Last Day of Work, Last Weekend in DC

So, as the title of today's post would suggest, my time in DC is starting to wind down. Friday was my last day at work in Bruce Braley's office. It was a good day to wrap up work on. I got to do a good deal of my usual tasks, including answering crazy peoples' phone calls, entering mail, and collecting signatures. The office threw me a little party with some cookies and we chatted about my experience. Some time next week I am going back into the office to chat with Bruce about my experience as well. Fittingly, the last phone call I answered was a wrong number. As I think I've said several times, I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience working in the Braley office, and my co-workers in particular.

This weekend I took advantage of the fact that I'm not working this week and can use the days for homework and did some last minute sight seeing. On saturday we went to see the National Christmas Tree in the ellipse near the White House. While it's not the prettiest tree, it's neat that its actually a live tree that grows there. We also got pictures with the smaller trees surrounding it that were dedicated to our particular states, and a group shot with Santa. After that we went up in the old post office tower to get a sweet view of the city. Then we headed over to the ESPN Zone to eat, play arcade games, and watch Florida and USC lose. Today, I went to the Basillica of the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart at the Catholic University. It is the largest Catholic church in North America, and one of the ten largest churches in the world. It was pretty cool to see all of the religious spaces and I took advantage and prayed in a few of the chapels that I felt a particular connection to.

I also have started having my lasts of several things I've been doing regularly. In addition to the fact that this was the last weekend, I had my last trip to farmer's market, my last Sunday afternoon brunch, and my last Sunday evening Mass. I'll continue to update you on all of my lasts and how the semester wraps up. While I can't wait to be home, this has been a fantastic experience and I wouldn't trade the experience or the friends I've made for anything.

Later,
Jes