Thanksgiving saved—a U.S. holiday goes international

I wasn’t looking forward to Thanksgiving this year. I couldn’t afford a plane ticket home and would be celebrating a day of thanks alone. But I unexpectedly had the best Thanksgiving this fall when I spontaneously decided to host an international thanksgiving feast last week.

I was certain my Nov. 25 day of gratitude would end in tears of loneliness when all my roommates ditched me for New York and home. So—aware that the international students in my program had never had a “Thanksgiving” celebration—I settled on announcing a potluck dinner at my apartment. Everyone in my program was invited to partake in America’s holiday.

To be honest, I didn’t know how the festivities would turn out. I worried my foreign friends also would take a bus to New York or leave to visit Boston or Florida. Furthermore, there was a possibility that the rather large, 15-pound turkey I’d purchased would burn the apartment down, or someone would choke on an eggshell while eating my pumpkin pie.

But I must say thanks be to God … it turned out perfectly.

Everybody came to my party with helpings of their own native dishes. We had the traditional stuffing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie and cranberries, but also pasta from my Italian friend, two of the best salads with a Russian twist, some kind of chicken dumplings, stew and various desserts.

My turkey—which I’d actually cleaned, stuffed and cooked by myself—didn’t burn the apartment down and tasted good!

We actually had too much food, and I’m still eating leftovers.

Before we started eating, I implored my friend Ajjo to lead us in Thanksgiving grace. Aware that there were Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindis and agnostics in the room, he was too nervous to offend anyone with a prayer. Yet the holiday, I thought, centers on being thankful to God, not food. God must have guided my words, as I led the prayer for our Thanksgiving feast and everyone joined in! Without calling on names of the “higher power” we believed in, each person contributed what he or she was most thankful for.

In a 25-minute timeframe, sitting around the table, we gave thanks for almost everything I could think of. Students were truly grateful for the opportunity to learn while traveling and experiencing the world, having the education many can’t afford, for past friendships and the new ones we shared, and family back home.

I whispered thanks for my best friend, my Love, back home, then one more thanks for the occasion with my foreign friends—my forecasted Thanksgiving doom turned into the best holiday yet.

Fun and Education in NYC

Thanks to the Ford Motor Company, our program had a nice fieldtrip to New York City last Monday. We were fortunate enough to tour the United Nations and see the world’s political stage.

Hoping to visit the city for a few days, a few interns and I left for NYC on Saturday before Monday’s event. That being said, “Megabus” might be the best thing that has happened to quick-fix vacations. I only paid $15 for the entire five-hour trip.

Megabus

From the window

Elif snoring

I stayed with one of my “besties,” at the Julliard School apartments at Lincoln Center.

Meet Vicky—my inspiration, my friend

Vicky and I danced for the same ballet company for many years, and it was so wonderful to see my old friend’s smile! Luckily for me, Victoria and her fellow dancers had a dress rehearsal that Sunday. I was invited to observe the performance. We spent Saturday and Sunday night “touristing,” as Vicky calls it, around New York. We walked around Times Square and road the subway down to Southern Manhattan.

Dancing by the Seaport

Chasing the pigeons … I have this odd infatuation with chasing birds and watching them fly away.

We also ate cupcakes at the famous Magnolia Bakery and bargained with merchants in Chinatown.

Cupcakes at Magnolias

Monday morning I awoke excited for what I presumed would be the best programming of the semester. I was right—the UN tour was absolutely amazing.

Here are some highlights:

This picture truly haunted me… look at the fear in that poor seal’s eyes.

This was a peacekeeper memorial for volunteers who died in the cause of duty—God bless their souls.

Articles in the UN Charter

This triangle represents the world’s financial spending: Note, the small pieces represent money given to anti-poverty projects, HIV/AIDS prevention, environmental sustainability, trade agreements or development assistance … the large read portion at the top? Military spending. How sad.

Bred from childhood

The flame of Peace

Disarmament

...And THIS is where is all goes down!!! The United Nations General Assembly. So cool.

Needless to say, I slept most of the way home from NYC exhaustion.

