The treasures of ISH-DC are plenty. First, it’s people. Second, the mission we embody as a community- the list goes on. But one of ISH’s greatest treasures goes unsung. Borrowing a quote of Sidney Sheldon here, I say this treasure “store[s] the energy that fuels the imagination [and opens] up the windows to the word, [inspiring] us to explore and achieve, and contribute …”. It is ISH-DC’s library, that I am referring to.

Our collection of books speaks volumes. Just a glance at its titles surprises me, had me burst out in laughter, is fascinating and made me sit in awe. Not because books have a way of doing that, but because this collection tells the story of ISH residents. Hundreds of students from around the world have shaped it.  So, these books tell what kind of people lived here and what they were concerned with at the time.

In that cozy room with stained-glass windows and bookshelves from floor to ceiling, you can read in seven languages* and travel the world from Ireland to India. Guides on Southeast Asia, DC weekend getaways, or New York City are just the surface. We can travel to Japan, Kenya and Tanzania, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Finland, Germany’s past, A day in the Life of Ancient Rome and Spain’s wineries all within our library’s novels, textbooks and guides.

A 1994 collection of plays by African American Women “Moon marked and touched by the sun” sits close to Roosevelt’s America and Harry Ashmore’s Civil Rights and Wrongs. There are The Great Women of India and the Dinner Club on America’s internet pioneers.

When contemporary turbulence of American Politics get too confusing, we may find clarity in Rivals for power: presidential- congressional relations and similar books available here. For those who have an interest in journalism, Katherine Graham’s Biography may be an equally exciting discovery as Edwin Diamond’s 1994 account of Inside the New York Times. Similarly, conflict resolution and International Relations majors may delight in the numerous books on China’s rise, on conflict resolution, and environmental governance. A student of economics may be relieved, one late night, to find Macroeconomics textbooks on the shelves as well. To escape academia for a moment, there are wonderful novels, guides for career development, management classics, and artist memoirs, as well. From Art, to History to Culture to Law and Politics even through to Medicine- this library has something for everyone.

What joy when I- a secret student of law- discovered Germany’s Constitutional Law and the Philosophy of the Oxidant on the shelves! These are just a few of my happy discoveries. My favorite read for this weekend is Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion.

The beauty of a library varies by visitor. I may overlook, in my excitement over an Albright biography, a great medical dictionary of the 1900s. But one beauty is visible to all:

Like a mysterious carpet, the collection showcases what ISH residents were studying. We each arrive with our own course books, and contemporary favorites – and we leave some at the library. To know that every book here tells the story of a resident or friend of ISH is fascinating. Sometimes, you may even find a note or a little review on the pages! There is captivating diversity, and astonishing common threads over all these years. Taken together, the collection speaks:

Here live explorers of the world, who are fascinated by humanity and its history, by the politics of building a good life and by the lessons we can draw for that from history.

Every day, I pass through and cannot help but gaze at the titles. Ah, Pico Iyer’s The Global Soul! and a novel titled: Somewhere save with someone good. What could be more fitting for our time, what may make a more comforting reading companion?

Oh, the energy that fuels inspiration. Oh this library, enriching our lives!

*probably many more! This is just a quick count. I found books in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Italian, French, German, and English.

On behalf of all ISH-DC residents- yesterday’s, today’s and tomorrow’s, I would like to thank all donors to ISH and its library for preserving, nurturing and expanding this beautiful book collection, reading room and library.

On January 21^st, several residents at ISH broke their lazy Saturday brunch routine and rose up early in the morning to prepare for a historic event. I had been anticipating the Women’s March on Washington for several months now. While its objectives resonated with me, I was not sure what my role should be as an international student in this country. What would this march lead to? Would our voices be taken seriously?

From our ISH doors, we marched as six women representing eight nations: Rwanda, Vietnam, Germany, Canada, Bosnia, Libya, India, and the United States. Our group was a microcosm of the diversity of backgrounds and issues motivating an estimated 500,000 individuals who gathered in Washington that day. We each had different reasons for marching, and yet we all rallied as one powerful force that sought to deliver a clear message to the incoming administration: we are present, and we are watching. We treasure our rights, and we will advocate for them relentlessly.

