3rd Week in DC

I am glad that as I have gotten older I have realized how important it is to try not to think negatively of things just because they don't quite go as one would expect them to. We are still in session at Congress but things seemed a bit more quiet today (2nd week). People at the office seem to be warming up to me and I think that's a great sign. Even though they were like robots last week, at least they were always polite and professional. Now they are polite, professional and a little more talkative, yay!

Next Tuesday I am taking the FSOT and will need to schedule the Oral Assessment soon so that I can get a date for that before the end of my stay in DC. The days are busy and long but I feel good. Tomorrow afternoon we get to meet Charlie Rangel! Such an awesome old guy.

As usual, having a blast with the Rangel Fellows. Tomorrow I am also meeting Salvador (one of the Rangels) at 6am. We are off for a 2 mile run before the work day begins - should be enjoyable! It feels great being around smart, young, motivated people -like me! Oh, how I missed this!

This is what I see every morning as I walk in to work!

This is Reality

My brain feels like it's going to overload. Exams, training, learning the job on the Hill and"math camp for Columbia U". I've been writing so much on a daily basis that I seriously think that it will get to a point where it's just going to feel like I'm doing a chore.

What have I learned so far? I probably never want to run for public office and deal with constituents. Really, you are writing to me because you are concerned about us purchasing bottled water?! I apologize for not caring but I don't think I'd enjoy being at the mercy of "constituents". Not to mention, everyone is so busy that sometimes I feel like I am talking to a robot. I ask a question it responds and that's it. No time for intellectual conversation, and those damned alarms! Every time members have to vote on the floor, the alarms go off. Plus, let's face it...it's just not a sexy career. Now State, that's sexy.

Note: Please don't misunderstand though, this does not mean that I hate my internship. I simply don't have a strong sentiment toward it. However, I am glad to be doing it because it just confirms to me that this is not the kind of career that I would want to pursue and I wouldn't have known otherwise. Got to always look at the positive!

Survived My First Day @ the House of Reps

The day went by fairly quickly today with the work that I was given. It was my first day but they already had me working on constituent correspondence. I worked on 8 letters and I am sure that with time I'll probably be able to churn out a few more once I have a better grasp on some of the pertinent issues. No one letter was the same and they all had to do with a different topic! Doing my research in order to answer the constituent appropriately was pretty time consuming.

It seems as though everyone is very busy at Serrano's office where I am interning. I didn't see people take many bathroom breaks...and they seemed glad I was there to work on some of the things that had begun to pile up - such as constituents' emails.

Something that I will probably try not to do again is to eat in the cafeteria. $11.50 for lunch? I think not!! I had a nice affordable sandwich that I made myself for dinner. I need to wake up earlier to make sure I bring a sandwich every day to work.

Traveling to work was fine because luckily enough I ran into someone who understood the metro a little better than me, but coming home I got lost! Poor Grant (one of the Rangel fellows in my cohort) got lost with me because he knew even less than I did. However, I am happy to report that we were able to get home within an hour. I will try not to miss my stop or get on the train going the opposite direction next time...

I can't believe I have a floor meeting tonight. Seriously, how old am I? 18?! I think not. What are they going to tell me that I don't already know? "OK kids, don't light your bed on fire and don't bring in any turtles!"

1st Week in Washington DC

Time flies! It's already a week since I have been in Washington DC. Living in a dorm isn't as bad as one would think it would be. It' s true that I have not lived in a dorm for the past 2 years, but as I am familiar with dorm living it just makes me nostalgic of my undergraduate days. I also like small spaces...maybe it's because I grew up in NYC?

We met some outstanding people this past week. Every day just reinforces my desire to serve my country. I feel like I'm finally in my element. There's lots of work to be done but I feel it's good productive work. Even after a 13 hour day I have the energy to hang out with friends. I finally understand when people say. "I can't believe I am getting paid to wake up every day to do what I love".


Rangel Fellows from my cohort at a Welcome Dinner


Having lunch with Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Donovan,
Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs

Puerto Rico, Latino Partnership Leadership Fellowship

So this post comes very late - not a surprise, huh? I have been letting work consume me and that is not good!

From July 25th until August 1st I went on a fellowship trip to Puerto Rico with my Latino Partnership Leadership class. It was an amazing experience. This was my second time to Puerto Rico but this time under very different circumstances. Last year, I went with my best friend and my roommate and simply said- it was a vacation. However, this fellowship trip was enlightening and life changing. To say that a trip could change your life in simply a week seems ludicrous, but believe me when I say that it did.

