You are now entering the District of Columbia...

Welcome to the Nation’s Capital.

Moving to D.C. marks the beginning of the end for me-for the last six weeks of our Master’s program at Syracuse University; we trek down to Washington D.C. to live and breathe everything the city has to offer and report for our respective stations across the country.

I’m reporting for KTAB in Abilene, Texas, which is interesting since I’ve never been there or to Texas (unless an hour in the Houston Airport transferring flights counts). There’s a lot to know about Texas and I’m trying my hardest to consume as much information as I can and understand what issues are important to Texans.

I’ve experienced a lot in the first week I’ve been here:
I’ve battled the Metro subway system -- which is colorful and, at times, confusing. It’s usually packed with people and trying to carry a tripod/camera along for the ride proves to be difficult. The metro farecards are also extremely frustrating because having them anywhere near your cell phone, credit cards or other electronic devices deactivates them. And one of my fellow reporters successfully deactivated five cards in one day.

The 100- degree heat here in D.C. is unbearable at times, but I’m sure most of Texas is used to that kind of heat. Carrying a tripod/camera around Capitol Hill in over 100-degree weather is tiring. And when some of the Metro cars don’t have air conditioning, it makes your day that much hotter. Your “professional dress” becomes less professional- as the day wears on and you sweat like never before.

But on a more positive note, meeting and interviewing members of Congress on issues
that affect Texas has been a more pleasant experience. The first interview my fellow
Texas reporters and I had was with Rep. Mac Thornberry. He was very nice and
accommodating and his Press Secretaries were great! Going to interview him was a little intimidating (I’d never met a Congressman before), but after meeting him and seeing how down to earth he was, the interview went by smoothly. The next Congressman I interviewed was Randy Neugebauer, who was equally nice and helpful! He fit us into his busy schedule and as soon as we were done with the interview he had to run to vote on legislation on the floor of the House of Representatives.

All in all, it's been a great start!