Home sweet Berkeley

Hello friends, family, and random blog-readers,

The past week has been a blur. I have had a crazy couple of days that involved moving out of LA, driving for hours and hours around the Bay, and FINALLY finding a place to call home!

The last day of Institute:

I still cannot believe that I made it through the infamous TFA initiation that is institute. Institute was more then just teaching summer school with absolutely no previous experience. It was more then just staying up late into the night/morning to finish all of the lesson plans, posters, worksheets, etc. for the next day. It was about challenging and pushing oneself to points where you never thought you would make it. It was relearning how to learn in order to teach. It was breaking yourself down just to build yourself up that much stronger. Although my low points were very low, my highs were that much higher. I swear us teachers have all become manic. One second we are ecstatic that our kids passed an assessment, the next we are on the floor crying because the printer is broken. Emotional roller coaster.

I finished my last day of school on Friday. It was an absolutely memorable day and a great way to end my summer school experience. Since it was my last day (and the kidos had already taken their final assessment) I decided to do something fun/educational that they all would enjoy. I knew that they all loved music so I decided to create a lesson mixing politics and music. I showed political music videos (NASA's “Money,” Outcast's “Bombs over Baghdad,” and Green Day's “American Idiot”). I was also so surprised when they started telling me about the music they listen to and how political it is. My students continued to surprise me with all that they know. My politics and music lesson was great and my kids got way into making their own political lyrics and reading them to the class. I collected their work so I can hang it on my wall. :) I took a million pictures the last day so I can remember my amazing students and all of those people who challenged me, pushed me, and made me a better teacher. I will never forget those students, and those teachers at Animo who amazed me with their talent, patience, and skill.

After school, we took our last ride home on the big yellow bus, red lunch box in hand. Sadly, Friday night wasn't the great celebratory last night that I expected. So many of my close friends had left back home (D.C., Vegas, Twin Cities, the Bay), and everyone was packing their stuff up. Not to mention early Saturday morning I had a 4 hour long credentialing test to take. Even though the last night was full of logistical things to finish up, I got to spend the night with some of my favorite people, talking, reminiscing, and thinking forward to our adventure we have ahead of us. Sitting atop the LMU mountain looking out on the city of LA, sparkling like glitter in the valley, I finally realized that I was moving on from my life in LA that I have created over the past 4 years. I was moving on from life as a college student and slow transforming into a “working professional.” And to be honest, I am ready for this change.

Saturday morning came all too soon and I found myself scrambling to finish some last minute packing at LMU, then heading over to take my TFE credentialing entrance exam. It took all of my energy and power to not just pass out on my desk and give up. I quickly learned I wasn't the only one who felt that way as I glanced around at the passed out and drooling teachers who couldn't fight the sleep deprivation from the past 5 weeks. I had to get up and go to the bathroom/do some push ups to reenergize, but 4 hours later I walked out of the dingy room finally feeling finished with institute.

A couple of hours later (with the help of Caroline's amazing packing skills) we had packed my little car Gertrude full of accumulated clothes and school supplies, and said goodbye to LA for good. After 5 weeks in the dorms with 500 stressed out teachers, Quane Hill truly was an oasis.

Too bad that paradise did not last long because the very next day Caroline and I began our housing search around East Bay. Lets just say that I know know what it feels like to be a taxi driver. I decided to do a running tally of how much I have driven in the past 4 days: I have driven from LA to San Jose (7 hours), Quane hill to Berkeley and back (3 hours), then back to Berkeley (2 hours), then 10+ times up and down University Dr. and all over Berkeley looking for housing over 3 days (15 hours). I have decided that taxi driving is not the profession for me and I will stick with being a teacher. After 3 days of hellish-house hunting, we finally found a place to live that we can call home! This morning at 9am we went to see our last house of the week. After this house we were going to make a final decision about where to live. We walked into the house, took one look around, and knew we had to take the place. It is newly remodeled, 3 bedrooms, down the street from tons of diverse restaurants (Indian food, international cheese store, Jamaican, Local Cafe where they use locally grown organic produce), close to the freeway, and the tenants are so Berkeley-cool. We handed them a check and we are moving in today. If this duplex-house works out, all of the stress, driving, arguments, and meeting weird tenants will all be worth it.

Now I am hanging out at the Double Tree hotel in Berkeley Marina taking some me-time that I haven't gotten all summer. I begin my TFA “round zero” training tomorrow, so my 3 day summer vacation (which was just as stressful as institute) is quickly coming to an end.

Some last thoughts:
Berkeley is already starting to feel like home (now that I knew every street in the city).
I'm so ready to embrace the hippiness.
Don't be surprised if I go organic and start my own herb garden.
There ain't no shopping like thrift shopping.
My commute is going to suck, but I'll be worth it!

<3 Ms. Q