• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Texas A&M Forest Service
  • Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostics Laboratory
  • Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
  • Texas A&M AgriLife Research
  • Texas A&M College of Agrculture and Life Sciences
Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Agricultural and Natural Resources Policy Internship Program
Internships Start Careers. Begin Yours Today.
  • Menu
  • Home
  • About
    • Locations
      • Austin, Texas
      • Rome, Italy
      • Washington, D.C.
    • Program Benefits
    • Current Interns
      • Austin, Texas
      • International
      • Washington, D.C.
    • Intern Testimonials
  • Become an Intern
    • Eligibility
    • Logistics to Consider
    • Application Process
    • Apply Now
  • Blog
  • Hosting Offices
    • Site Supervisor Eligibility
    • Registering Your Office
  • Alumni
    • Update Contact Information
    • Alumni List
  • Donors & Supporters
    • How to Give
    • Supporter Impact
  • Contact
    • How to Find Us
    • Program Staff

The Secret to Looking Like a Local

August 15, 2022 by cprice920

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.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Posts

  • December 2022 (2)
  • November 2022 (3)
  • August 2022 (10)
  • June 2022 (4)
  • February 2022 (1)
  • December 2021 (1)
  • October 2021 (2)
  • September 2021 (2)
  • July 2021 (7)
  • June 2021 (1)
  • December 2020 (3)
  • November 2020 (1)
  • October 2020 (3)
  • July 2020 (3)
  • April 2020 (7)
  • March 2020 (5)
  • December 2019 (1)
  • November 2019 (5)
  • October 2019 (2)
  • March 2016 (1)
  • December 2015 (2)
  • November 2015 (1)
  • July 2015 (3)
  • March 2015 (1)
  • February 2015 (1)
  • November 2014 (1)
  • September 2014 (1)
  • August 2014 (1)
  • July 2014 (1)
  • June 2014 (2)
  • June 2012 (1)

Tag Cloud

#Rome #RomeLife #European Aggies ANRP ANRP 25th Anniversary Capitol Hill career D.C. Day Off DC living Deadline Events Experience FAO future goals hilltern Hollywood intern Intern Life Interns internship Learning News Rome Thank You TX-34 Veteran's Day Washington
  • Compact with Texans
  • Privacy and Security
  • Accessibility Policy
  • State Link Policy
  • Statewide Search
  • Veterans Benefits
  • Military Families
  • Risk, Fraud & Misconduct Hotline
  • Texas Homeland Security
  • Texas Veterans Portal
  • Equal Opportunity
  • Open Records/Public Information
Texas A&M University System Member