Now I finally have a good excuse for that, which is pretty exciting for me at least.
Currently, I am student teaching at William Howard Taft High School in Norwood Park, Chicago. To all of you who thought "oh dear God she's teaching in a public high school in Chicago!?" Yes I am and it isn't as bad as you think--which is great for me and for your worrying hearts.
I mean it's definitely a public high school. There are punks and kids who think they are thugs, but mostly it just makes me laugh at them in my head, or just get really pissed off because they aren't using the potential they have. The kids are definitely frustrating at times but any kid in high school is going to be frustrating because they think they are "all that."
So far it has definitely been overwhelming and frustrating but nothing so far has been more than I can deal with. Plus, I have supervisors who have my back which is nice.
I love living downtown, being close to a lot of things, but I don't like being new and trying to figure out where all the cool places are. Also, note to self and others for that matter, grocery shopping in the city is super annoying if you plan on only using public transportation. It is something I still need to figure out how to master.
The one thing that I just absolutely love that keeps me sane are my roommates. Or rather apartment-mates because we each have our own room. They are all super sweet and so far we have all managed to have some time each day to chat with each other and ask how the other's days went. It's been really great to have a support system like that. It is also interesting because we live in an apartment that is on the 7th floor of Hosteling International in Chicago so we're constantly running into different people. I also love that the public library is basically next door and there is a Panera and CVS just across the street.
And in closing I would like to announce that MY BROTHER IS GETTING MARRIED IN A WEEK! (super excited. it's gonna be great)
2 comments:
Hey Laura! I just found your blog via facebook. I'm glad you like Chicago so far, I miss that city. One bit of advice that may help with the grocery thing (and it will probably depend on what you're buying and how much) but I always took a largish empty backpack when I walked or took the bus to the store and put my heaviest groceries in it. That way I didn't have quite as much weight on my arms, or as many bulky bags to manage. Hope it helps a little!
fab .. well if I had thought of bringing a backpack with me ... silly me
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