My Life in the Past Two Months
Last May I came back from France after having spent eight months abroad. It was a wonderful eight months full of food, drink, laughter, children, and love. I had gotten engaged, visited three new countries, and set up our first home as a family with Nicole. I was sad to leave Lyon and I knew I would miss it, but I was even more excited to come back to California, my chosen homeland.
In June I started my journey with Teach for America (TFA). We spent a week in Hawaii for “Induction,” a sort of pre-training introduction to TFA, Hawaii, and its culture. It was definitely more like a mini-vacation than the Inductions in the Mississippi Delta and elsewhere.
After Induction we flew to Texas where we would spend the next five, intensive weeks learning how to be a teacher. They call it Institute. We call it Teacher Boot Camp. And man is it hard! The first week of teaching was especially rough, with up to four lesson plans due in one day. I usually get less than five hours of sleep Monday through Thursday as I am up all night planning for future classes.
Although the weekdays are rough, the weekends are a lot of fun. The Hawaii Corps is one big Ohana, which means family in Hawaiian. There is definitely a sense of Aloha, which means welcomingness. Although rough, I know this will really prepare me to hit the ground running in Hawaii. Sometimes I struggle, but it’s all worth it for the keiki (children) of Houston, Hawaii, and everywhere else I will have a chance to touch as a teacher.
The future excites me.
