Allyson Bird - Internship Diary

Oct. 12:

Not to get off topic, but today was my first day back after a three-day weekend spent at home on Folly Beach in Charleston, and I have to describe the sensation of returning there from Washington.

Aside from the initial climate difference, I think the first shocker was seeing only The Post and Courier on the kitchen table instead of the usual Washington Post, Washington Times, New York Times, Hill, Roll Call, L.A. Times, USA Today and Richmond Post-Dispatch we have on the table at the office every morning. In some sick, pretentious way, I felt a little uninformed.

I went downtown with my boyfriend Saturday afternoon, excited to poke around in my home city. As I drove down King Street -- excited to be driving too -- I became less excited. Starbucks. Pottery Barn. fred. Puma. Coldstone. Corporate America.

So I asked if we could go to rural John's Island instead, just to drive around. That was the part of the Lowcountry I wanted to see, the marshy, overgrown part that's nothing like the District. As much as I've enjoyed this semester, spending one of the last warm weekends on the islands was the perfect vacation.

When my plane touched down at 10 last night, I shuddered at the announcement: "Welcome to Dulles International Airport. The current temperature is 48 degrees." But aside from the initial climate difference, the first shocker upon returning to Washington was seeing eight newspapers on the table in the morning -- and not one of them sporting a Charleston headline.

next entry>>