A new place, new people, and new experiences come with moving to a new city. Being in practically the most famous city in the United States for ten weeks is just as exciting as it seems. But are we considered ‘locals’ now? We are not just visiting… but we’re also only living here for ten weeks out of the entire year. So what does that make the 24 transplanted Aggies residing in Washington, D.C., this summer? Locals, or just more (thankfully not eighth grade) tourists trying to do and see everything before leaving again?
It’s not -that- hard.
I mean, come on, I know I’m not the only one who puts on my business casual outfit I bought only weeks (okay maybe days) before moving here and feels like I’m on top of the world and so much more ~local~ than those lost tourists (who I looked exactly like two weeks prior) trying to figure out the metro system (of which I still get lost on).
Of course, you have to find all the hidden gems and be able to talk about them with your coworkers, or maybe just to impress another lost tourist when they ask for dinner recommendations.
And absolutely avoid Georgetown (so no cupcakes?), find out how to get to Old Town (wherever that is), and find your favorite local (no Dutch Bros?) coffee shop to visit at least twice a week because this town runs on caffeine.
Finally, the Secret.
Being a local means you’re supposed to be able to get around without Google maps helping you out, right? Absolutely not, unless you want your 20-minute commute home to turn into a 2-hour commute after getting on the wrong metro. But, besides the point, D.C. is such a wonderful city and unlike anywhere I have ever been, let alone lived. The secret to ‘looking like a local’ is actually to not act like one. It’s important to embrace the tourist attractions, overpriced cupcakes, and swarms of eighth graders that seem to be around every corner. Without all of those, you truly would not get to experience the city in the way it is meant to be explored.
Grace Bennett
American Farm Bureau Federation
Summer 2022 | Washington, D.C.
