Definitely not in Kansas anymore...

Hello all :)
I've decided to start this little blog as a means to make my life a bit easier. So much has been going on over the past month and a half and it's hard to keep up with telling everyone, so I figured this might make things easier. I'll try and post as often as I can about what I've been up to.
So I've been away for a bit over a month now, and honestly it feels like years. I first traveled to New Orleans for Induction, which was basically a week of welcome for Teach for America. I felt like a freshman in college again, it was so strange to be someplace new and not know anyone. We stayed at Tulane University and went to a bunch of sessions about Teach for America and living in New Orleans. I met a whole bunch of people, some who I still talk to and some who I feel like disappeared off the face of the earth already. There are (last I knew) 250 of us down here in New Orleans, which is pretty big for a corps regions. Most other regions have about 50 people, except for some other major cities (like New York which has 1,000). So it was basically a whirwind week, saw a brief glimpse of New Orleans, and then headed off to Phoenix for 5 weeks.
Phoenix was a bit intense. I worked as an Integrated Science teacher at Desert Edge high school. I worked with 2 other corps members in a Collaborative group, or collab. I was fortunate enough to be placed with two people I got along with really well, so that was good. Basically, we taught one class of summer school. We had a small group of students and the three of us split the material for the class into 3 one hour blocks. I don't think I was ever so nervous as when I got up in front of those kids for the first time. I actually (and you Agents will find this amusing) ended up using some improv the first day because I ran out of things to do with them. Nothing more intimidating than a group of 12 15-year-olds staring at you while you try to pull a plan out of thin air. The rest of the time at Institute went by very quickly. We wrote a lot of lesson plans and went to a lot of professional development and generally got very little sleep (I woke up at 4:30 every day, took a 45 minute bus ride to school, worked there til 3:45, came back, worked on lesson plans til about midnight and then went to sleep to get up and do it all over.) It was basically like finals week for 5 weeks in a row, but I think it did prepare me for what I'm facing, which I'll explain a bit more in a moment. I did go to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas while I was in Arizona, which was a great trip. Nothing felt more American on the 4th of July than to spend the sunrise at the Grand Canyon, followed by lunch in a very very small town, and ending with a night in Vegas. Oh and we drove over the Hoover Dam. I'm pretty sure the only way I could have been more American would have been to wear the flag. I do have tons of pictures too but I haven't had a chance to upload them yet.
So now I'm back in New Orleans (and happy to be hear. Arizona is a little too dry and boring for me). New Orleans, let me tell you, is an amazing city. I've been traveling all over the city in my search for housing and to explore and it's one of the most interesting places I've been. The French Quarter is pretty cool, but there are lots of other cool neighborhoods that you'd never know existed until you stumble onto them. It's a really unique city. The houses are beautiful in many areas, very old and big. I'm jealous that some TFA people get to live in them, but at least I get to visit them.
My apartment (I finally have one!) is pretty boring on the outside (I call it the cyclops house because it only has one long rectangular window in front). Inside however is really nice, very well kept. There's a large living/dining area that's painted a nice chocolate-y brown with an old fireplace that's been closed up but still has the original wood mantle. Then there's a little kitchen with a huge island (perfect for potlucks and dinners). The appliances are fairly new, which is nice, and there're plenty of cabinets. There are two pretty large bedrooms, one on either end of the house. The house itself is kind of like a shotgun house, which is basically a house that's longer than it is wide (the story is that if you stand at the front door and shoot a shotgun, it could go straight through and out the back without hitting a wall). There are two bathrooms as well, which is always convenient. My roommate, Jenny, has a Yorkie named Rummy, so I get to come home to a dog which is fun. When I finally start getting paid and have settled some of my expenses I think I may get myself a playmate for Rummy. Plus, around the corner from our place is a Whole Foods Market, which is delicious.
So as for this whole teaching thing, I haven't started quite yet. I am going to be teaching at West St John High School in St John parish, which is about 45 minutes outside the city, along with 5 other TFA corps members. We drive across the Mississippi River every morning, pretty cool. The school is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, though there is a town not too far away. The actual town name is Edgard and we're near La Place and Reserve. It's not quite rural but to any New Englanders it's about as rural as we've got up north. The school itself has 230 students, which is strange for me having gone to a school with 1500 students. It's cool to be part of such a small community though. I'm teaching Biology and Physical Science, so I've got a really cool room with a lab and all that. I'll post pictures of that as soon as I can too. So strange, I still feel like the student rather than the teacher. I'm really excited to start teaching though, our first day is August 7th.
I have a lot more to say about everything that's been going on but as I have an early morning tomorrow and I have some work still to do, I'll save it for another day. I'll finish off by saying that Southern hospitality is alive an kicking, which helps for feeling at home here. The food is incredible (and yes, heavy and rich and going to make me blow up like a balloon, especially if I keep having praline bacon at sunday brunch). I've started picking up the "y'all"s and I am sure I'll return home with a whole bunch more sayings from friends, colleagues, and students. I miss home a lot and I can't wait until I can come visit (or until people come down here to see me!) More to come in the next couple of weeks, when I have some more time.

Oh and yes, there really are a lot of cockroaches down here. But it's ok, you make friends ;)