We went to a White Sox game Friday night with about 400 other Teach For America teachers. The theme was "mullet night" and they had a fireworks show set to '80's butt rock music after the game.As July winds down and I give up hope on finding birthday presents in our mailbox or carefully hidden around our dorm room, Celeste and I have had to face the harsh reality that our time in Chicago is coming to a close. While our time here has been challenging, and we won't miss the distinct smell of urine at our local metro stop, Chicago has been very good to us, and will be hard to leave.
The next step for us is moving back to North Carolina. Teach For America has agreed to put us up at Peace College in Raleigh for the time being. See, we can't really look for a house or apartment to rent because we still don't know where we'll be teaching. We have a g
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eneral idea, but no guarantees, and we've been advised to avoid signing a lease until we have a firm placement on account of our region being so rural and spread out - we don't want to be stuck with an hour-long commute every morning and evening, so instead we're stuck without housing for the time being.Other than that, we're doing very well. Celeste does a good job of making sure I have enough candy in the room to keep me satisfied, and I do a good job of give her back/foot massages to keep her loose and relaxed. All in all, we keep each other very happy and are very much satisfied with this adventure we've embarked on together. We're excited to be able to devote our next two years to the service of others, and to help students who are in desperate need of direction, positive reinforcement, and support.
MOVIE RECOMMENDATIONS:
In our blog entries, we've mentioned "challenges" on a number of occasions. Just in case you want a glimpse of what our "challenges" look like, may I suggest you look into the following films:
-Lean on Me
-Stand and Deliver
-Freedom Writers
I'm sure there are others, and when we discover a good one, we'll be sure to pass it along. These all show the challenges that inner-city students face, which, by default, become the challenges of the teachers that teach them. Give them a watch, and feel free to add to the list!
We miss you guys! Sounds like life is busy, but what a wonderful adventure. We know that you will make a positive difference in kids lives and along the way you will find yourselves becoming better people too (not that you need any improving). Send us your email and we'll add you to our blog so you can see our adventures; shooting the neighbors cat, rats in the canal, etc.
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