Fresh Air

This week brought me a breath of fresh air—Grandma and Papa came from Michigan to visit me! The Friday through Monday span was great, and I showed my grandparents favorite spots in D.C.

Some highlights?

Ruth Chris Steak House—Oh, my goodness! I'd never had a steak so tender I could cut it with a spoon. The meal was amazing; but if you go, prepare to throw-down a wad of money for food expenditure!

We visited National Geographic and admired the photos from all around the world. We did the traditional night walk on the mall, respectfully praying in silence at the Vietnam, Korean and World War II memorials. I took grandma to the National Portrait Gallery while Papa spent a few hours in the International Spy Museum.

World War II Memorial

College students playing kickball on the Mall

After Grandma and Papa left, my roommate Annie, Juli and I returned to the Mall to sit at our “spot.” Good ol’ Abe and I are pretty good friends these days! I enjoy sitting between the second and third column to the right side of his “house.” Most tourists sit on the steps overlooking the Washington Monument and the Capitol building, but I’ve found a quite, vacant spot on the outskirt of the Abe’s memorial.

Hey, Abe! … Who is this dude beside me?

The spot. Chilin'

The weekend was great to take my mid off work and school demands. In fact, I dare say things are starting to wind down. (Knock on wood!!!) I have one more Arabic class and about three more scholarship applications due, but for the most part, I’ve entered into a breathing time! So, if I could live through the past five weeks, I can take on the next four in wrapping things up here in D.C.

"Thanks, Mr. Chair"

Last weekend I attended the Model United Nations-D.C. conference, representing the Philippines in the U.N. General Assembly Plenary. Located at the School for Advanced International Studies at John Hopkins University, I spent about 25 hours of the weekend in a small room crammed with over 60 people representing states around the globe.

States

“Thank you, Mr. Chair, and welcome fellow delegates. The Philippine delegation moves for a 35 minute caucus to enable working papers clear progress before closing the Speakers’ List. Thank you.”

I couldn’t believe students actually used the formal and flowery language of the U.N. At first if was hard not to laugh; but after a few hours “the fluff” became second nature.

Terrorism, Africa’s development and migration were the topics of debate—though the GA Plenary focused mostly on terrorism. Siding with the island nations and the South America block, my allies drafted a working paper proposing a stronger hand on Norco-terrorism. Relying on the sale of illegal drugs such as poppies or cocaine, a great number of terrorist groups stay afloat solely because of drug trafficking funds. Our anti-Norco-terrorism bill called for an internal organization for stopping and enforcing stronger regulation on narcotic trafficking.

Aleksey and Annie

But our paper had a second point that would drastically effect our first proposition: Recognizing the main reason why poor farmers resort to growing illegal drugs — the great influx of money to feed their malnourished families — we called the new organization, along with participating states, to help fund farmers with subsidies. Subsidies for the poor encourage the growth of legal crops by allowing poor farmers to actually make a living. Resultantly, the farmers would need not resort to growing and selling illegal, harmful narcotics to make a decent living. Therefore, the production of narcotics used for funding terrorism would drop, hindering terrorist networks.
Lastly, our working paper called for that which any powerful state demands—totally respect of state sovereignty. To keep nations happy, we stressed that the newly proposed organization would be voluntary.

Our working paper passed the GA by a 2/3 vote!

After partaking in the mock-UN conference for a mere three days, I can easily see why people get frustrated in large international inter-governmental organizations: lack of cooperation among self-interested states, limited time and no political will for compromise. It’s discouraging when nothing gets done! Yet the UN truly is one of a kind. It feeds millions of the 930 million people currently living in poverty. Its agencies house refugees in times of struggle and serve as a peacemaker for vying nations. When and where else would people of such separate agendas and interests come together for the common good of mankind?

Speaking of the U.N., my program will be traveling to New York City in two weeks to visit and tour the actual United Nations in southern Manhattan. Needless to say, I’m siked!!! Stay tuned for that entry in two weeks!

Roomie talk—politics, advice for life and brownies

I’ve covered my internship; I’ve covered my fun. But I’ve left out a critical and perhaps most important aspects of my stay in D.C. — I owe a shout-out to my roomies.