Friendships were strengthened and some new ones were made. I can now say that I have a family away from home and that I have people that I feel connected to and who I know will have my back no matter what. These are people who understand my struggles and my uncertainties because they've had them too. For the first time, I feel like I am getting closer to being more honest and accepting with myself.

This trip is probably the catalyst to many good things to come and to changing the way that I view myself and the world around me. When I went to Puerto Rico I saw a proud nation of people who would do anything to hold on to their culture and values. They were all very passionate and hard working individuals who were a part of this journey of ours. As a Latina who grew up in the South Bronx, I always hated being Latina. I hated living where I lived. I hated being so dark skinned. Yet, this trip enabled me to do some self reflection and I realized that, these are not things that I should be ashamed of, these are things that I should be proud of. I should be proud of being a Latina who came from the South Bronx and who graduated magna cum laude from a top university. I should be proud of my indigenous background that has afforded me such tan skin. I should be proud of being a successful Latina at a time when Latinos are being persecuted and being looked down upon.

Ok, enough reflection. If I do it too much I will start to feel uncomfortable. This whole being human and having feelings thing is tough on my psyche. I am going to try to take things one day at a time while indulging in some much needed self improvement.

Some pictures below.




La Guancha in Ponce, Puerto Rico
Just beautiful! Took the picture from a tower.





Virginia (left), Karla (center), Me (right)
Some of my LPI girls at El Morro



















That's me in Loiza, Puerto Rico at the coconut mask maker's home.

Dominican Republic, Paying a Visit to Dad

So I spent 11 days, from November 15th until Nov. 26th in Dominican Republic. The main purpose of the trip was to visit my father. Unfortunately, the internet was no where near as abundant as it was in Viet Nam. I was very anxious before I left for the D.R. because the last time that I had visited I was 7 years old (it's been 15 years). I also have mixed feelings about the trip as I was able to do what I set out to do, which was to visit my father, but at the same time it wasn't all fun and games.

By day 2 my dad contracted conjunctivitis (pink eye) from a family member I suppose and by day 4 I had it too. I couldn't go out when it was sunny, so he and I had to wait until the sun went down so that the sun wouldn't aggrevate our condition. Luckily, my condition lasted for 4 days and not the whole trip. Though, it was also very rainy (more so than I had anticipated), I was still able to see a bit. I went to Santiago, Puerto Plata and the capital, Santo Domingo.

In December, hopefully I will be off to Cancun, Mexico for a week. I am very anxious and excited. I anticipate that it will be an interesting experience.

Life After Viet Nam

I got a bit bored today so I decided to read over some of my blog and was thus struck with inspiration! I should at least write one post on, "life after Viet Nam". For me, life is not so bad! I have a great internship lined up for the next six months with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Philadelphia. I will be doing something with small business development and Latin American trade. Viet Nam now seems like a dream...Sometimes I find myself looking at pictures just to remind myself that it was real and that, no it was not a dream. However, I have found that it is a great conversation starter! haha!

I still keep in contact with my Vietnamese host mom in Can Tho and her family. My 16 year old host sister is taking the high school entrance exam soon so she is studying non stop. Then there is my Vietnamese host sister is Saigon (HCMC). I don't have her email so I will have to get a calling card to call her. She is coming to America soon. She will be here for a month doing some sort of leadership conference with other students from all over South East Asia. I feel sad when I think of her. On the last week of my stay in Viet Nam I found out she has Lupus. She is such a bright girl and so hard working too! I promised her that if she got sick while in the States that I would do all that I could to help her. I just hope it doesn't come to that. I want her to be happy and to enjoy her stay in the States.
Next Spring I will be graduating... It seems like life is just full of one phase after another... It's interesting and amazing, yet at the same time quite scary.
Henry told me the other day (Father's day) that he is tired of telling people that I am his girlfriend and would like it to be his fiancee from now on. I guess he is thinking about THAT. I guess it can't be helped, we have been together for 4 years. However, I am not as impatient as I used to be. Something like that can wait. It won't change how we feel and it shouldn't change how things are (unless it is another positive change).

I think my next target country will be somewhere in Latin America though I really want to go to Korea, Thailand and Japan (to practice my Japanese).
I definitely want to go back to Viet Nam. Hopefully in 2010 if I get a fellowship through Princeton in Asia.
Surprisingly, I have yet to do a road trip of the USA. Maybe this too should be on my list.

To those who are reading this:
Don't be afraid to take a chance, because otherwise how will you know if it was the experience that your life needed? Don't live in regret.