Running on Empty...

But at least I'm running. no really actually running. again.

A result of the great people around me, their constant inspiration and kind words and of course modeling good behavior (there is my one shot out to TeachNOLA for this email.)

Had a great (busy) week with professional development at school. We have been getting acclimated to the school culture, learning about their assessments and plans for the year and decorating our classrooms. I have provided a photo below that is my reading corner...it is still missing 2 beanbags but I am really happy how it came out!

The new students join us next week for orientation and then everyone starts on August 17th so there is a little more time to prepare and get everything ready to go. i feel really lucky to be at such a great supportive school, as a new teacher I couldn't have hoped for anything better.

So with the first week in the bag, I am looking forward to a fun (busy) weekend with friends, finishing my classroom, lesson planning and doing all the start up work for my debate team! love to everyone!

It Begins

Busy week! The students don't arrive for a while still but there is a library to assemble and catalog, a debate team to organize and lesson plans and lesson plans and lesson plans.

I feel very lucky to have so many friends in NOLA who are all going through the same stuff as me right now. It is awesome to be able to share experiences, challenges and successes with people.

I am bummed that I won't be able to make it up north before the school year starts but will be back soon enough. This new place, new job, new everything has been so good for me...I found the cross on Bourbon Street last night...it looks like "Christ climbed down" but unlike in the Ferlinghetti poem I think instead of slipping off into "some anonymous Mary's womb" he might have wondered into a strip club...

Being Tourist in My New Home Town

Had a great weekend! Martha, Larry, Laura and Colleen came down to the Big Easy and gave me a great opportunity to be a tourist in my new home town.

We had a great time eating Beignets at Cafe Du Monde, walking around the quarter and eating lots of good Cajun food.

While there have been lots of little things I have been doing over the last few days, it feels really nice to have a little down time before school starts. Official meetings start tomorrow when I will meet with my literacy team and pick books for the upcoming year. I am very excited to have the opportunity to play a real role in the curriculum development of my students!

Had a great day today walking around the city with a friend and drinking wine at Fritzels...am thinking cheese steak and daiquiris to go for dinner...I really love this town!

Part 1: Complete

We finished institute today! It feels so good to be preparing for the next stage of my life down here...actually teaching kids!

Our official graduation is on Wednesday but no more classes, books, teachers dirty looks...It has been a great experience so far. Much has been learned and the people I have met, just wow. I never thought I would be lucky enough to be surrounded by such kind, smart, generous people. I feel very lucky to have been chosen for this program.

I start school on the 22nd. We will spend sometime getting the school ready for the new year and then then have a week of training before we are joined by the kids on August 3rd. There is much to be done, but somehow I don't mind doing any of it. No, really what I mean is that I am enjoying doing all of it. What a change from my life in Boston.

I ran into the devil on Bourbon Street the other night and he smiled at me. My friend turned to me and said "its the only place in the world where sinners can be saints." I think he is right, and dare I say it, I think I am home...

The Way It Was

With my mom in town I ventured outside of NOLA to visit some of the plantations from the 1800's. It is amazing how flat the land is here and once outside of the city how much of the land is still occupied with acres and acres of sugar cane crop.

We started our day at the Laura Plantation, an old Creole Plantation that was run by several generations of Creole women - something that was not uncommon in the Creole culture, but was certainly an oddity of the time amongst the Americans who did business with them.

The land was comprised of the main house (shown at the right), several gardens both for flowers as well as crops for the workers and house owners to eat from, slave quarters and acres of land that needed harvesting. While only 2 slave quarters remained, when the plantation was running there were 3 miles of salve quarters, each measuring only 16 feet by 16 feet and housing 4-5 people.

While no longer housing slaves, the old slave quarters were inhabited by residents until the early 1970's.

After the Laura Plantation we headed over to Oak Alley a more traditional "American Plantation" where we had a wonderful lunch of Po' Boys and Gumbo.

Overall a very insightful and fun trip out of the city...even though it was really really hot!