"How did I get here, how the Hell!" --RENT Well, I have finished week three of five of TFA institute here in Houston, TX. Here are some of my thoughts. 1) Houston is disgusting. I really don't have a problem with Texas, heck, I don't even want to MESS with Texas, but man, Houston really is the armpit of the whole state. The humidity allows for absolutely no cute hair, I am sweating from new places I never knew existed, and I hate it. The landscape is unimpressive, and it is SO polluted, I can't even get over it. On the plus side, I have new friends at the Barnes and Noble's Starbucks over on Holcombe street and they make rather tasty Caramel Frappucino's whenever institute becomes a bit too much. 2) Teaching is HARD! Not a huge shock, but I have been challenged in so many ways. I started the summer school program with 32 7th graders crammed into a small room, and after the TAKS standardized tests, I am down to 9. This number will be what I deal with for the rest of institute, so that is a lot easier on my allotted 700 copies and my pocketbook. I had 32 7th graders that were from the age of 11-16 and were notorius for being the most misbehaved group. I had to break up a fight at the beginning of the last week--remember how much fun it was to watch fights in middle school? Or at least until the awkward teacher had to break it up? Yeah, not so fun when you are the awkward teacher! I really felt like Michelle Pfeifer in Dangerous Minds. I pulled through though. 3) Weekends are GLORIOUS! Yes, they are. 4) People can be insanely generous and kind. While visiting an old camp friend this weekend, his girlfriend's mother was exceptionally kind. Whenever we went to eat or do something, she paid for everything. I always offered to pay, but she told me that because I am doing TFA, it was her honor. As corny as it sounds, it really was the nicest thing that anyone has done for me in a long time and it really warmed my heart. 5) Staying in a house is GOLDEN. When I visited my old camp friend, I was able to stay at his house with his other roommates and I was given a bed with a very comfy mattress. I can't remember the last time that I slept so well, it was beyond amazing. I also watched TV for the first time in a month yesterday, it was about midnight and it was Animal Planet, but it was marvelous. 6) Fireants sting! Yeah, I didn't actually know that until yesterday. We went to a fireworks show outside of College Station, and we were watching a band warm up and I felt some stinging on my feet. I looked down to notice that I was standing directly on a fireant hole. Not good. Today, I have red bumps all over my feet which are totally not attractive. 7) Texas is HOT! So, I thought TX would be like NM. Well, for the most part, I was right. With the very notable exception that is called HUMIDITY! So, for my mini-break, I packed a few clothes and after ten minutes in the sunlight, we headed to a mall, where I bought a sale outfit at Aeropostale for about $40 that I didn't have. But, it worked out, and I'm telling you, anywhere where I can go in and dress in my new clothes and wear them out in twenty minutes is golden in my book. 8) Presidential Libraries are FUN! Went to the George HW Bush Presidential Library at TAMU and learned all about HW. Since I do not post political stuff, I will say that it was very enjoyable. In the screening room to the intro video, they had a signed piece of paper from every single president ever--it was really cool. My old camp friend and I had a great time making fun of this one guy in the video that held out his hand for HW to shake and was holding it out defeatedly for about 3 minutes before HW got to it. Golden! ****** So, in a nutshell, that is where I am at. |