Scavenging for Embassy Admission—A Tale of Heartbreak at Orientation

            This Semester in Washington program I’m participating in at Georgetown University is an odd middle ground in many ways. I am a Georgetown student, but am expected to intern three days a week. I take classes, but they’re taught by faculty who only teach for this program. I live in on-campus housing with full-time students, but I’m only here for the semester. As a result, I feel kind of adrift between many directions, with only the other twenty-one participants to hold onto.

           

            And I met them all on Monday. We had a scavenger hunt as a fun ice-breaker type activity, followed by a delicious hors d’oeurves spread, and introduction to some of our faculty. But it was at the scavenger hunt that I realized how out of my depth I am, despite being from DC.

            Set up by ThingsToDoDC, the scavenger hunt featured iconic, and not so iconic locations for us to find, either gathering items or taking team pictures. Different challenges had different point values, and some locations were much further than others, for instance a picture of the statue of John Carroll on university grounds, or one outside of the White House. With the incentive of free admission to a formal evening at the Italian Embassy to celebrate Valentine’s Day complete with an orchestra, free food, and an open bar, we were all properly motivated.

So we dutifully attempted to persuade stubborn Banana Republic workers to give us a bag, anxiously sought out locations to buy a purple crayon, ran after a man in a suit to surround him and snap a picture, and walked up and down M Street over and over again.

We had spent the two hours inefficiently, laughing at our confusion, and anxiously consulting smart phones every step of the way, so I was not shocked to hear that we had not won.  Disheartened because I felt like I had the home-court advantage, I gritted my teeth and congratulated the winning team, secretly half-hoping that one of them might get sick and allow me to take their place (I am a complete international geek, so embassy events are to be coveted.) I couldn’t help but calculate what we could have done to get more points.

            But, after some reflection yesterday, I have come to the conclusion that not knowing my way around, getting lost en route to the simplest of locations on campus, and just in general feeling kind of clueless is to be embraced. It means I have so much to learn, seek out and explore. And I simply can’t wait.