Monday was great! The next day was the primary, so we had quite a bit going on. We went to the Bernie Sanders rally and we were front row to all the action! It was awesome being so close.
After the rally, we went to the office and did more canvassing. I met a few new people so that was really fun. It was snowing again, so we had to leave a little early.
And then today was primary day! There was so much to do! I had already done two canvassing trips by 1 o'clock. When I came back, it was time for lunch and then back at it again until dark. I spoke to a lot of people and it seemed like most people had voted or were planning to vote at some point in the day. Today was really long, but totally worth it, considering that Bernie won!
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Sunday, February 7, 2016
Friday, Saturday and Sunday!
So, the past few days have been pretty hectic, but since today is Super Bowl Sunday and we got back to the hotel at a reasonable hour, I am finally able to update.
Friday was an absolute blast! Working with the NHDP was such a wonderful experience. We arrived at 8:30 in the morning and helped in setting up for the event, we laid down programs, and pins, and designated the reserved seats in the audience. That took a while, considering there were quite a few tables and seats in the arena.
Between 12:30 and 3:00 the secret service had to sweep the building. We tried to arrange a ride to the office during the break, but we couldn't, so we went to lunch.
At 2:45, we went back the arena for the rest of our shift with the NHDP. Since we were familiar with the layout of the arena, we were responsible for helping with VIP check in, we escorted the VIP guests to their seats on the floor and in the sky boxes. I worked at Outback Steakhouse as a hostess, so this was my time to shine! I felt like I did really well.
On Saturday, we met with Professor Dante Scala over breakfast and talked about his book. It was really nice meeting him and hearing him speak, it was great. After that, we went to our internship placements. We did some phone banking and some canvassing. It was a relatively low-key day. Just really pushing people to Get Out the Vote on Tuesday.
And today, Super Bowl Sunday. We left the office at 6pm, because there really wasn't anything going on. I figured that people really wouldn't take too well to canvassers and phone bankers interrupting their Super Bowl activities.
Friday was an absolute blast! Working with the NHDP was such a wonderful experience. We arrived at 8:30 in the morning and helped in setting up for the event, we laid down programs, and pins, and designated the reserved seats in the audience. That took a while, considering there were quite a few tables and seats in the arena.
Between 12:30 and 3:00 the secret service had to sweep the building. We tried to arrange a ride to the office during the break, but we couldn't, so we went to lunch.
At 2:45, we went back the arena for the rest of our shift with the NHDP. Since we were familiar with the layout of the arena, we were responsible for helping with VIP check in, we escorted the VIP guests to their seats on the floor and in the sky boxes. I worked at Outback Steakhouse as a hostess, so this was my time to shine! I felt like I did really well.
On Saturday, we met with Professor Dante Scala over breakfast and talked about his book. It was really nice meeting him and hearing him speak, it was great. After that, we went to our internship placements. We did some phone banking and some canvassing. It was a relatively low-key day. Just really pushing people to Get Out the Vote on Tuesday.
And today, Super Bowl Sunday. We left the office at 6pm, because there really wasn't anything going on. I figured that people really wouldn't take too well to canvassers and phone bankers interrupting their Super Bowl activities.
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Thursday!
So, today we went to Concord and Portsmouth.
While in Concord, we visited the state house, had a wonderful tour with a great tour guide, saw sessions of the House and Senate, met a few representatives, and was recognized as guests of the House and Senate, which was really cool. I loved the tour, the history was really interesting. I enjoyed meeting the secretary of state, that was probably my favorite part aside from Governor Hassan's final state of the state address.
After that, we went to the town of Portsmouth, which was adorable! We had a great time at the Trump rally and then going to dinner afterward at Smuttynose. I enjoyed the "day off" and am really looking forward to working at the NHDP event tomorrow!
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Wednesday!
Today we started with the Marco Rubio town hall meeting in Bow. It was a fun time. We were really close to the senator. I enjoyed his answers. He really humanized himself to the people there. Every question that was asked he answered with a personal story.
Afterward, we went to our internship assignment in Salem. Later that day, we moved to the office in Manchester, and since it was raining, they had us all phone banking. We were visited by quite a few media outlets including the New York Times, Al Jazeera, and Head Count.
I really enjoyed working at this office, I can't wait to go back! When we were phone banking, I was sharing an office with one of the field organizers at the Manchester field office, and he told me that I was a very good phone banker, which made me really happy because I have had some trouble phone banking.
Afterward, we went to our internship assignment in Salem. Later that day, we moved to the office in Manchester, and since it was raining, they had us all phone banking. We were visited by quite a few media outlets including the New York Times, Al Jazeera, and Head Count.
I really enjoyed working at this office, I can't wait to go back! When we were phone banking, I was sharing an office with one of the field organizers at the Manchester field office, and he told me that I was a very good phone banker, which made me really happy because I have had some trouble phone banking.
