It's always better when we're together.

I'm sitting on the floor of my bedroom, talking to Dina on the phone about relationships as I try to untangle a knot in the pretty silver necklace my dad got for me for Christmas a few years back, and it comes to me that I have a perfect metaphor in my hands. Beautiful, complicated, challenging. I guess I've been reflective this weekend because I've had a lot of time on my hands. Today in particular, as I laid in bed with a hang over until 3 in the afternoon. Every one of my most significant, important relationships is being stretched by thousands of miles. I miss green grass and leafy trees and summer thunderstorms, but exponentially more so I miss my friends and family.

I got an awesome package in the mail from the ladies at 2614 Milford today, which was a great surprise and totally made my day. It made me wish I was on the hammock in the backyard, or sitting on my roof reading or crowded into the kitchen with some of the funniest, brightest, warmest people I know. I miss our nights in the living room, cuddled on the couches, listening to Tim and Scott play guitar. I wish I could hop right into one of our epic dance parties, singing to Celine Dion at the top of my lungs or dancing to the Ting Tings with Tom. Instead I'm in Arizona, having trouble feeling myself because the very people who know me and make up so much of my heart are further away than I like to think about.

I want to be able to drive 10 minutes to a Friendly's to eat a ridiculous ice cream sundae with people who have been with me through thick and thin for at least sixteen years of my life. I want to play with my brothers in the woods for days on end again, when we used to be rock climbers and detectives and Power Rangers.

I just miss home. I miss the people, I miss the comfort, I miss the person I am when I'm around people who really know me and love me. I know I'll slowly build those relationships here, but it will take a while. I guess I don't wish for an eternity in Columbus or Cleveland. I love the adventure I'm in the middle of. But I do wish I could be with the people I love while in AZ. How's that for a depressing entry?

What we hate, we make

Week one of Institute: finished!

It feels great having gotten 20% through my Institute training. The regions represented here are Phoenix, South Louisiana (SLA), and Greater New Orleans (GNO). We've all been put into groups at various school sites around Phoenix where we'll be teaching summer school. I'm at Davis, and there are probably 100ish people placed there. I'll be co-teaching a kindergarten classroom with 3 other girls. We all break up the work (ie I'm doing math this week) and teach separately. My lesson plans went pretty well, according to my advisor, but I'm looking forward to revamping them and revising them tomorrow.

It continues to be beautiful here, although it rained for about a minute yesterday, which was weird. It's not monsoon season yet, but it's my understanding that it's coming up in the next few weeks. That will be interesting!

Last night I drank a lot with my friends Alex, Dan, and Clint. Alex is a girl, but otherwise most of the friends I'm making here are guys. It's just easier that way. We went to The Vine, a bar that is basically always inundated with TFA kids looking for a break. $3 cover, $1 drinks--that counts EVERYTHING! Ah! Anyhow, I got pretty drunk and woke up at 6AM this morning on top of my bed, in my jeans, contacts still in. Unfortunate. I literally passed out immediately upon entering my room when I got back last night. I'm not surprised!

Things are going well. Today was a lazy hang over day. Tomorrow demands lots of catching up, but there are some good work spots at ASU that I look forward to checking out. I feel like it's exam week. So much to do. I'm realizing I never fully appreciated the job of a teacher. It's tough.

Okay, bed by 11:20. Waking up at 8ish for a shower. And then getting to work (I know you guys miss my verbal to do lists!)

I miss you all. Big hugs to everyone. <3

Of new beginnings in the big AZ.

Whew. What an intense week. It's funny, this is only Induction, the part that's supposed to be easy on you and fun. It was really, really fun, but it's a long day. 8 hours of sessions yesterday, which involved listening to lectures and talking about the mission of Teach for America, the specifics of the achievement gap, and TFA's diversity policy. Then we headed to a Diamondbacks game, where we had suite seats. Both the owner and the president of the team came up to talk to us, basically just thanking us for what we would be doing for Phoenix and welcoming us to the city. It was really cool, actually.

Today I met my administrators, the people who I'll be working for. I'll be answering to Southwest Human Development (SWHD), who runs the Head Start (HS) program for AZ, but I'll be working under a really great principal who is a TFA alumni. Apparently my future school, Excelencia, has a large concentration of TFA teachers, and has consequently been performing well. The SWHD people were great..I'll have a teaching assistant who speaks only Spanish to the children, a mental health advisor to get kids help if they have emotional problems, and a family services person who actually meets extensively with the families to get a sense of the home life. HS is very much about educating and caring for the whole child and the whole family, which is exciting.

The people here are pretty darn cool. I'm signing a lease tomorrow with this girl Lindsey, who is also doing Early Childhood Education. These are the apartments we'll staying in: Camden Copper Square. The other night I had a few drinks in the hotel bar and then went back to someone's room to play Kings. :) During Waterfall, someone said something hilarious, and I ended up spewing beer out my nose. It was really just ridiculous, a little embarrassing, but mostly awesome. And of course all of this occurred in a snazzy professional skirt. CLASSY!

Tonight I went to an alumna's house for dinner, which was great. There were only 6 corps members there, which was such a relief after being in a group of 150 at all other times. The alumna was great, she's now running her own charter school. Their neighbor came by, who is an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns and used to play on the Cavs! We were talking about the playoffs, and how I was a Cavs fan, and he said nothing. It was only later that we asked him about it, that he fessed up to having played for the Cavs in 1991! Crazy. I was also told that I'll never move back to Ohio after living here. Curious.

So, to sum up: The people here are awesome. I like the organization more and more as I familiarize myself with it. And it is kind of hard work already. I'm so incredibly excited though. :)

Of friends, old and new.

I officially have three days left at home before I head to Phoenix. Talk about nerves. I'm excited, overall. It's just weird to be doing these "final goodbye" things. Particularly yesterday, when I went up to Cleveland to pick up some last pieces of furniture.

Turns out that it was a bad day to do so, as my housemates were all occupied with work or family matters. Walking up the stairs to my empty room was really bizarre. I just stood there for a while, looking at where I had lived my life for the past four years. Thinking about snow ball fights that spilled from campus into our yard, parties that were legendary, rolling all around the second floor in our desk chairs, sitting around in our underwear because we were just that comfortable with each other, armies of bouncy balls, endless conversation, times when it felt like my work would consume me but knowing it'd all be okay as we crammed eight chairs into our little kitchen and just talked and laughed. I will miss that security terribly. That support system. It was really unbeatable. Those girls (+ Zach + Phil + Tom) would seriously do anything for me. We'd all do anything for each other. I'm getting sappy, but seriously. Those friendships are so valuable to me. It was so odd driving away from that.

In any case, Tom came over to kick it with me for a while, and we talked for a few hours, about everything from family issues to torture memos to the joy of complete culture shock. I hope I will find such friends in Phoenix...I know I will. But still. Transitions...so weird.

I've been doing the facebook/e-mail getting-to-know you thing with a few TFA kids that'll be in Phoenix, though. A couple girls from Ohio, a couple girls that'll be doing ECE. So that's pretty neat. I already have plans to get apps and drinks with a group this Saturday, and we're going bar hopping the night before induction starts. That's a good sign!

It will all be fine. I think it's just the mix of emotions (sadness, excitement, anxiousness) are just feeling a little overwhelming right now. I need to find a zen state. Maybe I'm due for some yoga later. Sun Salutation A/B, here I come.

2009 already?

Here I am, ready to document my move and my upcoming experience. Right now that mostly involves a whole lot of tying up loose ends, registering for this and that, and so much reading and writing. I feel like I'm back at school again!

Good news? I'm still awesome at procrastinating, with the creation of this blog as proof.