I slept in this morning after a late night with the boys and it felt good to catch up on my sleep after a crazy busy weekend. One of my favorite things about this hotel is that they have a preferred program that you can join for free which gives you awesome perks like free internet, newspapers in the morning, and a selection of morning drinks. I ordered my coffee last night and it was waiting at my door this morning - genius! I didn't quite plan well because I thought I would wake up a little earlier, so my coffee was cold, but I loved the gesture. I will definitely get up in time to enjoy it tomorrow morning.
Registration this morning was from 8:30-11:30 with breakfast from 7-9. I knew I was not going to make it to breakfast, but I made it to registration at 11:15. I received a laptop bag, binder, tourist information about D.C., name tag, t-shirt, and handbook. The orientation starts at 1p.m., so I had some time to kill and was hungry. I headed across the street to a little place called Open City Diner and sat outside to enjoy a chicken Caesar salad and amazing latte. Seriously, one of the best lattes I have ever had! I love that it came with animal crackers and a beautiful design.
The orientation today started at 1 p.m. with an introduction and opening remarks. The take away from the introduction was that as English Language Fellows (ELFs) we are change agents. We have the opportunity to impact foreign policy overseas and build bridges with the people we meet. The projects are not chosen at random, but are targeted opportunities. They are created with the intent to build relationships with people in other countries, particularly youth. ELFs have a HUGE responsibility because we are the assets on the ground which communicate what is being seen and heard in our host institutions. We do have a lot of support from the various embassies, but ELFs should feel empowered to connect the dots between our host institution and the government. It is an awesome and overwhelming responsibility.
Then, we had sessions about the handbook and paperwork. Those sessions lasted nearly four hours, so you can imagine my enthusiasm for sitting that long, but the sessions were essential and informative. There is so much paperwork to complete. We get $2200 to use for our institutional expenses, but every single penny has to be evidenced on a receipt and any remaining items/money has be donated to our institution when the fellowship is over. One of the program officers said to think of the money as "on loan" to help bridge the gap and build relationships. Fellows in the past have used this money for sending colleagues to conferences, attending conferences, buying electronics for the departments, copying expenses, etc. The goal is to maximize the money so that it will go a long way. Some items are prohibited such as alcohol, flowers, gifts, etc. Apparently you end up spending about 10% of your time on paperwork, so I can't wait for that part of my job.
After the festivities today, there was a reception with food and drinks. There was lemonade, tea, veggies, cheeses, crackers, fruit, and various waiters walking around serving appetizers. This program is a team effort between Georgetown University, the state department, and the various embassies. It was really nice to meet everyone and see how this program all fits together. I was also able to meet other fellows going to Africa. There are 13 fellows in Africa, with about half of them renewing, so there's only six of us who are new. Tomorrow we are supposed to meet as a group going to Africa and get some survival tips and talk about embassy life. I will try to get some hotel pics because it really is a beautiful hotel.
