New York, New York, It's a Hell of a Town!

Wow-zers, what a first day this has been! Strangely enough, it started during my least favorite time of day, the morning. At 4am, I woke up to get ready to go to New York City for Teach for America. Dad, mom and I went and picked up Mike and we went to the airport. I can’t say that I was too excited at that point, the morning had barely begun and I knew the day would be long for me. We got to the airport and problems began for me. First, the electronic ticket machine refused me service, and then I didn’t get any boarding passes. All of these things cleared up and Mike and I were on our merry way. We landed in Chicago and everything went smoothly. A short flight later and we were in NYC!

In the short time we have been here, we have met and befriended many people. Stephanie, of course, has been with us while we wander around this HUGE city, but also there are other cast members, not from Minnesota. First, there is Nathan. He reminds me of someone, but I cannot put my finger on it. He, like everyone else in our group, has obvious leadership qualities, but unlike most, it is quieter. Then there Mike from Wisconsin who also reminds me of someone, and again I can’t place it. He seems to gravitate towards women more. It seems too early to be playing the field, but maybe there is more to it than that. Then, there is Krystal, who is also from Oakdale. She went to Tartan, but knows many of the Polar posse. After her is Rachel. She is like Nate in the quieter sense. She is one of those who seems quiet, but is clearly thinking more than she is letting on. Very interesting person. New-ish to our group is Sarah, who is in the same Region and subject matter as Nate, Mike and me.

Together, and with others who will undoubtedly find their way into my journal, braved the streets of NYC and found our way through the subway system. This whole experience has been great thusfar, even the 15+ blocks we walked to get to lunch. But as I told Stephanie, it feels good to know that I have burned more calories today than I have consumed!

Peace out for now, I’ll get back to this later.
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I am a little concerned about some of the strategies that TfA has set out for us. In one of the readings, they continually suggest the benefits of holding non-traditional meeting times with students (i.e. after school, during holiday breaks, on weekends, etc.) I think this is fine, but how does that translate for high school students. If they have been continually exposed to the level of apathy that they have been, what can I do to counteract that? In another words, why would they want to come during those hours?!