Moving In and Orientation

My room with Esther. My bed is on the left.

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    I moved in to my apartment in North Bethesda, Md., Wednesday.  The Washington Center provided housing and assigned roommates; my two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment is home to four girls, all from different parts of the United States.  Two of us are undergraduates and two are graduate students, but despite our different backgrounds and experiences, we seem to get along quite well.

    The Washington Center orientation was Thursday and Friday, which helped students understand the purpose and expectations of the program.  In addition to my full-time job and class, I need to be involved in a civic engagement project and submit assignments to my law and criminal justice program adviser.  The professionalism of the program, students and administrators is impressive, but also intimidating.  I hope I can live up to their standards.

Orientation also helped us become acquainted with the city.  I usually have a horrible sense of direction, but the metro has been a breeze.  Above ground, I still get a bit disoriented, but I am gradually improving.

Tonight is my first class at Marymount University in Virginia. Tomorrow is my first day at work, and coincidentally, it is also my twentieth birthday.  After work, my roommates are going to meet me at a little Indian restaurant in Georgetown to celebrate.  We cannot be out too late, though, because we all have to get up early for work in the morning.  Essentially anywhere in the city is about an hour commute on the metro.

I am anxious to see where the next ten weeks will take me.