Week 5: Potlucks and Paddles

Halfway through... and heartbroken about it.  

Writing this blog post is bittersweet—this week was absolutely amazing as always, and I am so sad that the internship is already halfway over. I love my job and the friends that I have made here, and I am really trying to soak it up and not think too hard about how little time we have left. As per tradition, I'm currently writing this post from the consignment (our apartment), while Taytay (Taylor Colaizzi) is giving us the lowdown on music theory. We are just chatting, watching a movie, and writing our blog posts—I know that it will likely be times like this that I will miss most when this experience is over. 

This week at work I was able to research and write my entire Émilie du Châtelet teaching guide! I went in person to ACP on four of the days, only being remote on Friday. I really do love to physically be there— hybrid work is very convenient, and I do not have the funds to be able to afford the metro every day, but it doesn't hold the same value of being there in person.  

I wrote a bit about du Châtelet in last week's post, and it has been inspiring to learn more about her. Though she excelled at the various fields of physics that she studied, she also translated many works in many different genres (as she spoke six languages), dabbled in a variety of other sectors of philosophy and academics at the time, and was an activist for her education. It seems that her and Voltaire in particular had a variety of interests, debating religion, its place in science and politics, as well as various different applications of philosophy that eventually caused Voltaire's persecution. Du Châtelet also used her wit and education to school the male scholars around her, entering various intellectual debates and changing minds around her. My favorite quote of Émilie's is from the 1735 preface of du Châtelet’s translation from Mandeville’s fables: 

“…women have a right to speak out for their education… I confess that if I were king, I would conduct the following experiment.  I would correct this abuse that has cut short a full half of the human race.  I would get women to participate in all the privileges of humanity, especially those of the mind.” 

On Thursday at work, I was also able to meet almost the entire on-site NBLA library staff for a group lunch! Audrey Lengel is currently on site from Boston this week, and it was Chip Calhoun's birthday, so a lot of the staff gathered together to have lunch and cater the occasions. Though Chip couldn't actually make it, it was wonderful to be able to really meet everyone else and chat together.... as well as play Pokémon Go with the staff...  

My mentors, Joanna, Corinne, and Audrey, have been absolutely fantastic and supportive throughout this internship. They have walked me through everything that I needed to know, and Corinne keeps going out of her way to support me, help me check things out at the library, and even dropping off useful books to my desk! I really can't express how much I appreciate all of their efforts and kindness! 

Outside of work, the week started on a high note with a beautiful day and beautiful run after getting home from ACP! After the activities on the previous Sunday, I just did my usual run and stayed in to watch a movie with some of the other interns on Monday. 

Tuesday brought some great food, with an intern potluck! After work, Janessa and I picked up some pie crust, apples, and cherries, and we made some pretty incredible empanadas. Then, almost all of the interns were able to come to our room, with everyone bringing some kind of dish to contribute. We had everything from zucchini boats to quiche to scones, and it was absolutely amazing! Everyone showed up and showed out for the potluck, and we will be holding another one soon. 

On Wednesday, Janessa, Ben, and I spontaneously decided to go to the 'Paddle the Potomac' kayaking event! The event consists of two hours of kayaking and donations to the Potomac Conservancy program. The conservancy is a great cause with some great people participating in it, and its efforts have raised the Potomac's cleanliness ranking from a D to a B- in the past two years alone! I would highly recommend looking into this event to any future interns. My family camps on lakes quite a bit throughout the year, so I have grown up kayaking all the time, and really appreciated the opportunity to do so this summer; the Potomac is beautiful from vantage points both from outside and inside of the river. 

Thursday brought out new weekly tradition: our Dungeons and Dragons campaign, being hosted by Taytay. This was out first real session, and though I am not directly participating, it was honestly hilariously entertaining to watch! Everyone is bringing their creativity and jokes... 

On Friday, we continued our usual weekly happy hour tradition, trying a new place this time. Janessa's friend Meghan was able to stay with us for some of this past weekend as well, and it was super fun to meet her and bring her along for all of our adventures. We went to Mr. Smith's of Georgetown so that we had the option of watching the sunset over the Potomac or trying Georgetown Cupcake after dinner! Andrew Zeidell was even able to join us for happy hour... though Brad stood us up (and will continue to be hazed for it). We will most definitely be taking mentors and SPS leadership to happy hour in the future if they are willing to have us : ) 

Saturday was July 2nd, so a couple of us began the fourth of July celebrations! We went out for a bit, stopped by Trader Joes for some frozen pizza and cheese board makings, and came back to consignment (our room) for some snacks and chats. Lucy and her friend Elijah also made some absolutely delicious treats, and were kind enough to bestow some of them on us at the end of the night. 

Today is Sunday, where we went on a long walk at Rock Creek Park and gathered together to have yet another movie night. We watched the most recent Thor movie to try to refresh and catch up for this coming Thursday, when the next in the series is coming out, and many of us are going to the premier. Tomorrow is also Independence Day, so we are resting up to be able to participate as much as we can in the parade, concert, and fireworks. I will update the blog on what we end up doing to celebrate in next week's post, and am looking forward to a week full of activities that we have already planned! 

Cheers to another great week!