bri basile interned at menokin for six weeks this summer. today is her last day! she was raised in the suburbs of philadelphia, and is a rising sophomore at PENN STATE, pursuing a degree in architectural engineering. 

Reflection No. 1

“It is the middle of June and I am in the middle of my travel back in time for the summer. Well not really, but life has definitely been a little different for the past couple of weeks. I am what you could call a true Yankee. I was born and raised in the suburbs of Allentown, Pennsylvania and now study at Penn State. Yes, I have traveled to many different places, but I have never lived outside of Pennsylvania and am now in Warsaw, Virginia.

Warsaw is a small town surrounded by countless beautiful farms and old, 18^th century houses, which is exactly what brought me here. For the summer I am interning at the wonderful Menokin Foundation, which brings my interests of history, architecture, and engineering all together. Their plan is to build a glass house around the colonial house, to help stabilize and showcase what the house originally looked like. I find it fascinating how they plan to combine the modern glass structure with the old brick house. I know from looking at the models and plans that it will be truly and piece of artwork once it is completed.

If there is anything I learned from my first few days was that I will have to come back during and after construction of the final project. ”

Reflection No. 2

“When Alice asked me if I wanted to go kayaking with couple of people from the National Park Service I expected to kayak for a half hour to forty-five minutes not for four and a half hours. Even though it was a really long time and I had sore arms for about a week, it was completely worth it!

Cat Point Creek is really a place that has not been touched by humans and you can truly become one with nature. Even on the slightly cloudy day I watched eagles and other birds fly across the sky and fish jumping out of the water. Not only did the animals fascinate me, but also the bright flowering plants all along the sides.

I could definitely spend weeks just paddling along and taking pictures of everything I saw and would encourage you to do the same as long as you promised not to destroy the true treasure it is.”

Bri has been learning how to use and edit footage from a Go Pro camera. This little video was shot on her marathon kayaking excursion on Cat Point Creek.

INTERNPRETATIONS ARE BLOG POSTS AUTHORED BY OUR INTERNS. THIS GLIMPSE OF MENOKIN AND ITS PLACE IN THE LIVES OF THESE COLLEGE STUDENTS IS OUR ATTEMPT TO REPRESENT AN ALTERNATIVE POINT OF VIEW Of A MENOKIN EXPERIENCE. THE ONLY INSTRUCTIONS ARE “WRITE ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE HERE.” WE HOPE TO FEATURE AN INTERNPRETATION EACH WEEK.