Jacob's Blog

Firstly, I’d like to give a short explanation as to why I didn’t post a blog yesterday.. Long story short… I was in the Holocaust Museum and had my water bottle in my bag. Apparently the top wasn’t on all the way… and water leaked ALL over EVERYTHING! My laptop is having slight issues, and my metro ticket and cash were soaked. I had a long walk home! haha. Anyway, things are fine now; my computer screen’s just a little screwy.

Moving on.. Today was the last day of my internship! Today we got to choose what kind of job/work we wanted to do. I cataloged for a bit and worked with scanned images. After work, Jim took us out for ice cream! Everything was very chill and relaxed, despite it raining all day. Tonight I went out for Ethiopian food with some friends I met at the hostel. It was quite tasty! Although, instead of forks/spoons/utensils, they use a piece of wet flat bread to pick up their food.. It was different. haha.

Tomorrow I leave the hostel around 7:45 a.m. Next, I have to catch the metro to the bus. After the bus, I have to get on my plane from Baltimore to Chicago. And finally, Chicago to Nashville! Phew!

Final Comments:
This has been an amazing experience.. The friends I’ve made and the people I’ve met have been amazing, literally. The amount of culture that I’ve experienced is wild! This has been the greatest experience I’ve ever encountered, and that is not an overstatement! haha. I truly feel blessed to have been given the chance to meet so many great people, work in a highly respectable museum, and learn so much from others. I also feel fortunate to not have really gotten lost or come across any bed bugs/bad accommodations. Culture, knowledge of maps, architecture of historical buildings, giant museums, great food, and efficient metro systems… they are all here. Hopefully you’ll be able to experience all of this for yourself one day.

See (most of) you guys tomorrow/next week!
Jacob J.

So, my two other German roommates, Evelyn and Simon, left this morning. Although, I do plan to keep in touch with them. I haven’t met my new roommates yet, but I did meet some new people downstairs in the kitchen. I had dinner with two British guys, one French Canadian girl, and one Austrian/Japanese guy. We all spoke English with each other, but a few of them knew German, and I spoke some French with the Canadian. One of the Brits seemed pretty lively and really showed us some “British humor”, a.k.a. very witty and quick.. and sometimes crude and dry. hah. It’s amazing though… the amount of exposure that an American can experience in his/her own country! :) If you can’t travel abroad, travel to the places that foreigners go to! haha. It works!

Work went well today. Jim, my boss, had me start on a new project. I feel like I’m learning so much! (which is great, of course) The maps that have been cataloged and scanned are then photoshopped, and that’s what I did today! I got a crash course on how to enhance details/colors/borders etc. It took me a good 4 hours for one set of maps… haha. But! At least I got to sit down instead of standing up all day. We also tried to move around some old, rusty filing cabinets.. until I cut my hand on the corner of one of them :-/ So, we’re saving the rest of that project for tomorrow! Although, I wouldn’t have been able to lift the filing cabinets if it weren’t for my brother, Jeremy. He’s training me to be a true manzie! ;)

Below are Evelyn and Simon :)

Everybody wants a thrill! Well, today has once again been a VERY productive day. Sorry it’s taken me so long to post today’s blog… just one of those days. Today, I arrived at the museum and was allowed to view the Sant Ocean Hall before the public. Giants squids, huge bones of ancient fish, and so many more fossils. I also got free donuts today! :D YAY! Thanks to Mary Sangrey, the head of the interns. We got a special look inside the Butterfly Exhibit and a special session on plant anatomy (it is the museum of NATURAL history afterall). Even though I’m not a science major, I was still able to appreciate the work and effort that these scientists have to put into their work. It’s rather amazing! The detail.. the precision… and sometimes, the monotony… haha.

As far as work goes, we cataloged maps like crazy! My boss, Jim, is sometimes eccentric and reminds me of a mad scientist. But, he’s great! I feel fortunate to have been placed under the direction of somebody who truly enjoys what he does. Once again, the weather was beautiful today. It may rain tomorrow and for the next few days, but I’ve been lucky so far!

