Eleven Days.

In eleven days, somehow, my time in Philly will be done.  I have no idea where all the time has gone, but I have had SUCH an incredible time and have met SUCH beautiful (that's for you, Rachel and Ryan) people.

In eleven days, I have quite a bit to pack in.  Here's what's on the schedule:

• Another school visit, hopefully.
• Visit the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Renoir exhibit
• Go back to Reading Terminal Market
• Find some dresses for Recruitment (oops.)
• Figure out how the heck I'm going to move into my new house in Athens when I haven't gotten anything other than the bare bones and won't even be back in GA till August 4th and start working on the 5th.
• And most importantly, spend every possible moment with the friends I've made this summer.

Like I said, I have loved loved LOVED this summer.  And there are quite a few things I'll miss, like having our bosses sing to us at every staff meeting and bring us treats like popsicles, ice cream, and giant Reese's cups.  I'll miss getting a thank you note on my door for even the smallest thing I've done.  I'll miss my OOT team.  I'll miss mega bed. I'll miss being in Philly and getting to ride the sketchyyyy subway.  I'll miss running down Broad Street, seeing the transformation from the shady temple area to the glossy center city and land of museums.  I'll miss our tradition rendition of SHOUT! in the copy center every night at midnight.  And I'll miss the 18 interns and countless other incredible staff members and corps members I've gotten to know.

(I probably won't miss working till 2 am, though.  Just a thought.)

Speaking of the corps members, this is their LAST week in the classroom.  They've spent the last five weeks essentially doing a crash course in teaching in some pretty rough areas to get ready for the next two years of their lives.  The beginning was rough.  Everyone was sleep deprived, anxious about finishing lessons, and scared about being in front of a class of students for the first time.  But after my three school visits last week, I have no doubt that these CMs have become incredible teachers.  It was crazy to watch them really transform INTO teachers.  They developed connections with their students on the first day.  They became really invested in their successes, and were able to share with us their excitement over their students' ability to overcome obstacles and succeed in the classroom.  In the classroom, they seem like they've been teaching for years.  Yes, everyone has hit obstacles.  Everyone has had bumps in the road or days where they haven't been 100%.  But they've come back every day, ready to give 100% again, and that's what matters.

Before this summer, I knew I wanted to apply to TFA.  Now, I'm sure.  And so I'll spend the next few weeks trying to come up with a personal statement that somehow captures my desire to become a part of this movement and convinces the powers that be that I belong here, too.  That I can fight for these kids, too.

Psalm 73

Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.

But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold.

For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong.

They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills.

This is what the wicked are like—always carefree, they increase in wealth.

Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.

All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning.

When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.

Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.

Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds. 

(verses:1-5, 12-14, 16-17, and 23-28)

Waiting for Superman

One of my friends who will be TFA-ing beginning in the fall in Baton Rouge, LA sent me this video! Just a great reminder.

The corps members arrived today--650 new faces!  We're all really excited that they're finally here, after preparing (relentlessly) for the past 9 days, unpacking boxes, putting up perfectly placed signage, cutting out letters, arranging kits, etc.  We are interested to see how our world will be changed when you add all these new people.  We've had all of the 1300 residence hall to ourselves, the staff to ourselves, the dining hall to ourselves, and now... not so much, haha! Marquita, who is quite possibly one of my FAVORITE people ever, threatened to lock the doors to keep the CMs from coming in, but Lindsay, one of the awesome staff members, reminded M that we had done all this work FOR them, since the probability of any of us using the resource room (full of books, crafts, teacher tools, etc.) is slim, and plus then we'd have a whole ton of kids sitting alone in classrooms.  Oops.  I guess we need them. :)

(PS to all of my CM friends--I love you.  I promise.  And I am unbelievably pumped to meet all of the new CMs and watch them turn from mostly recent college grads to America's newest, most prepared teachers.)

