The Big Easy & The Big Apple
I have to start out by saying that things are going well right now (knock on wood.) I have not been writing on the blog lately not because I've been busy hating life, but I've been jazzed about school and working diligently. A lot of things have helped my outlook, but a very crucial part was the Mardi Gras break.
Mardi Gras was fun! It was about what I expected, except that (most of) you will be happy to know that the flashing for beads idea is mostly a myth. The parades are very family-oriented, and the girls who do flash mostly get stared at by everyone else. You can get plenty of beads without flashing, but it's true that girl was racking 'em up a bit more than everyone else, but oh well. By the way, yelling for beads is quite the rush, and it's REALLY exciting when you get thrown something else...like purple underwear, a 7 foot orange chain or *my favorite* a plastic spear! It was great to be back in New Orleans with all my peeps there (Houston and NO friends, together like it should be), envisioning myself being back in the Big Easy next year. And in April, there are 2 weeks of Jazzfest, not just jazz, but tons of big names are coming- Bob Dylan, paul simon, Dave Matthews, Bruce Springsteen. Can't wait!! New Orleans has a small town feel that I really miss, and it was nice to just sit at our (the "royal we" of course refers to my roommate/husband Mark) favorite coffee shop and watch time pass slowly. What a feeling to feel so connected to this town after all this craziness. The downside of Mardi Gras, was a few of our kids left and didn't come back, an unpleasant surprise.
For the second half of break, I flew to New York City to visit my friend Maggie from high school. She is doing TFA there, and it was fun to be there, I've never visited NYC. I really liked the Met art exhibits, the empire state building view (although the wind almost blew us over), and we also went to the Museum of Natural History on a fieldtrip with Maggie's 2nd grade class. That was fun, too. Time Square was exactly what I expected, and the World Trade Center site was intense. I really liked the Hershey store in Times Square where they have oversized chocolate bar signs on the outside. We went to Korea town and Little Italy, which was fun. I was pretty entertained by the middle-aged women whispering "rolex" and "dvd." I was not tempted by the black market, however and did not buy a pirated grainy DVD. A memorable moment was when I decided to purchase name belt buckles for nicole, mark and I (all the 5th grade teachers). They say "Ms. B" "Mr.B" and "Ms.C" in silver and go on special belts. Our kids wear ones that say things like "slim" and "baby girl", we thought we should get our own custom-made ones too. I think we are going to rock them on Monday..I can't wait to see the kids' reaction! Sure to be classic.
Speaking of the kids, they are doing well. Some of our trouble boys have really mellowed out and finally taken a liking to our school. It's really exciting to see problem students who have made a gradual turn in the right direction. Very proud teacher moment for me was when Richard Jones (on the bench since november) finally got off on Friday. went on his first field trip of the year, had a great time. I really do feel like a mother to these children....many of them see us more than their own mothers, because of the long school day, long bus ride, and many moms have to work nights to pay the bills. This past week was week one of science, and it was mostly a success. Some kinks, but they love science, and it is much easier to teach than grammar! I'm going with it, and I think it will continue to go well.
Lastly, I'm training for the MS150 bike ride from houston to austin. Rode 20 miles today in Baytown, which we didn't know was a town known for being carcinogenic...we probably should have gotten the hint when every other building we passed was an ExxonMobil oil refinery...but, alas. We're amateurs. Going again tomorrow morning...ask me why I am getting up voluntarily before 7 am on the weekends? i don't know, but biking is fun!
Hope all is well. Love, Sarah
Mardi Gras was fun! It was about what I expected, except that (most of) you will be happy to know that the flashing for beads idea is mostly a myth. The parades are very family-oriented, and the girls who do flash mostly get stared at by everyone else. You can get plenty of beads without flashing, but it's true that girl was racking 'em up a bit more than everyone else, but oh well. By the way, yelling for beads is quite the rush, and it's REALLY exciting when you get thrown something else...like purple underwear, a 7 foot orange chain or *my favorite* a plastic spear! It was great to be back in New Orleans with all my peeps there (Houston and NO friends, together like it should be), envisioning myself being back in the Big Easy next year. And in April, there are 2 weeks of Jazzfest, not just jazz, but tons of big names are coming- Bob Dylan, paul simon, Dave Matthews, Bruce Springsteen. Can't wait!! New Orleans has a small town feel that I really miss, and it was nice to just sit at our (the "royal we" of course refers to my roommate/husband Mark) favorite coffee shop and watch time pass slowly. What a feeling to feel so connected to this town after all this craziness. The downside of Mardi Gras, was a few of our kids left and didn't come back, an unpleasant surprise.
For the second half of break, I flew to New York City to visit my friend Maggie from high school. She is doing TFA there, and it was fun to be there, I've never visited NYC. I really liked the Met art exhibits, the empire state building view (although the wind almost blew us over), and we also went to the Museum of Natural History on a fieldtrip with Maggie's 2nd grade class. That was fun, too. Time Square was exactly what I expected, and the World Trade Center site was intense. I really liked the Hershey store in Times Square where they have oversized chocolate bar signs on the outside. We went to Korea town and Little Italy, which was fun. I was pretty entertained by the middle-aged women whispering "rolex" and "dvd." I was not tempted by the black market, however and did not buy a pirated grainy DVD. A memorable moment was when I decided to purchase name belt buckles for nicole, mark and I (all the 5th grade teachers). They say "Ms. B" "Mr.B" and "Ms.C" in silver and go on special belts. Our kids wear ones that say things like "slim" and "baby girl", we thought we should get our own custom-made ones too. I think we are going to rock them on Monday..I can't wait to see the kids' reaction! Sure to be classic.
Speaking of the kids, they are doing well. Some of our trouble boys have really mellowed out and finally taken a liking to our school. It's really exciting to see problem students who have made a gradual turn in the right direction. Very proud teacher moment for me was when Richard Jones (on the bench since november) finally got off on Friday. went on his first field trip of the year, had a great time. I really do feel like a mother to these children....many of them see us more than their own mothers, because of the long school day, long bus ride, and many moms have to work nights to pay the bills. This past week was week one of science, and it was mostly a success. Some kinks, but they love science, and it is much easier to teach than grammar! I'm going with it, and I think it will continue to go well.
Lastly, I'm training for the MS150 bike ride from houston to austin. Rode 20 miles today in Baytown, which we didn't know was a town known for being carcinogenic...we probably should have gotten the hint when every other building we passed was an ExxonMobil oil refinery...but, alas. We're amateurs. Going again tomorrow morning...ask me why I am getting up voluntarily before 7 am on the weekends? i don't know, but biking is fun!
Hope all is well. Love, Sarah
posted by MissBliss at 2:27 PM
2 Comments:
Bliss, your blog is fabulous. You're frustrated by some of the same things I am, but you're so positive! I love it!!! denise
oh yeah, you might not recognize me in the pic. I dyed my hair pink! :)
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