they weren't kidding when they said this was intense

well, teach for america (TFA) wasn't kidding when they said institute would be intense. i could type for days about the things i've already learned at induction, the three day crash course on TFA principles, life in Houston, and chance to meet fellow Houston "corps" members. Corps is the word for group of TFA teachers--kids like me.

Houston rocks. I have had my eyes opened to the city - as we drive on buses past downtown, into Herman park, around the three fountains near the Sam Houston statue- it is as if i am seeing this city for the first time. And I love it.

We had a professor come speak about a survey he has been conducting in Houston since 1982 - he has his PhD in sociology and developed the urban planning center at Rice University. He is awesome! I'll try to share more of his findings later. For now...

Quick update/terms you need to know:

Bouch: term used for the beds in the dorms here at UofH. Because its a bed AND a couch. That's right, it slides under a little shelf thing to become a couch during the day, with pillows on the back, and pulls out to be a regular twin bed at night. Bouch it up, baby!

6:35 a.m.: that's what time my bus leaves for my summer school "site" - where I'm teaching 4th & 5th grade this summer!

Delta!: The Mississippi Delta is what we call a "rural region" - 280 new corps members have been assigned there and are training here in Houston. I am bonding with the Delta because of the 12 people in my small group - for our teaching site previously mentioned - I am the ONLY houston member. on the bus ride today someone asked me if i could get a microphone or headset and just be our tour guide of all things Houston. Yay Delta!

College Athletes - they are everywhere in this group of uberachievers. My roommate for induction, held at J.W. Marriott in the galleria (very different from UofH Bouches)- my roommate ran track all four years at a top university. Yesterday I took a new friend to run Memorial Park, a 3 mile loop, thinking surely we'd run at different paces, I'd finish in about 35 minutes, fine. No, she kindly says, she'll just run with me. Then she tells me how she was a college athlete, a crew/rowing person, and they used to run 5 miles on off-days. Oh. Oh Crap. Gotta watch out for those college athletes.

That's enough for now, I'm off to dinner and our night session. Tomorrow we are in sessions from 7:10 a.m. until 4 p.m., and then 5:30 til 8:00 p.m. with dinner "to-go" and twenty minutes for lunch.

They were so not kidding when they said this was intense!
*But for now I'm still really pumped about everything and pinching myself that I'm actually here!!!

Blessings! -crob