Week #1: Adapting to City Life

After my first week here in the heart of D.C., I can safety say that I believe I have finally settled in. Life here, as you may imagine, does not quite equate to what a typical day would be like in Grafton, Vermont or Brunswick, Maine. Rather than pass by cow farms, historical one-room schoolhouses, and rolling green mountains on my way to school or to work, I am instead enshrouded by the hustle and bustle of city life: horns honk ceaselessly, buses and metro trains rush from one stop to the next, and people young and old alike emerge from the Starbucks lining each and every block and quickly stroll to their various destinations.

After a few mishaps taking the wrong bus or taking the metro a couple stops further than anticipated, I have (astoundingly) learned how to navigate the D.C. transportation system in order to get to where I need to go on a daily basis. I have also managed to locate the library on campus, printing stations, and a number of shopping areas. This is good. For the time being, it seems I will survive.

Our first set of classes was scheduled for this week, and so we spent the majority of our time discussing U.S. foreign policy on a broad, introductory level. We learned about U.S. national interests at home and abroad, and analyzed the current international arena. Much of our lecture was based around the role of various states, and their current (and historical) roles in shaping the international foreign policy sphere. After our lecture and debate, we quickly went to campus to hear former ambassador to Nigeria and current senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, John Campbell, talk about U.S. diplomacy in Africa and the increasing militarization of the continent.

I have spent the last few days working alongside my professor to narrow down my research paper topic, and have decided to tackle the issue of Ukrainian security and prospects for its integration into Europe by means of NATO or EU membership, amid its close ties with Vladimir Putin's Russia and its aggressive resistance in ceding authority over Ukraine to United States and the West. This topic is both new and exciting to me, as it's the first time I'll be able to integrate my interest in Russian with my fascination with international relations. I am hoping I'll find a way to travel to the Ukraine or to Russia next summer and continue my studies of Eurasia.

I am also thankful to have been offered a fall internship with the American Enterprise Institute's Marilyn Ware Center for Security Studies. For two and a half days a week, I will be working for co-directors Thomas Donnelly and Gary Schmitt on issues of strategic studies, national security, defense, intelligence, and the role of U.S. leadership abroad. Hopefully next week I'll be able to elaborate on what my responsibilities will be, as I'm not sure exactly what I'll be assigned to do for the scholars.

There are a lot of new and exciting things happening each day, and I look forward to continue sharing my experience with everyone. It's been great keeping up with my friends' blogs, and I think it will be amazing once we all return to Bowdoin in the spring and share everything we've all learned and experienced.

'Till next week!

Bowdoin's Ubiquitous Presence

Just when I try to escape for a semester to Washington, D.C., nearly 600 miles away from Brunswick, Maine, it seems there's no escaping Bowdoin College. During my first full day here in the heart of our nation's capital, I have run into a recent Bowdoin graduate on the street, and have learned that many other Polar Bears are within a brief metro stop away from where I live, or where I'll be going to school for the next couple of months.

After a drawn-out orientation to American University's Semester in Washington program at a church near the university's main Tenley Campus, I made my way to the newly constructed and world renowned School of International Service (SIS), where I was informed I would be having my first meeting with my Foreign Policy class and its professor, John Calabrese.

Astoundingly, I quickly found out that Professor Calabrese was once Bowdoin's associate dean of students, as well as a faculty member in the Government and Legal Studies Department. For such a small institution, I realized, it was clear that the College punches way above its weight, at least in terms of post-graduate placement in prominent positions in places like Washington; Polar Bears are everywhere, and it feels good to know that I have had the opportunity to be a part of the family.

Understanding that I have a tendency to overwrite, I will try to be concise about my arrival here in D.C., but thorough, in order to paint and accurate and detailed picture of how my time here has been so far, and what I will exactly be doing until mid-December.

The American University's (AU) Semester in Washington Foreign Policy Program allows both domestic and foreign students to work within D.C. as part-time interns for a variety of foreign policy related organizations, while simultaneously taking seminars on the subject. In my case, the program has three components: a research course that requires students to produce a research paper of about 35 - 50 pages on a relevant foreign policy topic; participation as a part-time intern for two days a week at a relevant organization or institute; and completion of a foreign policy seminar that looks at a variety of foreign policy topics, and includes frequent meetings with high-level officials and scholars who have been indispensable drivers of policy and debate here in D.C.

Thus far, it seems as if I am studying abroad in a foreign country, as the vast majority of students who I will be taking classes alongside, and the friends I have made and am living with, are from locations as far away as Japan, France, Germany, and Norway. The diversity within both the city and my classroom will undoubtedly have a valuable impact on the way I will begin to learn about issues both domestically and abroad in faraway regions such as the Middle East, to places like the Asia Pacific.

I have also found that my previous studies at Bowdoin have helped me start exciting and intriguing discussions with my fellow classmates, and with complete strangers I've come across on my exploration of the city. For example, I have enjoyed discussing the territorial island disputes between China and Japan to students I've met from Tokyo; with my friends from Germany and France, I've inquired about how they view the current Eurocrisis, and what they believe will unfold within the foreseeable future.

I also have students from Bates and Tufts in my class; interestingly, it's as though I've not stepped a foot outside the NESCAC, yet at the same time have journeyed to exotic lands far, far away from home.

And so here, I'll cut the story short and leave you hanging--at least for the time being. Within the next week, I'll be able to share much more about the internship I have (hopefully!) secured, the research project topic I've decided to pursue, and the myriad speakers I've had the chance to speak with and question. I'll also have had the chance to experience the city a little bit more, and will be happy to candidly describe my experiences to anybody who would be interested in hearing about hints, tips, tricks, or tidbits about living in D.C.

Until then, friends.