First Day on the Job

Today was surprisingly painless. I had no idea what to expect, and from hearing how the day went for my various colleagues, it seems that I was right to have no particular expectations. Some of my colleagues dove right into research, interviews, or accompanying their MPs to meetings, and some stood around for hours doing nothing, but I got shown around the parts of the buildings of Parliament not open to the public. In other words, I can now direct you to the mail room of the West Block!

What was supposed to be my office laptop was broken, so instead of doing a little research to familiarize myself with the workings of Parliament, Jeff's lovely temporary assistant Annie explained a few things to me and one of Jeff's long-term interns brought me up to speed on the hot topics of Parliament's politics at the moment. One thing that I found particularly interesting is that there is currently a bill being discussed that concerns how much U.S. social security benefits Canadian citizens who work in the U.S. (e.g. Windsor people working in Detroit) receive.

After learning where we stand, Annie gave me a tour of the West Block (where my new workplace is), the Centre Block, and the East Block, which included the cafeterias (yum!) and the tunnels underneath the Hill. Although I had indicated on multiple occasions that I was familiar with the typical tourguide highlights, as my family had visited Parliament Hill in the past year, Annie gave me the full American tourist tour, gift shop included.

Following the tour, we got a bite to eat in the Centre Block's cafeteria before heading to Question Period. The Members are allowed to speak during this period in whichever language they prefer, and listening to the translation in the little earpiece that I had to hold up to my ear made me imagine that this must be what sitting in on a United Nations meeting is like, which got me excited realizing that one day in the distant future I might actually be able to do just that.

Annie informed me that Mondays are a bit laid back because everyone has returned from a weekend of relaxing and/or traveling. However, I found the enthusiasm and the fierocity of the MPs captivating. The indirect insults of one party to another (as the parties must address the Speaker of the House) was amusing, as was all of the cat-calling in the background. I have been told from numerous people that Wednesday is the fiestiest day of the week for Question Period and I am very excited for that. I was surprised to hear that every statement for the Question Period is pre-planned. I am used to debates being on-the-spot sort of affairs, but the fact that the questions of Question Period are predetermined provides no surprises to the opposing parties, and I am not sure yet how I feel about this approach. Hopefully, I will have the opportunity to attend one of these QPs atleast once every week.

I did not get the opportunity to meet Jeff today because he was flying in from a business trip, but it sounds like I will get to meet his whole family as they are making their presence at a Pro-Life event sometime this week. So, as my computer was broken and there was little for me to do, I was free to leave after Question Period. Thank goodness, too, because even with all the excitement of QP, I was in good need of a two-hour nap, which I enjoyed immensely. On my walk home, one of my best buddies Danielle called me up, and the call turned into a play-by-play of my first day. Although I've been trying to keep my cellphone-calling to a minimum (because of the high "international" rates), and although I have made a few new friends just in the past weekend, it was so nice to talk to a friend from home.

Shortly after I woke up from my lovely, long nap, my roommate Priya returned from her first day and together, with a bunch of my other new friends, we walked down to the nearest grocery store which charged outrageous prices but no more expensive than usual in Canada, as I have discovered (where's a Meijer when you need one?!), and then we went to the fancy beer/wine/liqour store on the other side of the parking lot just for the heck of it. The only thing that looked worth buying to me was some kind of drink with major caramel in it that Cadbury puts out; everything else, I think I'll pass on. :P

Then we came back and made ourselves dinner, played a little Foosball, and had a little meeting to find out about our future excursions, which I will blog about when the time comes. Jordan and I taught Robert and Amanda how to play Euchre yesterday and we tested their newfound skills this evening. Yesterday, Jordan, Amanda and I attempted to play pool on the 6th floor but it was a bit difficult playing pool on a Snooker table, which is all this place has. Still, now I can say that I have played on a Snooker table before (which I had no idea even existed before yesterday, and if you would have asked me, I would have told you that Snooker is a medical condition that Smurfs sometimes suffer from).

Annie told me that I do not have to come into the office until sometime after 10 tomorrow, as everyone else is attending some big breakfast event, so I will enjoy not having to wake up at 7:30 tomorrow morning. Then at 3, my colleagues and I are scheduled to meet with the House Speaker so tomorrow shall be another quick day.
I do not intend for all of my blogs to be this long, but as things are new to me and are also new to you, there is much to cover. I, too, will appreciate when there is less I feel I need to mention, as that means I will get to go to bed that much earlier!