International Student House Washington DC

Providing an Enriching Experience for Student Residents

Time to say Goodbye!

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This past month of July had many celebrations: our country’s independence on the fourth, Colombia’s independence on the 20th, and Manuela finishing up her internship at World Bank on the 27th. These last few weeks have flown by, and I can’t believe it’s been almost a year since I first entered the front lobby at the International House. It has been such an amazing journey: the great people I’ve met, the friendships I’ve kept up with, the events I’ve attended, and even the ones I hosted myself! I hope you remember my last post about the coffee tasting because I have some updates…

The first ever coffee tasting event in the Great Hall was a success. Residents learned about the history of coffee, how the coffee bean transforms into a coffee cup, and the different coffee varieties in the coffee belt region. Afterwards we all woke up by sampling four different types of coffee from: Ethiopia, Hawaii, Jamaica and Colombia. We all enjoyed pairing our coffee with yummy pastries and chocolates provided by the kitchen and we talked about our favorite coffee varieties. I learned so much when preparing for the event, and I’m so happy we had such a great turnout.


ISH residents at the Coffee tasting in the Great Hall

I took a weekend trip to New York City in July to visit an old ISH friend from Paris. She is interning in Manhattan until the end of December, and it was great to meet up after staying in touch for months. We had great weather in Brooklyn, so we decided to check out the open-air market festival called Smorgasburg. We were able to try different types of street food, listen to live music, and get some ice cream—all while enjoying a beautiful view of the city.

ISH resident Sixtine and myself in Brooklyn

The last week of my internship I invited one of the ISH residents to come visit the World Bank and check out our amazing cafeteria for lunch. I gave her a tour of our main building, and she offered to show me around the Organization of American States (OAS) before I left. I took her up on the offer and was pleasantly surprised when I went to visit the historic building.  We walked around the statue hall, the main ballroom, and had lunch in the entrance garden. Thank you, Sofi, for being a great tour guide, I learned a lot about the OAS! The best part about ISH has been the people and the great opportunities that come along with it!

ISH resident Sofia and myself in the OAS
The OAS statue hall
The OAS Ballroom

 

World Cup Fever

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The past month at the House has been full of World Cup mania! Everyone has been watching the games in the main T.V. room, and the rivalries on-screen appear off-screen as well. We have so many nationalities represented at the House, and it’s been super fun to see everyone argue, scream, cry and even jump during the games. And then you have the Italians that are sometimes ignoring the fact that we have a World Cup going on… I’ve been following the Colombia games very closely and the whole World Bank as well. I catch people watching the games on their computers during meetings, at the coffee shops, and in the cafeteria all the time.


My aunt, little cousins, and I watching the Colombia game

This past month we had some really cool events at ISH. I attended the Spanish Embassy Wine Tasting event at the House—and Juan from the Agriculture section at the Embassy led the two-day event. He started out by explaining the different wine regions in Spain, going over the process of making wine, and then teaching us the three key points for wine tasting: color, smell, and taste. We tried six different types of wine, and by the end of the lesson I think we could all pretend to know at least a little bit about wine! ISH residents were also invited to the Liechtenstein Ambassador’s residency. The residency is right by the Georgetown waterfront. It was really cool to meet the team and talk to Ambassador Jaeger about his experience in D.C. and to learn about the history of the country. We got to try some of their specialty wine that they only sell in the country, and I got to brush up on my German.

Wine tasting event at ISH
Ambassador Jaeger’s residency
ISH residents on the rooftop of Liechtenstein Ambassador’s Residency

Speaking of rooftops, I recently discovered that you can eat your lunch in the IMF HQ1 building rooftop anytime as a World Bank employee. A few of my friends from the International Student House and I planned a lunch date last Wednesday. The views were incredible, but it was a bit windy. I look forward to my last month at ISH, and next weekend I am planning to lead a coffee tasting event at the House! Stay tuned…

ISH residents having lunch on IMF Rooftop

 

 

 

 

 

Spring has finally arrived…or maybe not?

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The month of April was a great time to be at the International Student House. The famous cherry blossom season usually starts around April 4th (it lasts around a week) and I went to visit the Tidal Basin in D.C. on April 9th. The National Cherry Blossom Festival started in 1912, when the Japanese Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo City donated Japanese cherry trees to the city of Washington D.C. The cherry blossoms represent beauty and the fragility of life in Japanese culture, and it was such an amazing sight to experience in person! The whole walk in the Tidal Basin was filled with tourists from all over the U.S. and the world! I walked from the Washington Monument to the Jefferson Memorial and saw the beautiful blossoms along the way. There were many residents from the house that also went to see the cherry blossoms, and I ran into some of them there.