We finally had some down time last night and after another stellar meal at the dining hall, most of the OC's went out in Philly.  We. had. a. blast!! It was probably one of the most interesting nights of my LIFE.  My roommates and three other OCs had stayed and gone to the dining hall while a group of about ten or so went to a Mexican restaraunt in another part of Philly.  The seven of us decided to take the subway from Temple Univ, where we're staying, to Cristina's apartment, which is near Penn's campus.  Easy, right? Um, no.

Unfortunately for you, that story will just have to wait.  I am absolutely, 100%, entirely exhausted, so I'm going to curl up with some Monsters, Inc., and go to sleeeeep.

happy day.

Institute by Numbers

I am absolutely, positively, 100% in LOVE with the other OC's (interns) and our OD's (bosses).  

Institute by numbers:

1.            19 interns

2.            9 Operations Directors

3.            7 million boxes unpacked, organized, and moved.

4.            7,000 manilla folders distributed.

5.            10 SOM kits

6.            56 Core Member Adviser kits

7.            180 Core Member kits assembled and distributed

8.            400 post-its disappeared

9.            1 "social gathering"

10.        1 special lunch

11.        19 bamboo stalks

12.        80 hours of work

13.        1 free meal at Qdoba

14.        Too little sleep

15.        4 runs through Philly

16.        2 subway rides

17.        6 hours of dance parties

18.        8 days of laughing

Many more to come.

The Mighty Masai

Among the most accomplished and fabled tribes of Africa, no tribe was considered to have warriors more fearsome or more intelligent than the mighty Masai. It is perhaps surprising then to learn the traditional greeting that passed between Masai warriors. “Kasserian ingera, “ one would always say to another. It means, “and how are the children?”

It is still the traditional greeting among the Masai, acknowledging the high value that the Masai always place on their children’s’ well-being. Even warriors with no children of their own would always give the traditional answer. “All the children are well.” Meaning, of course, that peace and safety prevail, that the priorities of protecting the young, the powerless are in place, that Masai society has not forgotten its reason for being, its proper functions and responsibilities. “All the children are well” means that life is good. It means that the daily struggles of existence, even among a poor people, do not preclude proper caring for its young.

I wonder how it might affect our consciousness of our own children’s’ welfare if in our culture we took to greeting each other with this same daily question: “And how are the children?” I wonder if we heard that question and passed it along to each other a dozen times a day, if it would begin to make a difference in the reality of how children are thought of or cared for in this country?

I wonder if every adult among us, parent and non-parent alike, felt an equal weight for the daily care and protection of all the children in our town, in our state, in our country...I wonder if we could truly say without any hesitation, “the children are well, yes, all the children are well.”

What would it be like...if the President began every press conference, every public appearance, by answering the question, “And how are the children, Mr. President?” If every governor of every state had to answer the same question at every press conference: “And how are the children, Governor? Are they all well?” Wouldn’t it be interesting to hear their answers?

Written by Rev. Dr. Patrick T. O'Neill, Senior Minister of First Unitarian Church of Wilmington, Delaware. Written in 1991 as a sermon for the First Parish in Framingham, MA.

I'll admit it...

I'm probably the worst blogger EVER.  But I am having a wonderful time here at Institute, and loving Teach For America more and more as the days go by!  Just a few quick updates (more later, I promise!)

• For those of you who don't know, I'm working as an Operations Coordinator for Teach For America.  It's their intern position--this year, there are 19 Operations Coordinators, mostly rising college seniors, but a few rising sophomores and juniors.  It's really an incredible group of people and I've absolutely LOVED getting to know everyone.  We're responsible for making sure Institute runs smoothly--we've transformed the 1300 dorm of Temple University into Teach For America land.  From the ground up.  Literally, we've unpacked more boxes than I've ever seen in my LIFE! But it's been a lot of fun!
• Specifically, I'm the Supplies System Coordinator on the Office Operations team.  AKA, I'm in charge of ALLLLLL the supplies for Institute! I LOVE school supplies and I get to spend my day organizing them and passing them out. Besides a few missing gluesticks, it's been pretty good.  We're definitely moving all day, which is lots and lots of fun!
• Philly is great. Loooove it.

Alright, y'all, we're off to Wendy's for a late night snack, looove y'all!