Week 2

Class Started

Monday

Today was our first day of class! We started off the day by filling out some surveys, then went into the fun part. Simulation day was so much fun. I had the opportunity to do a mock hearing. It was so funny doing it because all of us tried to get into our roles of Republican or Democrat. I enjoyed seeing everyone put their all into it. After the simulation, we ate some beef and chicken tacos. By around that time, I got so full that I thought I was headed into a food coma. However, when I saw that they handed out candy and pop fidgets, I got so excited. It made the next presentation enjoyable. The presentation went over harassment in the workplace. After this presentation, we went over to talk to our supervisors and had meetings with them. This section got us all on our feet and thinking. It was about when to meet with our supervisors. At the end of CHCI programming, we wrote a letter to our future selves. That way, we can read back on it at the end of the internship to see how much we all grew. It was a reflective time for all of us to see in which areas we would like to grow during our stay in Washington, DC. I am excited to start my internship tomorrow and tell you all how it went.

Side note, we also did our takeover on this day, so don't forget to see our HEP/CAMP Instagram story.

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Getting Lost to Work

Wednesday

I woke up early to get to my placement, and thank goodness, it was not far. It was a 15-minute walk from the dorms, which was nice. I started off the day by saying hi to everyone at the office, then went straight to work. Today, some people from my office brought pastries, which were so good. I forgot to eat breakfast, so this was a great way to start the morning.

After, I began working on my other tasks. Once the work day ended, I went to my dorm and got ready to go to the pool with HEP/CAMP friends. When I went to the pool, it was indoors, and the water felt warm. I did not enjoy it as much as I would have liked. However, it was fun with my friends around. Later that day, one of my friends made enchiladas, which were really good. However, one of my friends burnt the rice. We still ate it.

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Work from home

Friday

Today was my last day working in the office for this week. Tomorrow is work from home. I get a few extra minutes of sleep, which I am happy about. When I entered the office, I was told that they would provide lunch today. I was so happy about that because it meant I would try something new. Today I tried a restaurant called Arepa Zone. I did not know what to order because everything looked so good, but I ended up choosing the Pabellon Bowl Beef. This bowl was so yummy, it had fried plantains, white rice, beef roast, and beans. I do not know if it was the hunger or not, but I loved this dish so much.

After my day at work, I headed to the gym with my HEP/CAMP friend. It was really fun, as I have not been to the gym in a while. We decided to cancel our gym efforts and go to a pasta restaurant. The restaurant we decided to go to was recommended by TikTok. Usually, I never go to places this app recommends to me because I end up not liking them. I wanted to believe this time was different, so I went. The ambience of the restaurant was perfect. It gave a Renaissance-themed. Something that we did not take into account was the prices. I thought it would be $20 for some pasta, but then I read $40. For a second, I thought my eyes deceived me. Turns out it was $40! I internally cried because the waiter had already seated us. We thought it would be better to get one pasta and split it. Before the pasta came, they brought us some bread. The bread was delicious, but it was not heated enough. When the actual meal came, it looked delicious. We both ate it all! It was good and worth the price, as the portion was huge. Would I go again? Probably not. I do recommend trying this place at least once; it is called Filomena Ristorante.

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Sightseeing

Saturday

Today was an important day for me as I was going to visit the Holocaust Memorial Museum. I had told my friends ahead of time that I had booked their tickets online so they could go. I wanted to see and experience the memorial museum in Washington, DC. I had gone once before to a Holocaust Museum, but that was in Los Angeles. The first time I went, I did nothing but cry. The stories were heavy, but it was important to remember. That is the reason I wanted to go today. When I entered the museum and started reading how it all began, I was angry. I think throughout the whole thing, I was very emotional. I got to see the bunk beds in which they slept, and I saw the transportation they used to take individuals to the gas chambers. Something that struck me the most was when I was reading a booklet with different individuals who were talking about what the experience was like. One of them had mentioned they had to wear wooden shoes while working, and it got to a point where their feet would continue to bleed. Another person said that they couldn't identify their parents or siblings because everybody looked the same. They said in order to identify someone, they had to use their name, so instead of "mom," they had to say "Mom Helen." This hurt to read because I immediately thought of the children who were there all alone. There was an individual who stood out to me. His name was Wilhelm Brasse. Wilhelm Brasse was forced to take pictures of prisoners at Auschwitz. When he was ordered, toward the end of the war, to delete every photo, he refused. Instead he saved all the photographs in order to show evidence of Nazi crimes. All these stories were heartbreaking. After the museum, I decided to make my first museum purchase. I bought the Diary of Anne Frank. I never got the opportunity to read her book, so I was looking forward to getting it.

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After the museum, we went to the Pride Parade. We were all quieter than usual, so we wanted to lighten the mood. Some of us couldn't go, but I ended up going. The Pride Parade was awesome!! It was hot and humid that day, so I do not know how I made it through. The parade was so nice. Everybody walking and cheering was amazing. It felt like unity. I enjoyed that everybody brought great vibes, and the freebies were so cool. I did not end up getting a freebie. Unfortunately, I was not close enough to the fence to win something. After an hour, we decided to head out because it was too hot. There were so many people that we decided that it was the best action. I was a little sad about leaving because there were so many fun activities going on today. However, I couldn't take it with the heat. I mean I thought I was stronger than this because Fresno heat is way worse. I guess I was wrong.

I was getting hungry later in the day, and I thought it would be fun to get pastries from Whole Foods. I got a selection of a bunch of different pastries and tasted them with HEP/CAMP friends. It was nice seeing their reaction to tiramisu. I personally like it, and they also liked it. The other pastries were good, but the one that disappointed me was the chocolate cupcake. It did not even taste like chocolate. After dessert, we went to get ramen. I got the Tokyo Hot Ramen. It was so yummy, and the broth was perfect. I really enjoyed it.