Week Nine – A Week of Preparation

This week was mostly spent getting ready for the final presentations next week – I can’t believe this was our last full week working in DC! 

On Monday, I worked on my section of the newsletter. I was unfortunately feeling a little under the weather, so I didn’t too much else today other than rest and crochet. On Tuesday, I was feeling better, so I worked on some budget numbers and further updating the data I’m using in Tableau. My roommate and I finished off the day by grabbing some coffee and going grocery shopping for hopefully the last time while we’re here. 

Wednesday was the day I met with my mentor to discuss what I would be doing for the remaining time of my internship. I also worked on finishing up my final presentation. After work, a group of interns and I headed over to the Kennedy Center for the national debut of RENT in Concert with the National Symphony Orchestra – it was amazing! 

On Thursday, we had our normal FYI editorial meeting, and I also watched a markup hearing for some bills currently going through the science committee that I’ll be writing about next week. I started practicing my final presentation today as well.  

On Friday, all of the interns were invited to NIST for a tour of several of the different labs throughout the complex, including Additive Manufacturing, the Trace Explosives/Forensics Lab, and the Library Musuem. It was an awesome experience to see the diversity of fields scientists can end up working in! 

Saturday was a busy day – my roommate and I headed over to Adams Morgan to get tattoos and happened to stumble upon a block party that was happening there. After getting our tattoos, we explored some of the shops and vendors around the area and ended up getting caught in a pretty nasty storm – we saw at least five felled trees walking back to the Metro! But, overall, it was a really nice day. On Sunday, we went to Michaels (remember when I said last time was the last time I would buy yarn this summer? Yeah... no), TJ Maxx, Target, and Barnes and Noble. It was another fun day of shopping, but I was definitely exhausted at the end of this busy week. 

It feels unreal that we only have a few days left in DC – this summer felt like it simultaneously took three years and two days to pass by, and I can already feel the bittersweetness of leaving creeping in. I’m nervous and excited for the final presentations, and sad to be leaving, but I’ll just have to try extra hard to cherish the time we have left. Until our next and final journal entries, have an amazing week!