"Hello there, Welcome to the web world of Leo Veradkar. So, who am I? I am a 21-year-old medical student from Dublin. I have just finished my third year at Trinity College. In my spare time I am a political junkie so Washington, DC is the perfect place for me to while away my summer. I am working as an intern in Rep. Jack Quinn’s office. Interested???? Anyhow, I’ll be using this page to provide you with a blow by blow account of my experiences in the Disneyland of Politics. Read on…."

JOURNAL ENTRIES Young_Leader: Leo Varadkar

Date: Monday, July 17, 2000

Time: 08:05 PM

Journal_Entry Jesus, have I been neglecting my literary duties!!! Bless me father for I have sinned, its been three weeks since mylast confession. So whats been going on. Basically, I'm wrecked and need a few days sleep preferably in Virgina Beach or something. Had a really busy weekend. Saturday saw the much vaunted Mid-Term Review and Listening Day. The Listening Day, an exercise in Narrative etc. wasn't half as bad as I had been led to believe, nonetheless I was glad to return to Bronagh's house for a very nice BBQ afterwards. The classy ladies, Bronagh and Jenny, deserve full marks for putting on a great spread. Despite a few lovebites (none involving me) and a minor altercation, it was a very civilised night. Debbie and I made the grevious error of taking the last metro home, which we duly missed and cost us $20 in taxi fare. Anyway, I think the time has come for the debauchery that only Colin and I can offer with another Alexandria night. Kathleen took us out on Sunday. Visited the Anglican Cathedral complete with its moon rock, the Catholic Basilica with its Irish Chapel and Great Falls. It is amazing how close Washington DC is to the Virginia countryside. In the evening, we visited the Kennedy and gorged ourselves on food. I also managed to find such delights as Toffee Crisps and Cadbury's Chocolate. Americans are so ignorant of the delights of CHOCOLATE that they don't even have a real word for it. Maybe that's why they invaded Grenada. Last Friday was pretty rough. Got up at 5.30 AM to get to a business breakfast in Arlington. Brenda and I did a bit of PR for the programme. I think it went well. Either way, I managed to off-load five raffle tickets and was treated to my first breakfast since I came to DC. Hash Browns aren't bad but I still haven't tried good 'ole southern grits. Had Lunch with my mentor, Patrick Wilson, in the Capital Hill Club, which was pretty cool. Patrick is in charge of Congressional Affairs for the Construction Industry and is a passionate Republican. We met up at 12.15 and I rolled back to the office around 2.30. Nothing like good food and good conversation to while away Friday afternoon. At last, I have discovered a really good bar in Dupont. Bricks Keller serves 200 including Duvel and Kwak- pity these yankee charlatans don't have the right beer glasses. The storms are magnificant here in Washington. I think I have probably experienced more storms in the last month than in the rest of my life. I've lost my sunglasses which I am pretty pissed off about as it is going to cost $150 to replace them if they don't turn up somewhere. Celebrity Spotting- bumped into Newt Gingrich on the metro the other day. I wish I had brought a camera. Today, Emer and I, all refresed from her trip home, went to see Ted Kennedy speak to a group of young Democrats- he really is incredible. Where are the great passionate orators of American politics today. Anyway, that enough of me for now. Young_Leader: Leo Varadkar

Date: Monday, July 10, 2000

Time: 09:39 PM

Journal_Entry So where did I leave you last. Oh yeah, July 4th. Too be honest its a bit of an anti-climax. The fireworks were great for the first 30 mins but then they got boring. Afterwards, everyone crowds on the metro home. No late night drinking sessions. Role on Paddy's Day. On Wednesday, we were given an excellent lecture on the Civil War and how its lessons can be applied to modern life. It was the first time I was really pleased to have gone to Wednesday Afternoon course. On Thursday, I met up with Adam and Ciara for a talk on the Middle-East peace process given by the Israeli ambassador to the UN. Then we bumped into Emer and took our seats on the floor of the House of Reps. for another talk. Ciara fell asleep! Work is still going well and I feel settled and comfortable in the office. Unfortunatly, Kathleen, our 'host Mom' is sick and was admitted to hospital. On Saturday, Colin and I visited the Holocaust Museum. This is a must for all visitors to Washington DC. We spent almost 4 hours in the museum. It is a truly moving and educational experience. The use of multi-media and architecture is phenominal. Not so the American History Museum, or more accurately the American Museum of Stuff- no Columbus, no Civil war or Native Americans- just loads of old cars and things. Visited the Washington Waterfront also. Spent most of Sunday at a pool party. Where were the cocktails?? Is Virginia a dry state?? Movie Review Me, myself and Irene- Recomended for the under fours and the hard of IQ The Patriot A bit formulaic, Braveheart goes to South Carolina kind of thing. Probably worth % bucks though. Why do people make so much noise in American cinemas. Young_Leader: Leo Varadkar

