By Kasey El-Chayeb, on July 10, 2014

Happy Independence Day!

It’s a short week due to the holiday and I’m happy to say I’ve got some great plans to celebrate. I can’t think of a better place to spend the Fourth of July than in the nation’s capital.

This week, I got my first crack at translating some documents into Spanish at my internship. Not many people in the department speak Spanish and I’m happy to bring a useful skill to the table. Most of what I have been working on is about the Leap Second, the additional second added to universal time every year or so in order to synchronize the atomic clock and the earth’s rotational clock. The controversy surrounds getting rid of the leap second and depending solely on the atomic clock. You can learn about this neat issue here.

I also received a wonderful visit from MPA advisor Susan Austin. Susan came through D.C. for my PWE site visit on Monday. We had a really productive conversation and she was able to meet my supervisors and get feedback from them, as well.

I will be spending the 4th of July at Meridian Park with friends until the big fireworks show on the National Mall. The District also hosts a free Independence Day concert on The Mall and a day-time parade through downtown.