I was overwhelmed by the inspiration I felt that day. The positivity and enthusiasm I witnessed among the hundreds of thousands of people at the capital was unparalleled to any rally I have seen before. There was no anger or violence, no denial or desire to overcome our current situation. We simply wanted our voices to be heard as we advocated for the rights of our women, immigrants, refugees, environment, and the quality of our race relations.

I have had some time to reflect along with my fellow ISH women. In a world where fear and inequality have been motivating leaders to close their borders and focus inwards, we are in a position where we can speak up and build bridges of mutual empowerment and understanding.

I will never forget that day. I feel privileged to have experienced it with my bright, worldly, and passionate fellow ISH residents.

Like many of us, I’ve taken a tour de force through my calendar to review 2016. The many highlights of diplomat visits and social events ISH added to my year, truly show how this place is so much more than other residences.

Just two weeks after my arrival, ISH hosted the Global Leadership Awards Dinner, an amazing event with ISH residents, Members of Congress, and the diplomatic community meeting at the residence to honor outstanding contributors to international understanding. This year, Senator Ed Markey was recognized for his work on congressional leadership, together with Congressmen Ed Royce and Eliot Engel for their Leadership in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. As an international student, attending this event was a wonderful opportunity to get a first glimpse at political Washington. As part of the event, I was honored to personally meet diplomatic representatives from Georgia and the Netherlands, as well as our German Ambassador Peter Wittig and his wife Huberta von Voss-Wittig. What an exciting start to my stay at ISH!

This political highlight of the year is only the pinnacle of the many opportunities the ISH staff and residents arrange. As a student of international affairs, two events stand out for me as absolute highlights this semester: a visit to Gallup’s DC HQ with a fascinating talk on their World Poll, and two of the many ambassadorial and political visits to ISH: one by Assistant Secretary Kolker from the Department of Health and Human Services and another, recently, by Jonathan Cohen, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia with Young Professionals in Foreign Policy.

Students, researchers and political interns- many of us are here to learn about both US policy making and the inner workings of international affairs. So, as scholars of public international affairs with leadership ambitions, it is through these visits that we closely engage with policy debates and policy, making in a unique setting. I am grateful to the Board, ISH supporters and partners like Young Professionals in Foreign Policy for enabling these opportunities.

At ISH we understand that international exchange is multidimensional: community life therefore encompasses political exploration and debate, as well as many cultural events. In partnering with the Embassy Series, we had the pleasure of hearing pianists Laylo Rikhsieva and Christopher Schmitt bring us the joys of Chopin, Mozart for concert evenings in the great hall.  In the cultural realm, too many of us are eager to learn about American culture and history. Hence, the generous offer for a tour of the Fords Theatre was received with much delight among many residents, and so where tickets to concerts of the Choral Arts Society in DC. I speak for many of my friends here at ISH when I say that attending these cultural events offer opportunities we would not have otherwise.

Last but not least: What defines life at ISH is the many smaller events we organize as residents to learn about each other. This semester, they ranged from an Italian reception with great wine and food to a much-loved Latin dance party to a discussion on political turmoil in Brazil or on the American electoral system.  The value of these exchanges is immense: Not only do we learn about each-others’ home countries, we get an opportunity to discuss intimately many remaining questions, misunderstandings or ideas to innovate for a better world.

A close-knit, open-minded, creative community, buzzing with ideas and curiosity is what I’ve found in my first semester at ISH. How blessed I am to be staying here for another one!

Every year, I write down a list of resolutions for myself. Admittedly, many of them – perfectly packaged into calendar boxes and elaborate checklists – do not see the light of day. I quickly discover that ‘life happens’, taking over at times in unexpected ways.

This year, foregoing the resolution list, I vow to embrace the uncertainty which will mark the coming months of my life in Washington. As I prepare to begin my final semester at SAIS, I have no concrete plan for where I will end up after graduation. For a serial planner like myself, this feels oddly liberating.

