Away We Go!

Let's back-date this blog to June 4-7, pre-Houston and then Induction weekend:

I just had the very best graduation month that I could have possibly imagined. Yet there was very little time for reflection (something I will become very familiar with in the coming weeks) as I crammed my Institute Pre-Work into the week before my planned departure for Texas.

Pre-Work consumed all my time and energy for that week leading up to Houston (in addition to packing logistics and unforeseen travel hurdles, i.e. Spencer's extended stay at Manny's auto shop). I was supposed to read hundreds of pages a day of theories and strategies related to teaching and other TFA-er's personal accounts of their struggles teaching. I read and read, got up early and stayed up late (bizarre post-foreshadowing here); I really tried to do it all, but honestly, it made very little sense. It was still very abstract and distant from anything I had done. So, I plugged through the TFA jargon (it's really like a whole different language) and hauled the pages and pages with me to Induction.

As I briefly mentioned, my car (aka Spencer), was not fit to drive all 1,782 miles to Houston as soon as I needed him to. So Michael saved my life and offered to drive down when the car was ready and I took a flight instead.

I got to the Houston airport with an unfortunate text saying that my ride couldn't actually come pick me up. But, all my luggage showed up and everyone spoke English, so I figured, learning from my previous traveling experiences, I would be just fine. And I was! I eavesdropped all over the baggage claim area to see if I could spot any other anxious TFA-looking people. I found 'em. They were so generous and accommodating and offered to cram into the one car together with all of our luggage.This was the first example of the incredible problem-solving capacity of TFA corps members. The car was stuffed to the gills, but we were all in and on our way. The heat was unbearable, as all the AC vents were blocked and, at the same time, I couldn't get any water because I was limited to the use of just one of my hands in our sardine-like position. But a new friend recognized my predicament and graciously uncapped a bottle for me. With a suitcase directly in my face, I couldn't necessarily see any of the sights on the drive, but this little bit of camaraderie put a smile on my face as we navigated the hot, notoriously awful Houston traffic.

Induction was a real blur. I learned (and promptly forgot) hundreds of peoples' names. I woke up with the sun for the first time in a long, long, time (again, something I would get used to). I sat for hours on end listening to people talk about Houston, interview strategies, the TFA mission, our movement, personal reflections on teaching experience, etc. It might seem challenging, but actually, I was sleeping in an amazingly comfortable king-sized bed and enjoying three vegan meals a day. So, really, not so bad at all.

However, there was a lot of talk about the huge challenges ahead - every single person who stood in front of us reiterated what we had heard moments before: "this is going to be so hard" "when I was in your shoes I couldn't imagine how hard this was going to be" "I wanted to quit every day" "you will fail over and over again"... So yeah, really inspirational. By the end of the three days of Induction weekend, I was numb to the speakers and just wanted to get on with it.

On to Moody Towers...