I spent the evening with my other German roommates; they’re leaving tomorrow. :( I’ve gotten kind of close to them… But, oh well. That’s how it goes. I’ve been staying up far too late, especially if I need to get up around 7. hah! Also, I tried cooking a pizza in the oven.. FAIL. It was all kinds of disaster with that pizza.. Although, it was still edible :)

Oh! And I visited the National Air and Space Museum today. Awesome. Simply, awesome. I’ve heard that it’s one of the cooler museums, and it’s true! I’ll get some pictures up of today’s events.

don’t stop…
Jacob

http://www.nmnh.si.edu/rtp/other_opps/intern/interns.html

Hello all! Today I started my internship! Believe it or not, I WAS on time! Ok.. I did go to the wrong entrance initially, but other than that, everything went well. There are 3 other girls interning with me. Two actually go to school in Indiana (Butler and Notre Dame). The other girl goes to school in PA. I’ve learned the quick and hard way how to read maps… and I mean READ maps, not just look at them. Wow! haha. I got a crash course in degrees/latitude/longitude/etc. I mean, I’ve learned it all before, but it’s been awhile since I’ve had to use it. We are cataloging and scanning maps into their system. It’s rather interesting. We have maps from all over the world with all kinds of details! The maps were used by those who have done research for the Botany/Mammal/Geology departments. Today I scanned maps from Japan… random? Yes, a bit random. But, it was fun, nonetheless. I’ve already experienced many of the wonders of having backstage privileges. Discounts on food and merchandise, and getting to walk in the “Restricted Sections”. Tomorrow, the interns will get to visit a couple exhibits that will only be open for us. Everything’s turning out quite well!

I visited a few other museums today as well. The Smithsonian Museum of American History and the Smithsonian Freer Gallery of Art. There is so much in these museums!! It seems like one could make an entire day’s trip out of visiting just one of them.

Side note: My roommates have COMPLETELY changed now. The Parisians have left. Now, there are two germans, one woman from what used to be Yugoslavia (she’s a bit older…), and a guy from Lithuania. Currently, the last two are arguing about the Soviet Union… and stuff. Yikes. Anyway! I gotta get up early tomorrow for work!

Well! Today has been a VERY successful day. I’ve already posted some of the pictures that I’ve taken today. There are MANY more pictures… but tumblr will only let me upload so many at one time. haha. I had a great time yesterday evening. I played monopoly with my new french friends, and I got decimated! Nonetheless, I had an amazing time putting my French to good use. I plan to keep in contact with them. So, if… no, WHEN I go to Paris, I’ll have somebody to visit!

Marc and I left the hostel around 9 a.m. this morning and didn’t finish our day till 7:30 p.m. ish. What a day! Great weather, clear skies. I start my internship at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History tomorrow. I’m planning on getting there around 8:40 ish. Orientation begins at 9. Wish me luck! I can’t wait to tell you guys how tomorrow goes! :D

Oh, where to start?! I’m completely overwhelmed, in an amazing kind of way! I’m currently sitting in my youth hostel with a group of students from Paris! They are eating dinner, while I drop some eaves! (French is my minor). This evening, I met a guy from Germany, and we walked around D.C. together. I’ve already visited the Washington Monument, White House, the Capitol, and ChinaTown! I haven’t taken any pictures of D.C. yet, those will come tomorrow! I’m sitting next to a group of students speaking Spanish.. I think. haha. The weather today was beautiful! The flight went well. While trying to go through security, I tried to take my carry on through the metal detector… WHOOPS! I was nervous most of the time, but it all turned out very well.

Tomorrow, my German friend, Marc, and I are going to meet up with one of his other friends and continue touring D.C. The French students are about to play Monopoly… I think I’m gonna ask if I can join!!!