A Mile in my Shoes, or Seven

Some of you may know that most people in D.C. don’t drive and that most interns, myself being included, don’t bring our cars for the summer. At home we measure most things in minutes, rather than miles (a trusty measurement) and one hour, four, you name it—we’ll drive it. Rewind to June 3, my first day in the District, and I was missing my car within 24 hours. I bet I covered 7-8 miles my first full day in town, and my calves and legs were killing me. I don’t really know what point I am trying to make, but as much as I’ve missed the flexibility (and physical relief) that my car lends me, public transportation has its perks too. When it comes to work, I walk a quick 6 minutes to hop on the bus and after 15 minutes am dropped off right next to the office. No wasted time parking or paying for parking, and I’m free to go about my work day.

Lately with the NCGA I’ve been trying to keep track of the priority policy issues which includes keeping pace with Sam Willet on the Farm Bill and keeping issues of trade and research on my radar. My first week I attended a House Ag hearing on food aid and international development. After 2.5 hours of sitting, frantically writing notes and pulling up faces of Congressmen on my phone playing a matching game, I was affirmed that I am in the right place. Despite the length, the hearing moved quickly for me and I enjoyed listening to the bipartisan conversation around food aid and the importance of assisting other nations. If you’re a reader, I really enjoyed reading through a report released by the Farm Journal Foundation titled Enhancing United States Efforts to Develop Sustainable Agri-Food Systems in Africa. One of the contributors, T.S Jayne, testified at the hearing and pulled many of his points from this report.

When not at work, I’m back to burning through the soles of my shoes and exploring the District. Highlights so far have been the Congressional baseball game and Nat’s game (really just there for the sunshine), walking the National Mall, taking advantage of free bluegrass music in the park along the Potomac river, attending the 25th Giant National Capital BBQ Battle and arriving home to our dear “stray” cat (it has a collar, not sure about the owners) that hangs out on our steps. There’s much to do here, and in the meantime before my next blog post, we are in full planning mode for Corn Congress in July. (Excited to have some of you here!)

All for now!


Jacy Spencer
National Corn Growers Association, Washington D.C. Office
20 F Street NW
Suite 600
Washington, DC 20001
Office: 202-628-7001