I actually met two of my three roommates prior to my arrival in Washington. About a week after my acceptance into the Ford Motor Co. Program, I received a random “friend request” on my Facebook from a girl in Michigan. Annie, I discovered, was in the Ford Program. Chatting online about potential internship placements and D.C., we had no idea we’d be stuck living together.

From my college experiences, I know that most new acquaintances are shy, or stay calm and collect at first introduction. But when I first walked in Apartment 1601, Annie jumped up from her chair and hugged me in welcome. She was as bubbly as I was (although I remain “the ditzy blond” of our apartment). With an obsession with the Legislative Process, a passion for singing and an outspoken attention-demanding voice, I found an immediate accord in Annie’s energy and thoroughly admired the respect everyone seemed to give her. Annie’s knowledge of domestic politics and reasoning for her strong democrat alignment not only educated me in the explanations behind particular liberal positions, but helped me further define my own political nook—agreeing and disagreeing with her values.

Whether I need a laugh after stressing from homework, or simply boyfriend advice, Annie is always there with open arms … literally. When she knows I’m upset, she just looks at me and opens her arms for a hug. It actually makes me laugh. I guess she’s taken on the “mom” role for me in D.C., and for her advice and encouragement, I owe her so much.

Now in regards to my focus in global politics and international relations, I couldn’t have been better blessed with another roommate beside Elif. If I have a question about international politics, I go to my Turkish friend Elif. After picking her brain with questions, Elif has patiently shared her thoughts and knowledge on international hardball and cross-religious disputes. She knows, and supports her loyalties with vigor passion—I’ve learned a great deal.

As an American Turk, she’s brings … well let’s just say a breath of fresh air to any argument. But what’s even better is her ability to joke. Unlike many who get stuffy at being picked on, Elif actually makes fun of herself all the time. Witty and sarcastic, she can laugh at almost any joke. She’s obsessed with the color pink, sparkly jewelry and garlic. Should I add high maintenance? For that I call her amelah turkeea … “Turkish Princess” in Arabic. She calls me feelee … in Arabic, “my elephant.” (This truly captures our jokingly abusive relationship.)


Speaking of cultured people, might I add that Annie is half Hispanic and my last roommate, Krystara, is Native American? Along with “Blondie,” I’m the culturally-deficient, plain American and bland one of the group. (They laugh when I say this.)

Krystara hails from Washington state, she’s a Macaw Indian … AND she wears feathers (only for ceremonies, but we like to highlight that detail). We call her Buttercup — but don’t ask me why. Annie just started calling her Buttercup our first week in D.C. Krystara is going to school for physical therapy, and is definitely the calm, collected one of our group. She’s sugar sweet, and I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen her angry.

Cooking Dinner

To paint greater detail of our group, I added a list of pictures of our favorite things:

Midnight anti-stress brownies

See, we’re all interns, students and also community volunteers. Thus, we’re ridiculously busy, and consequently, we stress. This often means sleepless nights, worrying about getting everything done! But never fear … I simply make brownies from scratch at 1 a.m.

Eating “giant pizza” at Adams Morgan

Obviously, we love to eat! But this pizza might dominate all other foods. I want one right now.

Laptops

They might be our favorite tangible things. Yes—most definitely. The only sad thing is we don’t ever leave them alone, and computers, email, research, news Web sites and Facebook dominate our lives. Too bad I recently broke my laptop and have to buy an entirely new one! Any suggestions on branding? I’ve been “computerless” for about a month!

Head Under Water

I normally keep a busy agenda—but in the past two weeks, I’ve been struggling to say afloat with this hectic and demanding schedule.

Beside my internship, Monday programming and Thursday night classes for my program, I’ve taken advantage of D.C.’s various volunteer opportunities. Since I love to write, and I’m looking to get the most experience possible, I took on the position of editor for the Ford Motor Company Global Scholar’s newsletter. Entitled “Care for the World,” our tri-semester online newsletter features articles by the Ford Fellows regarding international affairs, government and the U.N. Millennium Development Goals. As editor of the newsletter, I collect and recruit students to write about their passions or concerns. I edit drafts, compose my own articles and send them to my advisor to be put on the Ford website. (View “Care for the World” at www.twc.edu/ford!)

