner. We'll share the apartment with two other girls in the program, one from Oregon State and one from Auburn. I haven't confirmed this, but I believe one of my other roommates will be working with me at the Daily Caller. For those of you who don't know, the Daily Caller is a slightly right-of-center political website. I will be working with a team of two other interns to provide video for the site, and from what I understand, I'll get to do a lot of on-site reporting around the city. Although print is where my interest lies, I am excited to get a chance to work with video. In today's market, you really have to be able to do print, web and broadcast to be competitive for a job.
I want to give a big "thank you" to those who have helped me get this opportunity, especially Jay Black and my parents. Couldn't have done it without you!
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