Today’s blog post is by one of our two summer interns, Eric Rodriguez. This is the second year of the AAA Summer Internship Program. Learn more and support the program today!
Eric Rodriguez here, one of two 2012 AAA summer interns. I am just reaching the midway point of my dual internship with the AAA and the Underwater Archaeology Branch (UAB) of the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) located in Washington D.C.
Reflecting on the first half of these internships, it amazes to me to see how far I have come in a short time span. Whether it is primarily the social or work environment, my understanding of Washington and professional anthropology has matured and increased my love for both the city and this career field.
These first weeks of the AAA internship have embedded a better understanding of the publishing and outreach programs of anthropology. As Susannah and I continue to work on our summer project, I have come to a personal understanding of the detail that is required to launch a nationwide campaign. When I review a budget or revisit proposals for the National Association of Student Anthropologists, I realize the inner workings of professional anthropology and how I can potentially see myself entering this area of anthropological work.
Conservation lab at the Underwater Archaeology Branch of the Naval History and Heritage Command.
My new found appreciation for professional anthropology can be best captured by my time at the Naval History and Heritage Command. In the first weeks at the Naval Yard, my time was focused on more clerical work rather than conservation. I have had the opportunity to continue primary document research for the USS Scorpion and to assemble a lesson plan for high school students to learn about the opportunities and technologies that are available in maritime archaeology. I have also been able to continue sharpening my ArcGIS skills by assembling lithology, podology, and topographic maps for the USS Penobscot project in Rhode Island. While I highly enjoy working on these projects, I hope to spend the second half of the internship in the conservation lab directly working with the artifacts. I am especially excited to be working with Meshlab and Scanstudio softwares, as I have not been able to sharpen my skills with them since working with Dr. Davide Tanasi in Siracusa, Italy. The NHHC experience has only increased my desire to work in maritime archaeology whether it may be in an academic setting or in a professional atmosphere. The advice given to me by my supervisors has provided venues and potential job opportunities to continue practicing archaeology before enrolling in the MA—Maritime Archaeology program at the University of Southampton next fall.
Artifact storage center of the Naval History and Heritage Command.
Living and working in DC has brought a new appreciation of the city. Growing up close to the DC area, I would often make family trips to the see the museums and tourist attractions of the city. While my family loved the area, I never fancied DC itself. However, my current experience here has changed that. Not only has the amazing work experience led to this realization, but also the opportunity to explore the various districts. One habit I have acquired is walking to and from my internships, trying never to take the same path twice. This choice has allowed me to appreciate the beautiful architecture and neighborhoods of Washington. Urban exploring always reveals the soul of a city and what I find to be the more enjoyable aspects of larger urban environments, cultural districts. By myself or with friends, I take great efforts to visit hole-in-the-wall restaurants and shops. A favorite of mine has been Busboys and Poets located in Columbia Heights, a must for anyone looking for a restaurant with a great atmosphere, open mic nights and fantastic cuisine. Thanks to venues such as this, I think it’s safe to say that this city has finally charmed me over.
As I continue to work and explore DC, I hope to continue gaining insight into professional archaeology and Washington as I may one day find myself working in this field and in this city once again. Until then, I will continue enjoying the rest of my time here both inside and outside of the workplace.
Ciao for now!
Eric Rodriguez
Filed under: Association Business, Career/Funding/Awards, Commentary | Tagged: AAA Summer Internship Program, Arcadia Univerity, Busboys and Poets, Eric Rodriguez, underwater archaeology, Underwater Archaeology Branch of the Naval History and Heritage Command, University of Pittsburgh | Comments Off
Ethnographic Musings of an AAA Intern
Today’s blog post is by one of our two summer interns, Susannah Poland. This is the second year of the AAA Summer Internship Program. Learn more and support the program today!
Thoughts on DC work and environment
I have a few anthropological musings. When I arrived in D.C., it was a record-setting 110 degrees (with the heat index). I was both overwhelmed by the heat, and struck by how much time everybody spent in air conditioning. In the past few weeks, I have been wondering about the effect of climate upon work culture. In my daily travels from apartment to metro to work, and occasionally to stores and restaurants in between, I estimate I spend 1 hour or less per day in un-air conditioned environments.
Washington DC is oppressed by humidity. Up on Capitol Hill the frantic politicos and desperate interns look suffocated and resentful in their tight gray suits. We race from one climate-controlled space to another, resenting the dampness that builds under our fitted synthetic outfits when we must walk from the car to the metro, the metro to the office. DC’s verdant parks and shaded nooks look nice in guidebooks, but we clutch our briefcases and slump under the thick yellowish- gray haze that hangs low breathes hotly on the back of our necks. In public transit, men scowl and re-check the heat index on their phones, women frantically smooth their frizzing hairstyles. Safely in our cool, dry, bright offices, we return to the professional life dressed for. We straighten up and our suits fall into place, moisture evaporates from our composed brow, and we are once again masters of our busy schedules. Professionalism and efficiency require bright lights and controlled climates; dim humidity just saps our energy and motivation. In a culture of air conditioning, we love our big cubic man-made ecosystems.
Having just moved from the San Francisco Bay Area, I am not accustomed to this indoor living. Californians smugly flaunt their “California cool”– it’s a fashion, a work style, a design process, a business model, a persona, a philosophy. Their arid, sunshine-drenched, nouveau-Mediterranean climate of the Bay Area is more than the perfect backdrop for the image young, fit entrepreneur. The perpetually pleasant weather enables a fantasy which the Californians themselves consume. They are flippantly anti-business suit, anti- cubicle, anti – centralized air. Top Silicon Valley entrepreneurs drop out of school to start their dream companies. They forego the 9 to 5 workday to program on laptops in coffee shops, then go for a 50 mile bike ride on the coast. Outdoor fitness is integrated into the work day because healthy living increases work efficiency and creativity (and keeps you thin and tanned). This is the cult of youthful ingenuity: seventeen year old tech nerds make millions overnight, then go surfing the next morning. And somehow the lack of seasons erodes the sense of time passing. Aging seems unnatural in this paradise. And though they work round the clock in their boundless workspace, the Californians are always smiley.
Forgive my overgeneralizations – I do not justly portray the individuals who live and work in either locale, and my descriptions are imaginative. But, at the risk of exaggeration, I hope to convey a few, very partial observations.
Frankly, I don’t know which culture I prefer. I grew up in Massachusetts, and as a somewhat stubborn New Englander I was distrustful of the California ideology. I defend the value of a winter, which halts our self-centered busyness. The snow storm comes, we’re ploughed in, the power goes out, and everything just stops. We make stews from vegetables stored in our cold basement, light candles, and take care of our home. The harshness of our environment is humbling, and people become weathered, so to speak. People say that New Englanders are harsher, blunter, “realer” – but I suspect these characteristics have become equally constructed, so that, in our pride and romanticism, we become caricatures of ourselves.
California entrepreneurs seem too shiny and happy to be real, and D.C. politicos seem to be held hostage in their big white buildings and gray suits. Both embrace artificiality in their own way. I feel compelled to return to Boston with a more critical eye, and question the “sensibility” I attribute to our seasonal trials.
Filed under: Commentary | Tagged: AAA Internship program, living and working in Washington D.C., Susannah Poland | Comments Off