Outside of our program, I joined an Israeli-Palestinian peace advocacy project. Every other Friday night, about 15 students and I get together to study the on-going conflict and prepare ourselves for lobbying. In late November, we’ll be on Capitol Hill talking with Senators and Reps., pushing for a two-state solution and pre-1967 borders in the region. Firstly, however, our group stresses the discontinuation of Israeli settlement expansion. The conflict is very twisted and so deeply rooted, built up from years without a bona fide agreement for peace. And the longer the solution is put off, the greater hatred is propelled. Actually, it’s very sad: a resolution should have been made years ago. If something isn’t done soon, I fear an escalation that will bite Palestine, Israel and the U.S. in the butt. To prevent an all-out “holy war,” we need a solution now.

Speaking of the Middle East, I think it’d be cool to mention I’m currently taking Arabic class in D.C. as well. Upon learning that Arabic was considered one of about 10 “critical” languages for businesses and government relations, my roommate Elif and I set out to find a beginning Arabic class in Washington. We visited the Middle East Institute in early September to inquire about classes. The next thing I knew I was enrolled in an eight-hour per week intensive language study. Since mid-September—and continuing through early November—I spend about four hours on Saturday and Sunday in a five-person Arabic class right off Dupont Circle. The very first day of class, my teacher claimed Arabic was easy to learn. “You write what you hear, and there are no tricks like English,” he said. Posh! It’s anything but easy. The sounds are different; you have to lean a new alphabet and the four ways to write each letter, so on so forth. It’s difficult, it’s intense, but I thoroughly enjoy studying the language.

Although I’m currently in a worried state, with my head under water from too many plans, I couldn’t/wouldn’t give up any activity for free time. The newsletter allows me to write about things I care about, and help other students enjoy the same expression. The advocacy group is a cause I feel very passionate about, and the group is something I wouldn’t have found in my hometown. It’s a civic engagement I couldn’t find anywhere beside D.C., and for that I’m grateful for the opportunity. Likewise, I don’t regret signing on to Arabic classes. Although I’m probably the slowest learner and last to pick up new words in our class, I recognize the language will further my career and allow me to engage studies of the Middle East as I haven’t before.

The Internship

From my past few entries, you might think I’m on a vacation—sightseeing, attending galas, frolicking around D.C., etc. But I don’t want to mislead you. My schedule is anything but lax, and today I’ll highlight my work at my internship.

I chose to intern with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration for two reasons: The first was to get a taste of public service or government work. The second reason was to further my writing skills in the Commercial Service’s Office of Communication and Marketing. Before I accepted the offer, my supervisor assured me I’d actually be writing—not answering phones, making copies and opening mail. He’s kept his promise, and with my choice I’ve been content.

A typical day:

I leave for the Metro at about 8:10 a.m. each day and return around 6 p.m. The bulk of my work is writing press releases for new embassy or office openings, announcing important events, or featuring companies and new contracts between American businesses and foreign firms. I’ve written about eight press releases used at U.S. embassies abroad including the countries Oman, Brunei, Libya, Cyprus and Nicaragua. The press releases are sent to the State Department, checked for any factual errors (hopefully none), translated into the desire country’s language, then shipped to our embassies and sent to the nation’s media. Consequently, I can’t read a single word of the final product’s translated pages.

My supervisor also has me writing success stories for businesses that have exported, witnessed a great increase in annual sales, hired more employees and therefore contributed to the local economy.

Last Thursday I worked with a specialty vehicle, manufacturing company in Ontario, Calif., writing a press release on a recent bloodmobile sale to Qatar. Upon getting the story and learning of the company’s great success, my simple press release draft turned into a two-day event honoring the firm. The city mayor agreed to highlight the new company’s simultaneous contributions to California’s economy and Qatar’s healthcare. I finished the release on the company, its latest sale, local employee growth and even wrote the speech the mayor used to present the award (speechwriting is a first for me!). Now the Secretary of Commerce is considering presenting a Department award to the same company.