Tuesday!
Today was great. We started out the day by going to a rally for Hillary in Nashua. I have never waited in a line so long in my life! After the doors officially opened, the line moved quick but yeah, it was definitely verrry long. When we got in, there was a lot of waiting. A lot a lot of standing, but great energy in the room. Everyone was definitely excited, myself included. Being a Bernie supporter I felt a little awkward at first, but I eventually relaxed. I was very respectful, because even though I prefer Bernie, I still think Hillary has done a lot for women, and she is very accomplished.
After the rally, we visited the New Hampshire Democratic Party Headquarters (NHDPHQ), which was really fun. I had a great time there listening to the Chair of the NHDP, Raymond Buckley, talk about some of the paraphernalia they had there. I cant wait to work with them on Friday!
After the rally, we visited the New Hampshire Democratic Party Headquarters (NHDPHQ), which was really fun. I had a great time there listening to the Chair of the NHDP, Raymond Buckley, talk about some of the paraphernalia they had there. I cant wait to work with them on Friday!
Monday, February 1, 2016
So, just a little update
Just a picture from the plane on our descent into NH.
So, I know it's been a few days since I updated my blog, and to be honest I really have been trying. I wake up super early every morning, and I haven't gotten to sleep before 12:30 am since we got here. It's really starting to catch up with me. However, I have been having a great time here.
On Monday we spent the entire day at our campaigns. Me and the rest of the Bernie crew started out in Salem, New Hampshire at a small office with two field directors. They were pretty nice, but the office was slow. We went canvassing in a part of New Hampshire called Atkinson. The other 6 members of the group paired off, and I went with a nice volunteer from the community named Mitch. Since Mitch has a car, we were assigned one of the most spread out turfs in their region. In total, the canvass took about 3 hours and 30 minutes. Mitch insisted that we split up in order to cover more ground, so I was able to walk around the neighborhood by myself. After the canvass was done, we made our way back to the office where we proceeded to phone bank until the end of the shift.
Phone banking was incredibly stressful- a lot of the first few people yelled at me, which was really uncomfortable, but I was eventually able to get the hang of it.
After our first shift we went to dinner to watch the results of the Iowa caucus. It was really fun to watch, but I was a little upset by how the election was decided. I just didn't understand why they used coin flips to decide the election. The picture below sums up my feelings on the Iowa caucus.
So, I know it's been a few days since I updated my blog, and to be honest I really have been trying. I wake up super early every morning, and I haven't gotten to sleep before 12:30 am since we got here. It's really starting to catch up with me. However, I have been having a great time here.
On Monday we spent the entire day at our campaigns. Me and the rest of the Bernie crew started out in Salem, New Hampshire at a small office with two field directors. They were pretty nice, but the office was slow. We went canvassing in a part of New Hampshire called Atkinson. The other 6 members of the group paired off, and I went with a nice volunteer from the community named Mitch. Since Mitch has a car, we were assigned one of the most spread out turfs in their region. In total, the canvass took about 3 hours and 30 minutes. Mitch insisted that we split up in order to cover more ground, so I was able to walk around the neighborhood by myself. After the canvass was done, we made our way back to the office where we proceeded to phone bank until the end of the shift.
Phone banking was incredibly stressful- a lot of the first few people yelled at me, which was really uncomfortable, but I was eventually able to get the hang of it.
After our first shift we went to dinner to watch the results of the Iowa caucus. It was really fun to watch, but I was a little upset by how the election was decided. I just didn't understand why they used coin flips to decide the election. The picture below sums up my feelings on the Iowa caucus.
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
T Minus 4 Days!
I leave for New Hampshire in only 4 days! It still doesn't feel real. I have so much that I need to do between now and then, between getting some homework done proactively and doing laundry and coordinating with my bosses, my agenda is pretty full. Not to mention I'm helping to run a weightlifting meet on Saturday.
But what's even more exciting is what I'll be doing tomorrow morning! Earlier this week, the class and it's adventures were covered by some local media outlets (Bay News 9, Channel 10 News, Creative Loafing). Continuing this, I will be on Channel 10 tomorrow morning between 9 and 10 am with Dr. McLauchlan. This is the first time (surprise, surprise) that I've been on TV, so this is really exciting. If I can get a link to the segment I will post it here, but if not, keep an eye out for yours truly tomorrow morning!
But what's even more exciting is what I'll be doing tomorrow morning! Earlier this week, the class and it's adventures were covered by some local media outlets (Bay News 9, Channel 10 News, Creative Loafing). Continuing this, I will be on Channel 10 tomorrow morning between 9 and 10 am with Dr. McLauchlan. This is the first time (surprise, surprise) that I've been on TV, so this is really exciting. If I can get a link to the segment I will post it here, but if not, keep an eye out for yours truly tomorrow morning!
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