Allow me to introduce myself

My name is Desiree Perez, and, as the title of this blog suggests, I'm going to Washington.

I applied for an academic program called "Capital Semester" through The Fund for American Studies (TFAS). As part of this program, students from all over the world "Live, Learn, and Intern" on Capitol Hill.

As far as the "Live" goes, for the next four months I'm going to be living practically on Congress' front porch, sharing a four bedroom apartment with eight other girls.

I know, I know. It sounds like an episode of "The Real World," but I'm optimistic that we're all going to get along.

So far, I know one is living in Kentucky, one in France and one in Poland. I still live at home—with my parents—so the diversity is going to be a trip in and of itself.

As for the "Learn" portion, all of us in the program will be taking 12 units at Georgetown University, focused on the study of political journalism.

Last but not least, I'll be "Intern"-ing at a small, but amazing paper called Street Sense, "Where the Washington area's poor and homeless earn and give their two cents."

Right now, I'm kind of in a frenzy. I'm packing and shipping, and tying up loose ends. I don't know what to expect once I arrive (except cold weather), so I'm pretty nervous, but I'm also very excited about taking advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity.

And as for you, I'll be posting blogs as often as possible, that way you can come along for the ride.