My internship has been great. But since my tasks focus on international business, veering from my personal focus on international affairs and diplomacy, I’ve been using my out-of-class time to absorb the international political arena. I attend events, sit in on committee meetings and listen to speakers at least once a week.

So far I’ve heard Senator John Kerry (yes, former presidential candidate) grill newly appointed ambassadors to Turkey and Libya in a Senate Foreign Relations committee hearing; I’ve listened to five Pakistani journalists tell their stories about the challenges of reporting amongst death threats, religious extremism and a strict, regulatory government; I’ve listened to one political analyst’s thesis on Romanian minority language suppression; and I’ve attended two debates regarding the future of U.S.-Iraqi occupation.

Beside the events, Monday programming with The Washington Center has also enriched my knowledge in international affairs. For example: Last week, the Ford Fellow interns and I had breakfast with the Brazilian ambassador to the U.S. He talked about his country’s success and future challenges in meeting the Millennium Development Goals, and answered any questions we had regarding Brazilian policy.

The Brazillian Ambassador to the U.S. ... and the Ford Girls

Each Monday members of the Ford Program hear lectures represent the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, environmental stability activists or Africa’s development. We’ve also visited non-profits such as Bread for the World, headquartered in D.C. James Clyburn, House majority whip, motivated us last Monday to find our “nook” in the world, focus our passions and make a difference.

I feel like I’ve had a little piece of everything, yet there is still so much to do. I’ll cover more next week.

Cinderella for a night

Last Monday, I was Cinderella for a night—the dress, the gala, the whole shebang. But whereas Disney’s princess was looking for a prince, my eyes searched for potential “contacts” for networking.

My roommate and me at the gala

The Washington Center holds a black-tie gala to promote the internship program’s mission and gain more support each year. I was one of about 15 students honored to attend. The evening event took place at the Newseum, which only recently re-opened from renovation. It was gorgeous! The museum, dedicated to print and broadcast journalism, flaunted large glass windows, terrace balconies and six floors of activities relating to broadcasting and print media education. I—a journalism major—had a blast! I even got to broadcast in front of the White House! Well … more like pretend to broadcast in front of the White House. But even for the “everyday, non-journalism public,” the Newseum was surprisingly entertaining.

Broadcasting at the Newseum... "brought to you from the White House."

"I know of no human being that has a better time than an eager and energetic young reporter." With this, I concur....

The highlight of my night, however, wasn’t the museum.

Business owners, Congressmen, broadcasters and TWC alumni gathered in their evening-best. Four students presented achievement awards to Bob Schieffer, CBS News broadcaster; Brain Lamb, founder of C-SPAN; James Clyburn, House majority whip; and Texas Senator Kay Hutchinson, fourth-highest ranking Republican senator. Taking note that each person around me sipping chardonnay was a potential contact, mentor or employer, I turned on some serious networking radar!

I met the senior director of federal government affairs for Comcast, the communications manager of the Ford Motor Co.’s Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility, the president of government affairs for Ford and some of my sponsors for the Ford Global Scholars program. Although I’ve basically set my mind on public service, that night I learned a great deal about the basics of “Corporate America” and the benefits of working in international business. The Ford Program sponsors told me that, as a Ford Scholar, I have an advantage for a future job with their company. Whereas I thought they’d be only interested in engineers or business sales reps, it turns out they need writers, communication majors and people interested in international relations. I’ll have to give the possibilities some additional thought, but I definitely plan to contact the people I met again soon.

The Gala

As for the rest of the night—the food was excellent; I enjoyed dressing up; and I was very amused when my roommates presented awards on the HDTV screen (I lovingly laughed at them). After the event, when the waiters were beginning to clear the dinner tables, my Russian friend Aleksey decided he had to save the centerpiece flowers (the waiters were throwing them away). Long story short—my friends and I returned home carrying heavy vases of green roses. I spilled the water on my dress … several times, actually. But for a short few days, while the flowers remain alive, I have a souvenir from the evening mounted on my dresser.

Flower Saving Friends

What a fun night.