If there is anything that graduate school has taught me, aside from the academics, it is to build relationships and focus on the causes that matter to me. It is to engage in meaningful dialogue with my peers and professors, tapping into perspectives that either build upon or challenge my own ideas. These conversations, some of which take place with my housemates at ISH, naturally take time away from crafting cover letters and submitting job applications. However, they leave me with ideas to ponder. At times, they inspire me to take the next conceptual step in forging a path which would best address the issues I care about.

This is where life happens. These are the moments I hope to savour in my last five months as a graduate student and as a resident of ISH. The serial planner in me will likely emerge soon in protest, and I will probably let her guide my choices on occasion. But as my father once told me, we must allow ourselves the flexibility to embrace a future that is even better than the one we had dreamed of. I do not know what that future will hold. In the mean time, I will dance with uncertainty and let life work its magic.

As 2016 comes to an end, I look back at the time I have spent living at ISH, as an American graduate student at JHU SAIS, and have a few lessons to highlight upon reflection.

Never judge a book by its cover (which means do not pass judgment on someone before you’ve gotten to know them); instead have a conversation.

One of the benefits to living in a house like the International Student House is that there are so many opportunities to have conversations. If it’s a study break in the TV room, during a shift at the front desk, or in the Great Hall after an event, ISH provides many open spaces to get to know the other people living in the house. When I say never judge a book by its cover, it is because I have discovered the various, challenging and exciting journeys that my ISH peers have taken and lived prior to residing within these walls. As a New Yorker with family from the Caribbean, it is oftentimes assumed that I am actually an international student, and sometimes I do not deny or correct people who make the assumption because I was raised in a home that spoke three languages and I have traveled and been intrigued by international affairs from a young age. Through living at ISH, it has allowed me to expand on what truly makes someone “international” and how one can find commonalities through differences; and one of the great ways to get there is through conversations.

It is important to educate but also to encourage others to educate themselves as a form of self-awareness.

Looking back on my childhood, where I grew up in Harlem, NYC, it is funny how often I have to persuade fellow ISH residents who are traveling to NYC that staying at an air BNB in Harlem is NOT actually dangerous. At ISH, I have seen that the influence of media, stereotypes and misplaced humor (satire) is what forms the opinions and perspectives of international students who have never lived in the United States before (or even those who have). One day, after a night out at a lounge with my friend from Trinidad and Tobago, we stumbled upon a conversation between one of our friends from the Netherlands and a fellow from Andorra. In the conversation, the Andorran was questioning the appeal of Beyoncé and wondering about why there was such a stir about her “Formation” performance at the Super Bowl. As an outsider looking in, it was encouraging to see our friend from the Netherlands explain the social challenges and racial tension that was at the forefront of US news. Our friend also kindly suggested that the fellow read a book that they had found in the ISH library and laid out that they would be open to discussing it further if they had questions. From this experience and many others, I continue to see that it does not matter where one is from in the world, it is a universal truth that we can all learn from each other, and after the recent US elections, this is a lesson that is true now more than ever.

Distance has nothing on true friendship.  

This past summer, I interned for 10 weeks in Barbados and following my time there, I made it my mission to visit my closest friend from ISH (shout out to Ari!) who is from Trinidad and Tobago. Seeing her, after weeks of separation, was as if not a day had passed when we had not been sitting in her room and talking for hours. I truly wish long distance relationships with significant others were as easy as long distance friendships (am I right?). As I sat in my room watching the results of the US elections this fall, the first people to contact me were not my parents, but actually my former roommate from France (hi Mylene!) and another of my friends from South Africa (hi Zinhle!), who messaged me with their thoughts and wanted to talk immediately. Leaving ISH and living in another country, in today’s day and age, does not mean that you lose your connection with your friends. This past Christmas, I received and sent warm wishes to friends all over the world ranging from Canada to Italy and I know that there are ISH reunions happening in different parts of Europe for the New Year. As I look forward to 2017 and to finishing my last semester at JHU SAIS I cannot imagine living somewhere else as a graduate student in DC, and that is because of the experiences that ISH has fostered for me.