On Sunday, August 5th, we gathered at Norfolk Academy for the drive to Washington, D.C.  By the time they had finally arrived in Rosslyn, six hours later, two harsh realities of the program had dawned on the International Relations Fellows: Washington traffic is bad, and Dr. Rezelman is capable of talking about world politics for hours.  Topics of conversation in the car varied from the role of Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) in the formulation of U.S. foreign policy, to the role of Swedish furniture stores in the restaurant business (and the potential of McDonald’s in the furniture business), to the love lives of various fictional characters from popular culture.  After a dinner atop the hotel restaurant overlooking Georgetown, everyone retreated to rest for our first full day in Washington.

Our formal introduction was accomplished by an ideal host, Glenn Nye, in an ideal place, a conference room overlooking the Capitol.  As a former Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) officer, and U.S. Congressman, Nye was able to provide the Fellows with a sweeping overview of the challenges posed in the formulation of U.S. foreign policy.  Nye focused especially on the relationship between Congress and the various agencies of the Executive Branch.  We also learned about some of the ways Nye’s current employer, Palantir Technologies, provides technological support to the study and practice of U.S. foreign policy.  As Jessica reflected later, “Nye was a great start to our trip as we learned about the new software [created by] Palantir and the media’s influence on government institutions.”  Hannah found most interesting Nye’s work for the State Department “in the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Singapore,” remarking “now I want to learn more about being an ambassador.”  Unfortunately our photography skills were not as sophisticated as our host, but with the aid of photo editing software, soon we should be able to improve our group photograph:

The Fellows with Dr. Rezelman and Congressman Glenn Nye, Palantir Technologies.

After our visit to Palantir Technologies, we crossed over from the Senate to the House side of the Capitol:

The Fellows with Ms. Priddy, U.S. Capitol.

The Office of U.S. Representative Scott Rigell (VA-02) was kind enough to arrange a tour of the Capitol for us from none other than Norfolk Academy alumnus, and Rigell intern, Alex Patterson (’09).  Mr. Patterson provided us with an introduction to the breaktaking architecture, sculpture, and history (he was well-trained in history) of the U.S. Capitol.  Along the way, Mr. Patterson also provided the Fellows with an informal discussion of the life of a university student of international relations and the life of an intern “on the Hill.”

The Fellows with Mr. Patterson, U.S. Capitol.

Sophie remarked that “I had never been to the Capitol before.  It was so cool to be in the underground tunnels!”  Pablo was struck by the architecture: “People really enjoy beauty.  The Capitol is nothing but.”  Hannah was especially impressed with “the frieze in the rotunda which was a breaktaking depiction of America through the years.”  Thomas was proud that, while “every state can have two statues of bronze or marble in the Capitol,” Virginia actually gets three (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Robert E. Lee).  Ms. Priddy was finally able to confirm or deny (confirm, as it turns out) a story she had been told as a child that Florida had chosen to honor in one of its statues the inventor of air conditioning.

Robert Gorrie, “Father of Air Conditioning,” U.S. Capitol.

Our final stop of the day was at the Cato Institute.  Our host was Cato’s Vice President for Defense and Foreign Policy Studies, Dr. Christopher Preble.

Dr. Preble, Cato Institute.

Dr. Preble continued the discussion of the role think tanks play in Washington that had begun earlier that day with Glenn Nye’s description of his work with the German Marshall Fund.  As Thomas explained, “many think tanks are liberal or conservative, but the Cato Institute is different because it is libertarian, and sides with both parties on different matters.”  Jessica was impressed by “the Cato Institute’s unique nonpartisan views.”  Pablo explained that “it takes many years of hard thinking and work” to make an impact through a think tank.  Sophie discovered one possible future career path: “Before going to the Cato Institute I wasn’t sure what a think tank was, and now I’m interested in possibly being in one when I’m older.”

A delicious postscript to the day was provided at the Mala Tang Sichuan Hot Pot restaurant.  Some of us discovered that we love seaweed, and some of us discovered that we didn’t, but we all agreed that it was good that we now all had an informed opinion on seaweed.  Sophie made the most important discovery of all, that of a second possible future career path: that of a chef.  We all agreed that “Sophie Sauce” (a mixture of plum sauce and soy sauce) was fantastic.