I'm finally getting used to life as an intern.

This weekend I was able to go to the National Cathedral. On my way to the National Cathedral I decided to walk down Embassy Row, which is a stretch of road with a number of embassies from around the world. It was a nice walk and it was interesting to see all of the buildings. There were also a number of trees along the walk, which might not seem like a big deal, but it was a nice change of scenery after being around all of these buildings for so long.

The National Cathedral is a must see when in DC, even though it is a little ways away from most of the other tourist attractions. Once inside, you are able to walk around the cathedral, which is huge. There are anumber of very old tapestries on the walls and the stained glass windows were incredible.

I was able to go to the Old Post Office Pavilion, a tower that overlooks much of the city. You are able to take the elevator to the top of the tower, which provides a great view of the city. You can take great pictures of the Capitol, which is right down the road. If you are only going to be in the city for a few days an have not made reservations to go to the top of the Washington Monument this is a pretty good substitute to be able to get a good view of the city. I was also able to go to the top of the Washington Monument, which is something that everyone must do. However, it happened to be raining on the day that I went to the top of the monument and there were rain drops all over the window and none of my pictures turned out. Don’t worry, I plan on going back up, so check back in later posts for some of those pictures.

If you are looking for a good place to do some shopping or eating, then Georgetown is a great place to go. There are a number of stores and restaurants to eat at, be prepared because everything will be packed. While I was there my friend and I decided to make a stop at the very popular Georgetown Cupcake. Yes, it is a very popular place. We stood in line for 20 minutes for a cupcake. It was good, but 20 minutes for a cupcake is a little extreme.

When you’re here make sure that you are back to the mall by sunset in order to get some great pictures of the monuments. It’s also neat to see all of the monuments lit up at night. The coolest thing is to look towards the Lincoln Memorial and see the statue of Lincoln lit up. …I’m out.

So… I finally started my internship at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) cold case homicide unit. The first day I made sure that I was there early and I was….way too early, but I guess that’s better than being late. Upon arrival I was greeted with more paperwork to fill out, but that was expected. Once I was able to get most of the paperwork out of the way and get my badge I was able to go to my department and right away I was tasked with sorting through pictures from a crime scene, which was a lot better than I expected. I’ve only been there a week, but I am pretty happy I am interning with NCIS, it’s not like some other internships which just make you do boring administrative tasks all day long. I am actually helping some of the special agents solve cold case homicides.

The other day at NCIS a few interns and I had to go to the National Archives Library and conduct some research for one of the cases we are working on. That was the ultimate library. There were a number of people there who could help you find what you are looking for and you need help cause there’s no way anyone could just walk in there and find what they are looking for. We had to look through a great deal of microfilm to find the information that we needed. We were also given a government vehicle to drive there, which was sweet. I am happy I wasn’t the one who had to drive; I am way too nervous that someone would hit me and I don’t think NCIS would look too highly upon me if I crushed their new Jeep.

Some of the other things that I do at work is call around to different places and seek out information about people and places, which can be hard. This is cold case homicide so many of the cases are 10 or 20 years old and people move and places go out of business. It is nice to actually be able to do some investigative work and it can be very rewarding when I am able to find information which may help to solve a crime.

There are a number of fieldtrips that we are able to go on including going on a tour of the Pentagon, tour an aircraft carrier, and going to the shooting range. I am pumped about going to the shooting range since I usually shoot three or four times a week back home. Now I have to go four months without shooting, so at least I get to go once.

Check back next week for some more information about the exciting life of a NCIS intern.

Hello!

Welcome to my blog. My name is Matthew, and I hope to give you some good insight as to what the life of an intern in Washington, D.C. is like.

I’ve only been in D.C. a week and I am already starting to get the hang of the city. The first few days were crazy when it came to riding the Metro. It didn’t help at all that part of the Metro was closed for track repairs, which added an extra 45 minutes to my ride. During the week the Metro is packed, and I am not a big fan of being stuffed into a little box with a bunch of other people, but it gets me to where I need to be. If you plan on coming here make sure to always leave earlier than you think you need to cause chances are the Metro will randomly stop on the tracks and what should be a 20-minute ride will turn into a 60-minute ride. When you get off the Metro and are on the escalators to get to the top, stand to the right unless you plan on walking up the escalator. If you are standing on the left side then you will be yelled at and crushed. No joke, so remember that the first time you use the Metro.

The best part about living in D.C. compared to back home in Ohio is the fact that there is always something to see and do. You will never be bored here. There is no way I’m even going to be able to see everything in the short time that I am here. If you like taking pictures than this is a great place for that too.


One of the first places I went to was Arlington National Cemetery, which is quite an experience. The pictures that I’ve seen don’t even begin to explain what an amazing place this is. So many historical individuals that I’ve read about in school have been laid to rest here. It is also and eye opener to see tombstones of people who are younger than I am who have died for this country fighting in Iraq.


The museums here are filled with historic documents and artifacts. The National Archives is the best museum that I’ve been to while in D.C. It is pretty cool to be inches from the United States Constitution or the Bill of Rights. The Smithsonian Museums are interesting and would take days to walk through them all. The National Museum of Natural History is filled with animals and gems, such as the well known Hope Diamond.

This fall I am interning at the Naval Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS). (No, I do not watch the show). I’m looking forward to starting my internship and hopefully in my future posts I will be able to give you a better insight into my day-to-day activities. Ok…stop back next week to find out what NCIS is like.