The Tidal Basin overlooking the Jefferson Memorial with an ISH housemate from Italy

This month was really hectic for my master’s program at Georgetown. We finish all of our classes by the end of April and then we have two weeks for final papers and final exams. I can’t believe that I am almost done with my second semester of my MSFS degree! I’ve spent the last two weeks applying to summer internships and going to interviews while trying to turn in my assignments and attending lectures. I received an offer to intern this summer at the World Bank and I am really looking forward to staying in D.C. for the summer and learning more about how this multilateral institution functions. The MSFS Service Committee organized an event for Earth Day and I volunteered to help pick up trash by the Anacostia River. It was great to see such a huge turnout in the midst of final exams and papers!


MSFS students volunteering on Earth day by the Anacostia River

What better way to end the week of classes before finals than to attend the Africa Night event at ISH? My roommate Zinna, who has some Ethiopian heritage, organized the Africa Night at the house with the other African residents. It was such an amazing event! They showcased typical food, drinks, clothes, flags, music and even dances from each of their respective countries: Ethiopia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Sudan. While we were listening to music during the event, there was a slideshow playing in the background with interesting fun facts and pictures about African countries. I learned a lot! I had no idea that Sudan has double the number of pyramids that Egypt does. The residents really enjoyed the evening and I feel more energized to tackle my final exams.


MSFS students and residents at the Africa Night event

Africa Night

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It is hard for me to believe that this was my last full month at ISH. The eight months I’ve spent here have flown by! As the weather has slightly warmed up with cherry blossom season, residents have been able to enjoy spring by going back out in the garden. On Saturdays a group of residents takes advantage of the nice weather and go to a nearby field to play soccer. As more of a volleyball person, I joined a local league that has games on Sundays at a gym near ISH. Several of my teammates couldn’t make it for our last game so I recruited a few friends from ISH to fill in.

There were several events at the house this past month starting with Argentina Night. Two Argentinian girls put together a fun evening of dancing and a tasty home made dessert. A week or so later there was an Italian reception in the Great Hall where I met several new residents from Italy and got to try Limoncello, an Italian lemon liquor produced in Southern Italy.

The highlight of the month – and my entire ISH experience – was Africa Night. It was a very fun process to be on the other side of a cultural night. As one of the coordinators I had been planning the event for about a month. Lots of time was put into preparing the food, music, decorations and activities. Between the six of us Africans currently living at ISH, we had representation of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Sudan and Ethiopia. We put together a playlist of a variety of African music featuring multiple languages as well as one of my proudest achievements – a 100 slide PowerPoint with fun facts about Africa.

One of the highlights from the night was an Africa trivia game I created using a website called kahoot. Questions were projected on the screen and players responded by selecting the answer on their phones. This picture shows an example of one of the questions (the correct answers are Liberia and Ethiopia). After trivia each of us introduced a dance from our culture. I chose to show an Ethiopian music video about Gojjam, which was a kingdom in Northeastern Ethiopia. The traditional dance in Ethiopia is called eskista, which involves moving your shoulders. Everyone was very engaged with trying the dances, it was a blast!

In reflecting on my time at ISH, hosting Africa Night made it full circle in a way. My earliest involvement with sharing Ethiopian culture at ISH was making a poster about Ethiopian New Year back in September. So I ended up starting and ending my time here with something to share about my Ethiopian heritage. It has been an incredible experience living at ISH during my first year as a graduate student. Living in such a diverse environment with kind, open minded and talented people is something I will never forget!

April in Washington

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April is a busy month for DC with the cherry blossom festival and the IMF-World Bank spring meeting. The cherry blossoms are one of the most beautiful happenings in DC and ISH is in the perfect location to enjoy them! My fellow housemates and I usually take a nice walk along side 19th Street or 18th Street, pass the White house and reach the tidal basin. On weekdays, we walk so fast for work or study, and never really have the leisure to enjoy the views on the street. The beauty of DC in spring is beyond words. The picturesque streets and architecture mixed with the cultural vibes make downtown Washington the most attractive place. From far way, we saw the fluffy pink cherry trees around the National Mall and Tidal Basin. It is a symbolic flower of the spring, a time of renewal, and the fleeting nature of life.

In addition, the IMF-World Bank also held its annual Spring Meetings in April here in DC. Government officials, press, NGOs, academics from all around the world descended upon Washington to join the meetings. Many important messages about global economic development were conveyed through the meetings. I attended several interesting seminars and forums about how technology and innovation is changing the future of global economic development. Whether technology and innovation can help the least developed countries skip the industrialization remains unknown, but our generation is in the position to make the change.  Spring is an incredible time to be here in Washington and enjoy all it has to offer with my fellow ISH housemates!

International Student House of Washington, DC | 1825 R Street, NW | Washington, DC 20009

International Student House of Washington, DC (ISH-DC) is a private, non-profit 501(c)3 organization located near Dupont Circle in the heart of Washington, DC. Donations will help support our mission to provide an exceptional residential experience to a highly diverse international community of graduate students, interns and visiting scholars. The House promotes inter-cultural dialogue, encourages life-long connections, and fosters global citizenship.