A working girl runs for president

Wow, yesterday was a whirlwind! I was meeting so many different people in so many different places in D.C. that I felt like I was running for president. Since I technically worked for 14 hours yesterday and will be working until 8 p.m. tonight, I don't have to go into work until 1 p.m. Hooray for resting!

Slowly D.C. is rubbing off on me. Other plans and boyfriends aside, I think I would get a job here next year if I could. Sure, the place is crowded and gritty (in a different sense from China), but it's a place where decisions get made for the country and impact the whole world.

So I went to a breakfast with a senator in the morning at The Monocle. I'm getting a lot more comfortable in my role, and was able to talk with various people. The overwhelming majority of them are men who wear nice suits, ties, and fancy cuff links. Many of them are vice presidents of their respective companies. But God has reminded me that they are also just human, and I'm not really nervous around them.

Then at night I went to the French Embassy for another event. There was a reception, which included additional suit-wearing guys and only a handful of women wearing their equally impressive suits. The Embassy itself was rather disappointing. It's nestled in Georgetown, so the scenery is gorgeous, but the Embassy isn't that impressive. There was a huge locked gate we had to go through, but the "guard" looked like a teenager in a t-shirt and jeans.

The people then were also a little less interesting, even though they came from all over the world. With my water glass in hand and half of a lox hors'doeuvres stuffed in my mouth, I met a guy from the U.S. Department of Commerce who immediately asked if I was French. I had to tell him, no, I was from Kansas and not to let my special Midwestern accent fool him. He said I looked French, and he should know, because he travels there extensively. Later a lady at a parking garage asked what country I was from. Not many people seem to assume I'm American.

Anyway, it was a fascinating, but exhausting day. Tonight I get to go to yet another reception in the heart of D.C. at a fancy restaurant. This week sure is going by quickly...