Midterms... Fun Stuff!

Well, midterms are in full swing for me. Two down, two to go. So far nothing too difficult, but I would hope not since this is my last semester of them. One thing I really enjoy about classes at GW in general is the professors' ability to relate the class topics to current events in news. In fact, two of my classes, Intro to Public Administration/Executive Branch Politics and Sociology of Terrorism, start each class with a discussion of current events. It definitely is my favorite part of those classes, because it lets us talk about the ideas we study in a more concrete fashion. I've always been more of a visual learner, so connecting topics in class and news events helps me at least. In addition, it tends to force my classmates and I to definitely read more news websites than usual, which is always a good thing :)

On another note, through my internship at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), I had the opportunity the other day to take a tour of their National Forensic and Fire Research Laboratories in Maryland. If you like CSI, the tour is awesome. We saw a couple demonstrations with different types of equipment in the regular lab, but my favorite part was the Fire Lab. While we were there there was a training going on for ATF Special Agents who want to become Certified Fire Investigators, so they were doing some controlled burns of fake living rooms. We watched the blaze from a control room, then got to see the aftermath up close and hear the kinds of evidence they utilize in making arson determinations. Also, one of the National Response Team trucks happened to be outside, so we got to check that out as well. The NRT responds to large-scale fires and explosions across the country and even internationally to aide in local investigations and share ATF's specialized experience.

Sara and I in the NRT truck!

NRT truck.

On other fun thing recently was my sister's 19th birthday! My roommates and I held a surprise Disney Princess-themed party for her, which of course was a lot of fun and included lots of cake, ice cream, and Disney movies!

Disney Princess Cake!

Happy Birthday Christie!

~Vickie