The end before the beginning

Well it is all over. Institute is actually finished and I have a little letter that says I made it through. My kids made some major growth and I learned a ton. The thing that I learned that surprised me a little bit wasn’t necessarily anything to do with what they were trying to teach us. I learned how hard it is to be away from home and friends. Sure I made some friends while at institute, but at this point I don’t know how many of them I will see again and there are probably more people who I don’t really care to see again than people who I do. I miss Whitworth and Tacoma. Spending the next two years here seems overwhelming. I know that the program is great and that the city is great, but for me it just isn’t home.

I am actually writing this in the Newark airport. Within one hour of finishing institute I bought a plane ticket to Calgary so that I could meet my family up at my sister’s new house. Spending the next week with family is just what I need. I’m tired, a little grouchy sometimes, and I want to be around people I love. The next week is family time before I return to the chaos of the city and round zero training for TFA.

Some interesting things about NYC and what I have learned while I have been here:

-I have had a number of friends make comments before that leggings are not pants. I have to say that most of NY would disagree with you. The number of people who I have seen wearing only leggings (both men and women) is a little bit staggering. On that note, people should also avoid wearing tube top dresses while traveling. They look really awkward and sitting next to someone wearing that on the plane is pretty strange.

-Underwear and pasties do not count as clothing if you are 20 or 60. Yes I have seen both and neither should happen.

-On the subway the other day I saw something great. There was a man wearing a yarmulke next, to a man wearing a rosary, next to a man with a turban. There are many interesting people all on the subway.

-While moving my bags from St. John’s (where I have been staying for institute) I saw man dancing in the subway car. It wasn’t just a regular dance however, this man was pole dancing and rubbing his back all over the pole. As if that wasn’t enough a big guy came up to him and laid into him for being inappropriate in front of ladies. This new big guy then went on a tangent about the dancer being a ******ity ***** ********** *******. He started threatening him. He got off the subway only to decide to come back into the next door to yell some more. Then he got off and came back in again to yell. Oh what a night.

-Almost didn’t get out of the apartment this morning because the doorknob fell off. It took me about 15 minutes to figure out how to fix it.

-One of my best lessons was the last. This past Thursday we did a math review of everything that we had learned during summer school. We had ten full pages of word problems that dealt with all of the math problems that we have been doing. I did all the work independently before class and it took me about an hour and a half. I challenged the kids to beat my time. They got to work as a class and different groups could work on different pages. They took about ten minutes to really get into it, but when they realized they could beat my time they all began to work fervently in teams to try to finish in time. Seeing them get so motivated to do their work was great. Even the students who struggled still worked on the easier pages together. They didn’t get the chance to finish because we ran out of time, but in one hour they finished 9 of the 10 pages so I have no doubt that they would have done it.

-I can get a bagel and coffee from a street side vendor for $1.50. Take that Starbucks, McDonalds, and Sodexo.

-On the same block I can get two containers of blueberries (fairly good sized) for $2.

-If I want to get an apartment with a small room about the size of the study room from my old dorm it will cost at least $500 a month. No wonder the food is so cheap. We have to spend all our money on rent.

-The shuttle to Newark International Airport is only $25 roundtrip which is pretty great because it leaves from grand central in Manhattan and flights from Newark are generally less expensive.

-If you want to live somewhere that allows for cheap travel NYC is the place to be. I found an offer to go to Iceland for 3 days with hotels and airfare for only $400. I don’t really care to go to Iceland but it is still sort of cool.

-I watched the today show this morning while I at breakfast. I’m going to have to get myself on it as one of those silly people in the background waving. I walked by the area last weekend and I would not be hard to get there.

-Living in NY the biggest thing ever is happening … that’s right, Chelsea Clinton is getting married. We are all so excited. I’m not really sure why, but it is hard to miss.

-My kids think that Obama is a god. One of the guys at TFA does a really good Obama impression (his voice is perfect) and he recorded a message to the kids in his class as a class reward for the end of the summer program because they met their goal. They had a kid cry in their classroom of third graders because he was so excited.

-Diversity is a whole new thing. I have learned so much about so many different cultures while I have been here. Within TFA and in NYC there are so many different perspectives from what I have seen in the North West.

-East coast folks as a whole are pretty snooty. Some are great, but a lot have their noses in the air.

- I have learned how to do a teacher stare. J I’m still working on my teacher voice. It works sometimes, but then I want to smile or I scare myself which totally throws me off my groove.

-I love teaching math and reading. Writing is a nightmare and I wish that no one ever had to do it. I just say that now because I can’t see to get a handle on it yet. I’m sure that it will come with time.

-I want to treat these kids like campers. Instead of being Tyler I am Mr. Hamilton and instead of being flexible and fun I have to be pretty structured. Oh well. I think they like me anyway. Now I just have to try going back to camp and having the kids call me Mr. Hamilton. We will see how that goes over.

-Dunkin Doughnuts is everywhere. Their doughnuts are not that great, their sandwiches are lame, and everything is overpriced. Not worth a visit unless you get the munchkins. (Doughnut holes)

-If a dog weighs less than 10lbs it is not a dog it is a rat. The number of little rat dogs that I have seen is overwhelming. There have been a few that are too feeble to walk. Their owners put them in purses or even bags that are intended for dogs. They even had a restaurant (I forget the name, but it was like a Dick’s) that serves dog treats as well as regular food.

-There is going to be a mosque built on ground zero. Hello controversy, lots of upset people on both sides.