The treats & tricks of being a temporary Washingtonian #1

This is an anecdote from my experiences as I reorient myself to D.C.

Unwittingly, I played out a scene straight from "Children of a Lesser God." You see I'm in D.C. to intern at National Public Radio. I'll live in D.C. for three months. I need to find a "permanent" place to live. The Hilltop Hostel won't suffice. It doesn't have that much magic. On Friday the 7th, I followed-up on an advert for a room to rent. It was near Gallaudet University. Now, the hostel has a PC. One with DSL. But it has no printer. I could have printed the mapquest page at the DC public library, but I didn't think that I'd become so lost.

So, because I couldn't print the map, I wrote reasonable directions relative to what was perpendicular from Florida Ave. Whoops! Who knew?! By the way, I'm not good with directions. I thought in terms of it being North East from Florida Ave. I walked in the heat for twenty minutes in the wrong and opposite direction. I was tired already and frustrated, wearing a layer of sweat that was drying in patches. At the end of the twenty minutes I asked some of the brothers for directions. The common response was, "Jeez, that's all the way over there!" His tone and gesture boded poorly for me. I start my internship on Monday. My first hunt for a room is going this poorly from the start?

The guy suggested a bus. I'm comfortable with the metro rail. Not with the buses. In my condition, I can get lost again or finally find my way on my own - I hope so, truly. I don't want my ignorance of the bus system to compound my stress.

I call the building owner to confirm how far on or off base I am. She gives me useful directions, but not overtly explicit. I divert from the avenue that she told me to follow. I've seen the street number and I want to turn to find the matching street name. I want to find Neal St. Well, I bump into Gallaudet somehow! I know from MapQuest, that the room is near there, but I don't remember the map showing it that near by!

I walk onto the campus. After a few people pass by me, I try to stop one. I ask her if she has two minutes to help me. She just keeps walking and looking like she can't be bothered. I figure that she's either in a hurry or she's just rude! A few steps later, the reality of where I am comes to me. Why does Gallaudet Univerity exist? Whom is it here to serve? The deaf! "You idiot!" I admonish myself.

I reminded myself of the scene from "Children of a Lesser God" where Bill Hurt's character yells after Marlee Matlin's as she walks away from him. The headmaster notices this and marvels, yelling, "Yelling at the back of a deaf person. Very good!"

I am on my way to NPR in Washington!

There is little to write about this. ...Well, that's not accurate. There's much that I can write, but I'm been very busy and focused on subletting the apartment and other logistics.

I have the honor and privilege of working at NPR. I will learn. I will absorb. I will connect. I will excell.

Perhaps you will ask me about the process and my experience. That supposes that you are reading this.