Each day we are presented with a series of choices. Some choices can be made with ease and relative certainty while others create chasms of personal and professional insecurities. Throughout the past year I’ve learned that life is less about the choices we make but rather how and why we declare each decision. I’ve learned that what we choose is contingent upon where we are mentally, emotionally, financially and socially at that given moment. Choices are determined by who we want to be and where we hope to end up as a direct result of those choices.

Similar to most ISH residents I am presently preparing for the next phase of my post graduate career. The choices appear limitless. My personal passions have persuaded me to pursue professional positions related to social justice, sustainable development, diversity, accessibility and inclusion. I believe I have the capacity to thrive in any of these categories. However, whether or not I am granted a position is not for me to choose. As applicants all we can do is properly prepare for new opportunities, perform well during interviews and learn how to balance both patience and persistence. Right?

Wrong! We can choose to see potential in places where no opportunity previously existed. We can choose to open ourselves up to unexplored options that were constrained from being fully considered due to fear, rejection and self-doubt. We can choose to seek out creative pathways when it seems as though the stress of life has completely stripped us of our sensibilities and ability to make substantive yet suitable selections about where we live, where we work, how much money we make, what we can do, who we spend time with etc.

The choices made daily can affect the trajectory of an entire lifetime. And yes, the pressure can be stifling and seemingly unbearable. Perhaps this is why I am constantly reminding myself to breathe and meditate during difficult moments that are marked by choices that I sometimes feel unequipped to handle. Then I realize that choices are a constant variable in life. There will always be another choice around the corner if I am unsatisfied with a choice that I can’t justify. I strive to remember that If a choice I’ve made can’t be changed then I can choose how I react to the circumstance and will hopefully choose to make different decisions in the future. Even making no choice is still a choice.

I recognize that various angles of privileged protrude throughout each paragraph of this post. I am privileged that my choices are not fraught with decisions concerning how I will feed my children, how I can migrate to a country where I am not penalized or persecuted for my sexuality or religion, where to run on the ground when bombs are falling from the sky, who to trust when those who lead live in luxury while my family is trapped in poverty or where I can go for treatment when the closest hospital is miles away and far too expensive for me to afford.

We all have choices. The choices I deal with on a daily basis are difficult but not impossible. They possess a power that can allow me to help others diversify their portfolio of progressive personal and professional choices. I now know that for me at the end of each day choosing to help bring positive change to the lives of others are the only choices that really matter.

Justice

The Resident Salon: An International Student House Tradition

Sunday is my favorite day of the week for many reasons. In addition to (sometimes) sleeping in and going on a long run with my fellow ISH running enthusiasts in the morning, the whole House comes together for “family dinner” at 1 PM sharp on Sunday afternoon (why we call it ‘dinner’ is still a mystery). If you are late, you have to do the chicken dance—another great tradition at the House. I love sitting down on Sundays and looking around the room to see new and old faces—each and every person with a different background, culture, and set of life experiences, conversing and sharing a meal together. It’s really quite a beautiful scene.

In a lot of ways, Sunday dinner at ISH reminds me of my family’s traditions growing up. For someone who has never lived in the House, this tradition may help illustrate why we think of ISH as more than just a place to stay while you are in school or doing an internship in DC. Traditions like Sunday dinner make ISH home.

After dinner, residents generally head to the library, to go play volleyball or kickball, to Malcom X Park for the Drum Circle, to visit a museum, or to take a lovely post-dinner siesta. Sounds like a pretty perfect Sunday afternoon, right? [Spoiler alert: it gets better.]

Every Sunday evening at 8PM, we gather as a community to discuss topics that we are passionate about and draw on our diverse life experiences to learn from one another. We call these gatherings Resident Salons. Generally, one resident will present on a topic that he or she has expertise in and will invite the opportunity for discussion, reflection, and debate—all in the spirit of open-mindedness and communal learning. In the past, residents have presented on Sexism with Chinese Characteristics; Persian Film; Cancer and the Future of Biotechnology; Great White Sharks!; The EU: Super State, International Organization, or Free Trade Zone?; Pamplona, Spain; The Economics of Innovation; 10 Emerging Technologies that will Change our World, and many more.

To the right is a picture of former resident, State Department intern, and Chinese language guru, Bethany Jordan, giving a presentation at the House on, “The Cultural Revolution in China.”

