Monday, July 15, 2024
By:
The one thing about Princetonians is that, in D.C. during the summer, there are way too many of us. Everywhere you turn, BOOM, jumpscare. Fortunately for me, there are a lot of programming and alumni connection opportunities as well.
On Monday night, there was a night tour of the Capitol, hosted by Rep. Derek Kilmer, where we got to go onto the floor of the House and even sit in the seats! Awestruck, I looked around at my fellow peers and I learned: a) at least 80% of Princeton students in D.C. probably have some sort of job with the federal government, including all the Hillterns, so b) it was just another day for them—nothing out of the ordinary. I, on the other hand, was flabbergasted. After all, I had never seen the House (or the Senate) before! My excursions continued that Tuesday where I got to attend a short talk by Congresswoman Terri Sewell. Bestowed with wisdom, I finished out the week by going to the U.S. Institute of Peace where there was an alumni panel. But wait! Sike! That night when I went out with my roommate, their girlfriend, and one of my friends from college, who did we run into? Not one, not two, but three (3) other students! Why we are everywhere, I have no clue. Honestly, it’s probably a bit scary considering that there are only 5,000 undergrads total.
Anyway, I am getting sidetracked per usual. This week was extremely busy because I realized that my work was taking much longer than I thought it was. Correction: going through all the primary sources and picking out specific quotations is extremely tedious and time-consuming, especially when you have over 100 documents to go through. This might be a hyperbole, but I genuinely do not think it is. The difficult part of research is transferring all the knowledge you’ve accumulated in your brain onto paper for an audience who has not spent weeks pouring over these materials. Thus, it might be overkill to do this, but I’d rather be clear when presenting my findings. This week, I also interviewed Dr. Jan Eldridge—the Head of the Department of Physics at the University of Auckland. It, by far, was the longest interview I’ve ever conducted, coming in at 2.5 hours, but it was well worth it. This week, I have a lot of writing to do (mostly which I’ve been putting off), so send thoughts and prayers. I don’t hate writing per se, but I hate starting it if that makes any sense. Once I get in a groove, I’m all set, but there’s always a block before I start it.
Besides all the Princeton events, my friend from school was here this week, so they stayed with me for a couple of nights which was fun. I even introduced them to conveyor-belt sushi Thursday night which was much needed. I had gone so long without sushi. I honestly should be congratulated on how long I went considering I usually have sushi at least once or twice a week. On Saturday, I went to the National Archives Museum with Jenna and Charlotte which was super fun. No one stole the Declaration of Independence. There was also an exhibit of Russell Lee photographs detailing Middle America in 1946, particularly the lives of coal miners and their families. And then, Sunday was beach day! We drove up to Sandy Point Beach by Annapolis and spent the day there (before the beach closed due to a thunderstorm). The water’s temperature was perfect, and I spent at least half of the time there in it. The only downside was that we didn’t have umbrellas, so the sun zapped me of my energy. My car (Kaden, Reidyn, Charles, Sonja, and I) finished out the day by getting dinner at an Applebee’s, and I went to sleep at 8:45 PM.
Kai Hostetter-Habib