That Random Hole in the Wall

Joyce Choi

Blog #2

6/15/18

That Random Hole in the Wall

This week was another great week altogether, but I’m still learning to get to know and adjust to city life, since I’m hailing from the southern suburbs.

First off, this metro transportation system is too much for me. I have a 40 minute commute to get to my internship site, and it’s always rush hour time which means that it’s packed, and everyone’s bumping into everybody and people are running around trying to get to their jobs. Not to mention, I’m not good with directions so I get lost pretty easily. Normally, that wouldn’t be a problem because that means inadvertent adventuring, but it’s not fun when I’m sleep deprived and rushing to make it to work on time; that was one of the worries I had, but I got lucky because one of the other interns through EYA is on the same street as me with her internship, and she’s from Chicago, so she’s used to metro transportation. I just follow her around; thank God for her.

My internship has been going really well. It’s structured off of doing a huge research project about a social justice issue along with other typical intern duties. I chose to do my research project on the death penalty abolition, which is proving to be both interesting and a lot of work. I also had to help out with distributing boxes filled with objects needing to be sent out for an event. That entailed gift wrapping the package boxes to cover up the “priority mailing” sign because it wasn’t supposed to be sent out as priority mail, but those were the only boxes the office had. I was unfortunately the only one who knew how to gift wrap, but it was fun because it felt like Christmas again!

We also had a dinner with the General Secretary, Rev. Dr. Susan Henry-Crowe, and something that really stood out to me was when she was talking about how she really enjoys working with the younger generation and going out of her way to talk and walk with them. It was encouraging to hear because I don’t know many adults who advocate for an intergenerational community, which is a concept that I really support and want churches to have if possible.

Finally, I want to end on a fun note. I’m a huge foodie so I’m probably going to try and write down what my favorite restaurant or food was for the week. This week, I’d have to say a random hole in the wall (that I unfortunately don’t remember the name of because we just stumbled upon it), where I got Japanese style ramen. I’m having trouble finding it again but hope that I can before I have to leave DC.

Also, the quote of the week that inspired me and that I would like to live by is: “I’d never ask someone to do something that I wouldn’t do myself.” One of the guests for the seminar, Jonathan Hutto, said that, and I actually really liked it and want to always remember that as I take on more leadership roles in the future.