Without question, the Resident Salon is my favorite tradition at the House. *Cue Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof exclaiming, “Traaaditions, traditions!”* It was started by a truly extraordinary individual and friend—Jenny Spencer—nearly one year ago.

A little bit about Jenny: Jenny graduated from the University of Colorado- Boulder with a BA in International Affairs in 2011. After graduation, she moved to DC to earn her Masters in Applied Economics at Johns Hopkins University. She chose to live at ISH to supplement her rigorous economics coursework with intercultural interaction and learning.

The idea for the Salons originated from a presentation that a former resident gave about the developing crisis in her country, Ukraine in the spring of 2014. The presentation gave her a platform via which she could formally address questions about a very sensitive topic; explain, from her perspective, what was going on; and give those of us who knew very little about the region a sense of the politics and players that were behind the unraveling situation that we saw on the news every day. The turnout was incredible and many residents, including Josh Ettinger and Anjelika Deogirikar, who had helped to organize her presentation, discussed how great it would be to have similar events on a regular basis. It took Jenny, Josh and Anjelika a while, but they finally rolled it out, with the first official Resident Salon by Majd Ariss in October of 2014 about his country: Lebanon.

With the help of other residents, Jenny officially started the Resident Salons because she wanted to create a space that would encourage more dialogue and discussion about issues that residents are passionate about. As housemates, we spend our mornings, afternoons, evenings and weekends with one another—but rarely do we delve deeply into the challenges our world is facing or discuss the role that we play as global citizens. The House is full of talented, interesting, and astounding people. In our day-to-day routines, we get to know each other on a surface level, and while we may have conversations about important topics at dinner, we often don’t realize the depth of authority and knowledge that we all bring to the table (literally and figuratively).

As is often true of such outstanding people, many residents are extremely humble and are hesitant to share their accomplishments or ideas in casual conversations and settings. While this is admirable, we tend to do each other a disservice in this way. The Resident Salons allow residents to share their passions and interests with each other within an informal context at the House.

In many ways, the Resident Salon is truly a revolutionary concept. It brings bright and passionate young people from all over the world—with different skill sets, perspectives and experiences—together in one place to engage in collaborative dialogue about everything and anything—from the world’s most pressing issues to the things we love and enjoy doing as individuals. In the Resident Salons, we aren’t always talking about heavy, serious issues like racial justice or international governance. We talk about Iranian films. We talk about how fun it would be to travel to Istanbul. We talk about misconceptions about drug use in Amsterdam and about the running of the bulls in Spain. As Jenny eloquently explained, “What we do is not who we are. I like that the Salons open the opportunity to discuss both what we do and who we are.”

What is truly unique about the Resident Salons is it brings together a group of curious, open-minded and talented friends who not only have big ideas, but also big hearts. It’s not just a space where we can discuss and debate important problems—it’s also a space where we can encourage each other, welcome new opinions and ways of being, and appreciate one another and our ISH community. Jenny’s hope for the Resident Salons is that they will be carried on through the years and will become as ingrained of a tradition as Sunday “family dinner.” We are already well on our way!

Our next Resident Salon will take place on Sunday, September 25^th at 8 PM. Fellow blogger and all-around rockstar, Justice Shorter will be presenting on, “Disability Rights Advocacy” and will be speaking about the project she worked on with the US Department of State to better accommodate foreign officials with disabilities when they travel to the US.  The following week Munkhnaran Bayarlkhagva will be presenting on, “The 2015 Iranian Nuclear Negotiations” and will be sharing stories from his summer in Iran.  Stay tuned for future blog posts on both presentations!
*A very special thank you to Jenny Spencer for all of her help with writing this post!*

Museums for Free? Yes, I will, Please!

One year ago.

My heart was pounding. It was this time around last year. “What do you mean it’s free?” I asked with eyes open. “Museums in DC ARE free,” the girl with blonde highlights who later became my best friend replied. It was just a few hours earlier that day that I had given my two days [worth of] lunch money to the Bologna Museo Civico Archeologico. This was amazing news for someone who would be in DC the next year. I felt like I had started to like that city already.

Today.

Not surprisingly, one of the first things that I did after arriving in DC was to visit the Smithsonians. A museum freak like me is hard to please, I was thinking that no museum was able to astonish me after the Louvre, Uffizi or the Museum of Broken Hearts in Zagreb. But you know what – I talked too soon. The Smithsonian Museum chain is one of the most well organized, fun and interesting museums that I have ever been.