Date: Monday, July 10, 2000

Time: 09:39 PM

Journal_Entry So where did I leave you last. Oh yeah, July 4th. Too be honest its a bit of an anti-climax. The fireworks were great for the first 30 mins but then they got boring. Afterwards, everyone crowds on the metro home. No late night drinking sessions. Role on Paddy's Day. On Wednesday, we were given an excellent lecture on the Civil War and how its lessons can be applied to modern life. It was the first time I was really pleased to have gone to Wednesday Afternoon course. On Thursday, I met up with Adam and Ciara for a talk on the Middle-East peace process given by the Israeli ambassador to the UN. Then we bumped into Emer and took our seats on the floor of the House of Reps. for another talk. Ciara fell asleep! Work is still going well and I feel settled and comfortable in the office. Unfortunatly, Kathleen, our 'host Mom' is sick and was admitted to hospital. On Saturday, Colin and I visited the Holocaust Museum. This is a must for all visitors to Washington DC. We spent almost 4 hours in the museum. It is a truly moving and educational experience. The use of multi-media and architecture is phenominal. Not so the American History Museum, or more accurately the American Museum of Stuff- no Columbus, no Civil war or Native Americans- just loads of old cars and things. Visited the Washington Waterfront also. Spent most of Sunday at a pool party. Where were the cocktails?? Is Virginia a dry state?? Movie Review Me, myself and Irene- Recomended for the under fours and the hard of IQ The Patriot A bit formulaic, Braveheart goes to South Carolina kind of thing. Probably worth % bucks though. Why do people make so much noise in American cinemas. Young_Leader: Leo Varadkar

Date: Tuesday, July 04, 2000

Time: 01:23 PM

Journal_Entry Hello again, Welcome to my second journal entry detailing my experiences here in DC. Now on my second week of work on the Hill. Most of the stuff I am doing is pretty clerical but it is good to be able to see how things work in Congress and compare them to the Dail and party headquarters in Dublin. The most striking thing is the youth of the legislative assistants here. Irish politics is dominated by a bunch of old codgers many of whom lost their passion for and belief in politics long ago. The second is the scope that representatives have to influence legislation and vote freely as compared to in Ireland. I am very fortunate that the office staff are easy to get on with and have been very welcoming. I was dragged along to Softball by the American interns last Friday. Basically, there is a league made up of warring congressional ofices. Softballs, by the way, are not soft. Went out to some of the bars around the afterwards. A good night. Travelled to Baltimore on Friday night to see a Baseball game- Orioles v. Toronto Blue Jays. I'd come again for the scoreboard, hot dogs and spectacle in general but the game itself is pretty dull. Had a look at Baltimore's beautiful waterfront. Our host family went away for the July 4th weekend so we had a house party here in Alexandria. Took the group down to Old Town Alexandria first and returned to the house later. Despite some minor damage the party was a great success and a re-match has been requested. An interesting development in the group dynamic was noted as real intimacy and real argument were demonstrated for the first time. I paid $20, everything is so fucking expensive here, to see the European Cup Final on Sunday. But it was worth to see the bset team in the world kick some Italian ass. Also made $5 in a bet with Mark, an Italian-American staffer in the office. Ha! So that's all folks. Have to leave now to celebrate American independence day on the mall. Young_Leader: Leo Varadkar

Date: Monday, June 26, 2000

Time: 11:33 PM

Journal_Entry How bad do I really look? I was complemented today on how well I looked in my web photo. What does plastic surgery cost in this country, anyway? Anyhow, Welcome to my entry on my spanky new Web page. I have been in America for just over a week now and so far I give the land of the brave and free a comfortable 9/10. I am deducting one point as I cannot use my mobile phone in this technological backwater and the escalators don't work. Du Pont Metro station has 173 steps to climb. So much for joining a gym while I am over here. WMATA gives me a free workout every day. I am living in Alexandria in Virgina in good ole Dixie. Colin and I share Kathleen Barger as our 'host Mom', he can have the two dogs to himself. Alexandria is a beautiful town and the living conditions are working out really well here. Alexandria is famous for having a shop which sells 500 different types of beer ice cold. Apart from that it's a bit of a Dawson's Creek minus the waco thirty-year olds taking about how teenage years are such a wonderful voyage of discovery. Yeah, where the acne Joshua Jackson ya big fairy. Well back to the most important thing, Me. We spent the first week in Washington seeing the sights and partaking in the introductory week of our Leadership Training Course (sorry your too old Bertie). Washington is a beautiful city with a great transport system, loads of squirrels and big trees with fire-flies (what are those things?). The monuments are really beautiful but in true American style, it's only a knock off of the real thing in Europe. Rumour has it the entire capital was bought by Herbert Hoover on discount from a failed Las Vegas casino consortium. Oh, yeah, and by the way Mark Finan, plenty of people live in DC! The Leadership course has been interesting but much of it has been lost on yours sceptically. I was impressed with the Myers-Briggs personality test, probably because it told me what I wanted to hear, ie, that I am a natural leader. But then you all knew that didn't ya!!! The group of 34 Irish interns is really great and the group dynamic is working really well. Expect this to degenerate at some stage so don't forget to check back for more details. Had a really great new experience on Sunday. The Group went to a Black Baptist Church in Downtown Washington called Mount Lebanon for Sunday service. There was dancing in the aisles and hallelujahs. It was just like on TV, but it was so genuine and it was very difficult to maintain by famous reserve. They also treated us to lovely lunch afterwards. I am considering a return visit. Don't worry I haven't 'found religion' just yet. Today was my first day in my work placement at Rep. Jack Quinn's office on Capitol Hill. Got to meet the Congressman and was shown how to use the intranet system etc. Political offices are so much more professional in DC than in DE (Dail Eireann). Bored yet? Well, I am. Check back in a few days for more news from your favourite Washington correspondant. Young_Leader: Leo Varadkar

Date: Friday, June 23, 2000

Time: 06:56 PM

Journal_Entry Leo, welcome to Young Leaders 2000 from the Webmaster. We all look forward to following your summer adventure here in Washington, DC through your Journal. If you have any questions or problems with your Journal, please email webmaster@storywise.com. Good luck!