summer, abridged

Whenever people ask me what I did this summer, I never know quite how to respond. Usually I say, "Oh, I interned," or "I was in DC." But this just doesn't do the past 3 months justice.So in the interest of, er, justice, here are some of the more interesting highlights.

This summer, I...

worked: on writing grant proposals and editing publications at the Asia America Initiative

taught: English to foreign language teachers at the State Department's Foreign Service Institute

researched: the development of China's civil society and language learning strategies

schmoozed: with State Department officials and diplomats; also pulled some strings at the Passport Agency in order to get my passport renewed - in 2 hours, instead of 12 weeks!

spent: way too much money. DC is ridiculously expensive, especially when you're an unpaid intern

read: about the persecution and resilience of a leader of the Chinese Christian church in The Heavenly Man; later discovered that my boss at AAI has met him!

slept: pretty much every day on the Metro during my hour long commute to work; also slept during an event in which FTC Chairman Ben Bernanke gave a talk that was just as unengaging as every day of econ 2 lecture.

sweated: like a pig. DC is HOT.

lavished: Ginger with attention and dog treats. I miss her already.

saw: lots and lots of monuments and museums. Many times. My favorites: the Spy Museum and the Lincoln memorial at night

broke: not one, but TWO pairs of heels! By the end of my internship, I was tempted to stick it to the man and wear flip flops all the time instead of real shoes

learned: to SCUBA DIVE. 'nuf said.

pondered: what I will do after college. grad school? peace corps? DoS civil service? other work? my pondering was inconclusive.

Overall, it was an amazing summer of researching, sightseeing, and scuba diving, and I'm enormously thankful for the opportunities I was given. I remember frantically applying to think tanks in March - nervous that I wouldn't have anything to do this summer. But things came together in a way that I couldn't have planned better myself. I was generously provided with free, and incredibly nice, housing with my sister and her husband (and of course, their dog). I had the chance to work both in a small nongovernmental organization and within the government bureaucracy. It was humbling to be able to meet and work with such accomplished, influential, and truly passionate people.

I close today with an anecdote from Henrietta Fore, Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance and Under Secretary of State for Management. As as a former Consular Officer, she was there in 1991 when the U.S. reopened the American Embassy in Lithuania. (After being shut out by the Iron Curtain for more than 50 years, the U.S. was only able to return after the fall of the Soviet Union.) She told the story of how, at the reopening ceremony, even grown Lithuanian men had tears in their eyes because they were so moved and overjoyed that the Americans had finally returned.

Melodramatic? Maybe. But I am, nonetheless, touched by stories like these. The Bush administration may be mired in scandal, our policies toward the Middle East misguided, our human rights record tarnished by Abu Gharib, and our civil liberties curtailed by the Patriot Act. Even so, I believe in the ideals America has come to stand for, and in the ability of the American political system to live up to these ideals by continually correcting itself of its failures and shortcomings.

My summer in DC has provided much food for thought. I can just say that Shanghai has some big shoes to fill.

7 days

Will be leaving for Shanghai in exactly 7 days. In the meantime, I've been busy stocking up on American-made toothpaste, breathing clean Minnesotan air, practicing putonghua, and enjoying my last days of fixed-price shopping.

Stay tuned for more...