There are 18 different Smithsonian Museums and galleries in DC and almost all of them are free to the public. But my favorite one is the American History Museum – one of the biggest ones in the Mall.

There are over 30 exhibitions and three collections at the museum. Exhibitions have an incredible variety, from ‘Lego American Flag’ to ‘First Ladies’, or ‘SparkLab’ where you can touch a harmless electric flow bowl and make your hair go crazy. But among them, the ‘Food: Transforming the American Table 1950-2000’ exhibition was the one that I liked most.

Like most of you, I grew up in a world that is ruled by fast food. Going to McDonald’s on weekends and collecting every limited version toy was a must for a second grader. However, there is an enormous story behind how the American Cuisine shaped and later determined global trends of our kitchen. Take the reality of fast food for example, starting from the early 50’s, the inclusion of TV to our daily lives opened a new page called ‘TV dinner’; ready to serve food with no preparation, mom’s favorite…

Big city life, things need to be done really quickly; there are meetings to catch, classes to attend and millions of empty stomachs to serve, sound familiar? The fast food industry created its giants starting from 60’s. At the exhibition, you’ll witness how the change in the balance of power in international relations has changed food trends. Russian McDonalds lines of the 90’s…That’s what I am talking about.

Another example is when immigrants from all over the world after the 60’s brought their eating habits with them. At the ‘Resetting Table’ section you will see how millions of American’s developed a taste for once exotic food made by once exotic people who were now neighbors.

No more spoilers. I hope you will enjoy your time if you visit before the notorious cold starts! It was such a nice Sunday attraction and a chance to learn how cheese got in a can (no, seriously, like coke!). Stay hungry, stay foolish and have a great month everyone!

During his time back home in the Netherlands, newly returned resident Burakhan Çevik was interviewed by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs on his time interning at the Dutch Embassy here in DC, as well as his currents studies and future plans. Below is the interview. Thank you for sharing with us at the House, Burakhan!

How to do an internship with the government.

We interviewed Burakhan Çevik who had a six month internship at the Dutch embassy in Washington.

Can you tell something about yourself?

I’m 24 years old, come from Rotterdam, I studied law and am a true ‘all doer’. I volunteer in swimming lessons to children, homework, and exam training. Furthermore, I have been in India for international social training in the field of development and education of children and I organize debates on social issues. I like sports, I read a lot and I get satisfaction from traveling. I am also trying to finalize a Spanish course.

You had an internship at the Embassy in Washington DC How did you come to that place?

During my studies I often said that I wanted to gain experience abroad to broaden my horizons. Because of my Turkish roots, I soon came up with the idea to do an internship at the Dutch embassy in Turkey. My mother understood my choice for that location, but advised me to just do something totally different, like an internship in the United States. I decided to follow the advice of my mother and my tutor asked whether she had any idea where to start. A colleague of my companion had a few years earlier interned at the Dutch Embassy in Washington DC. Through him I got the contact information. I sent an e-mail with my motivation and resume after some time  received a response. That started the ball rolling.

What was your mission there and what kept the work in practice?

“I was an intern at the consular section. In the beginning, I kept mainly on logistics processes, such as passports that came from across the Western Hemisphere at the office. I researched how we could implement them efficiently. Making a mistake is human, but when it comes to passports an error has enormous consequences, such as missing a flight. So I got to understand what creates an embassy the process of inflow and outflow.

Then I tried the Dutch legislation and I made comparisons with the legislation in other countries of the Western Hemisphere such as Haiti, Argentina, Canada and Mexico. So I made the decisions of my colleagues in the department  easier.

Researching and compiling this information takes time and patience. Some countries have hardly any information available that you sometimes only get by calling, emailing or visiting the Embassy. In some interviews you visit a consular employee of the respective representation. Sometimes documents are only available in French. Through my contacts with Haiti, I could practice my French once again. I examined several issues, including the type of documents that a country issues (birth certificates, death certificates, etc.) and how long it takes before they are issued. I also did research on questions such as, ‘What happens if a Dutchman dies in Brazil?’ ‘What rules are applicable?’ ‘What documents must be provided to the authorities before the remains can be transported?’

Finally I worked with the detention policy. You can think of assisting and visiting Dutch prisoners abroad – in my case in the US.

What was the highlight of your internship?

The highlight of the internship itself was organizing a conference for all consular staff from Canada, various parts of the United States, the Dominican Republic, Suriname, Mexico and more came to Washington DC to reach alignment with respect to consular work.

Obviously, I made a lot out of my internship. I lived in the International Student House (ISH) where I was included at ISH annual Leadership dinner  where I was sitting at the table with Joe Biden, Vice President of the United States. With ISH, I also participated in the farewell ceremony of Chuck Hagel, former Secretary of Defense, where President Obama gave a speech.

In addition, Washington DC is a dynamic city and if you like international politics, DC is the place. I have made many friends and my international network increases rapidly. Name a country and I know someone who lives there. I speak a lot with my international friends through Skype, post or I’ll find them in their hometown. I also get them to visit Rotterdam where I am proud to show them our beautiful world class harbor.

Now your internship is over. What are your future plans around study / work?

During my internship came the idea of a Masters in International Law in the US. That is soon to begin. After the Masters I would like to work in an international organization like the World Bank, the United Nations or the International Monetary Fund. The most ideal seems to me a position as a diplomat at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Netherlands remains home front and I can apply to the Dutch legislation elsewhere in the world. A perfect combination with work, travel and development come together.

Thanks for the interview Burakhan and good luck with your career!

Here I am, at home [in the Netherlands] behind my desk, writing a new blog for ISH, my home in the United States; my dream that I have left behind and am ready to continue. This is the house where I can develop myself again, where my vision towards the world has been broadened and where I created new goals; the house where I will continue to build up my network worldwide. This is the house where I have found people who understand that traveling or living abroad is an investment in ourselves.

There are moments that I absolutely cannot forget. One is when Neena (longtime ISH resident) told the newcomers, including me at that time, that there are different types of people living at ISH – the ones you don’t hear from once they leave, and the ones who experience ISH and living in DC as a dream and wake up when they are home and move on with their ‘normal’ lives. And last but not least, the ones who are kind of stuck to ISH. I recognize myself in this last one and not just because I’m back at ISH in about two weeks, but also the contact that I have, even today, with a lot of people from the house, through mail, Skype or by visiting each other. Last summer I was in London and Milan, where I planned a trip with people from the house. It was so weird that it didn’t feel like we had not seen each other for a while. We just continued our conversations right from where we stopped them in DC. I’ve also welcomed people from ISH to my city. I think it’s very nice to see that the contact hasn’t stopped, as long as we put the time and effort into it. I have always said I do not believe in good byes, but in a ‘see you later’ and that’s certainly proven true now, since a lot of us keep in touch with housemates.

I look forward to being back home; my home where people from around the world come together. Where it doesn’t matter where you’re from, or what your political affiliation or your sexual orientation is.  The differences in cultural background, or the language you speak or what you believe are just a positive difference for others to learn from. We do also have a lot in common, since we are all students or interns, and with these things, it becomes this great world in the house itself.

I’ve missed learning something new every day, discovering new places, and sitting down with people in the dining hall where you have interesting conversations.

Sometimes it will be hard not to compare my stay this coming year with my stay in the house last year. I will make comparisons with my first stay. The first experience is always the best, as the fact that the sequel of a movie is not as good as the first, but I’m happy to meet new residents and seeing old ISH friends who I already know; new contacts with new experiences. What will be different this time is that I won’t be an intern, but a student. I probably won’t be going to happy hours as much as last year or arrange different trips, but I do not mind that. It will be nice to experience the student life in the US. I’ve actually missed learning new things and sitting behind textbooks again, it’s weird I know, but it’s really true. I will probably regret this when the finals are close.

The idea that I will study Law in an international environment with people from every corner of the world makes this stay even more exciting. I reminded myself that studying in the US was one of my new year’s resolutions and now I am happy to have fulfilled this goal. It took a lot of effort; a lot of paperwork, a lot of interviews, essays and papers to write and to be where I am today. I had to prove to others and myself and had to ask several times whether I really wanted to do this or not. I’ve been able to answer this question and now I am counting down the days.

I want to thank everyone for their support and especially my mother who first came up with the idea about following an internship in the US and who has always supported me in every decision I had to make. She also supports my study of towards a Master of International Law in DC.