So I’m not going to Ukraine after all, as many of you already know. I had been hired to work at a school there, but due to a whole lot of bureaucratic BS, the school informed me last week that they were unable to take me on as a teacher after all. Of course hiring season for ESL jobs is pretty much over, so the likelihood of me finding a teaching job before Spring is next to none.
My Plan B was to work as an Au Pair, and I found a really great family, but they needed someone to be there for an entire year, and I just think I should be looking for teaching jobs (since I spent all that money to get certified) and I’m also waiting to hear back from the State Department to see whether I can move forward with recruitment.
I really didn’t think I would find a decent job here in Savannah, but I managed to apply, interview, and start training - all this week. I found a really great part time job that could maybe turn into something longer term in the future. I’m also going to apply to be a substitute teacher, I think, because why not?
What this all means is that I get to actually pay off some of my debt, spend more time with my friends and family (hey, that's you!), and make actual plans several months into the future. I’m no longer stuck in the “wait” position, and it’s actually an incredible relief. I’m also making money - I spent a few weeks working for the Census, which was a nice boost to my bank account, and I’ll have more money coming in from my new job! It’s pretty amazing. I’ve been unemployed for most of the year, and I’m just really over it.
I think this really did turn out for the best :).
Friday, October 16, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
goodbye boston; my last week (before i forget everything)
I taught my final two classes, which went really well. I really do enjoy teaching, and I’m excited to actually hopefully be doing that for a living in the relatively near future! I miss everyone from CELTA already. We all went out on Friday at like 4:00 in the afternoon and I was intoxicated well before dark. That really doesn’t happen very often. It was such a blast talking to everyone outside of class though - I’m kind of sad we didn’t do it before the last day. I feel like we all bonded a little more. I may have gotten teary eyed a few times saying goodbye to everyone.
Speaking of goodbyes, saying goodbye to my karaoke and darts buddy, Jesse, sucked. We did two nights of karaoke that last week, the first time at our old standby with some other friends, and the other time after my CELTA party at a different place that literally had the best karaoke I have ever attended. The song choices were so fun and different and the people at the bar were super friendly. I spoke German to a girl for a while and talked about Savannah with another couple. I love that everyone asks me about Paula Dean’s - I always tell people not to bother going. It’s definitely not worth the line or the money. One of my favorite moments of the night was when the whole place started dancing to Love Shack :). Gotta love the B-52s!
I was going to spend my last day in Boston with Mary, but I ended up wallowing in my apartment watching True Blood instead. I was feeling pretty depressed about leaving. My roommates + their cats were so fantastic, and I really bonded with them and the place. I knew my way around the city without getting lost, I was a pro at reading on the train, and I'd finally figured out the bus schedule. I even had a local bar where I knew the bouncer, which has literally never happened anywhere else I've lived.
I’d gone out with Mary and Kyle earlier that week for an excellent Middle Eastern dinner, followed by a walk down Newbury Street and an incident involving me eating ice cream like a 6 year old. I made the BIGGEST mess I have ever made in my life eating that cone - ice cream literally was melting all over me, from my hands to my feet. They just laughed at me a lot and let me rinse off in their bathroom. It was really awesome ice cream though - two flavors packed into a waffle cone that had cocoa krispies attached to the top. YUM.
So even though I was lame and wallow-y, Mary and Kyle still gave me a ride to the train station. Mary even distracted me from my woe with a ridiculously circular conversation about feminism and Twilight, which I remain thankful for. I told them both that I owed them at least one fabulous night out in a few years when I actually (hopefully!) have some money. They did so, so, so much for me and I know that Boston wouldn’t have been half as awesome without them there to enjoy it with me.
The train ride home was long (obviously) but made super awesome with the addition of several episodes of True Blood, a book, and some really fantastic company. On the first leg of the trip, I ended up hardcore bonding with Crystal, a teacher from Texas. We talked for ages - I actually moved seats so we wouldn’t have to talk as loudly since it was pretty late and people were trying to sleep :). I managed to do quite a bit of sleeping myself, and Crystal ended up having a layover in DC with me, so we had breakfast at the train station together and talked some more! It was so much fun, and it made time go by SO much faster. I slept a bit more on the second leg, and when I woke up, I started talking to the girl sitting next to me. Arkeisha is a fabulous lady from Georgia, who is going to school in New York, and somehow we got on the subject of her research, which lead to talking about womanism, which I’d never heard of, so of course I had to read the introduction of the book she had about it, and I swear to you, it changed my life! We literally geeked out for hours, talking about feminism, womanism, race, culture... it was so intense! We both just kept looking at each other and laughing, because really, who expects to talk about stuff like that outside of a classroom with a stranger you meet on the train? I cannot believe how much I lucked out with my fellow passengers. They truly made 24 hours on a train a worthwhile experience that I would definitely repeat. But not anytime soon :P.
So now I’m back in Savannah, applying for jobs and catching up with old friends. I’ll be sure to update you again when I hear something from abroad. Right now I’m literally applying all over Europe, from Portugal to Ukraine, so wish me luck!
Speaking of goodbyes, saying goodbye to my karaoke and darts buddy, Jesse, sucked. We did two nights of karaoke that last week, the first time at our old standby with some other friends, and the other time after my CELTA party at a different place that literally had the best karaoke I have ever attended. The song choices were so fun and different and the people at the bar were super friendly. I spoke German to a girl for a while and talked about Savannah with another couple. I love that everyone asks me about Paula Dean’s - I always tell people not to bother going. It’s definitely not worth the line or the money. One of my favorite moments of the night was when the whole place started dancing to Love Shack :). Gotta love the B-52s!
I was going to spend my last day in Boston with Mary, but I ended up wallowing in my apartment watching True Blood instead. I was feeling pretty depressed about leaving. My roommates + their cats were so fantastic, and I really bonded with them and the place. I knew my way around the city without getting lost, I was a pro at reading on the train, and I'd finally figured out the bus schedule. I even had a local bar where I knew the bouncer, which has literally never happened anywhere else I've lived.
I’d gone out with Mary and Kyle earlier that week for an excellent Middle Eastern dinner, followed by a walk down Newbury Street and an incident involving me eating ice cream like a 6 year old. I made the BIGGEST mess I have ever made in my life eating that cone - ice cream literally was melting all over me, from my hands to my feet. They just laughed at me a lot and let me rinse off in their bathroom. It was really awesome ice cream though - two flavors packed into a waffle cone that had cocoa krispies attached to the top. YUM.
So even though I was lame and wallow-y, Mary and Kyle still gave me a ride to the train station. Mary even distracted me from my woe with a ridiculously circular conversation about feminism and Twilight, which I remain thankful for. I told them both that I owed them at least one fabulous night out in a few years when I actually (hopefully!) have some money. They did so, so, so much for me and I know that Boston wouldn’t have been half as awesome without them there to enjoy it with me.
The train ride home was long (obviously) but made super awesome with the addition of several episodes of True Blood, a book, and some really fantastic company. On the first leg of the trip, I ended up hardcore bonding with Crystal, a teacher from Texas. We talked for ages - I actually moved seats so we wouldn’t have to talk as loudly since it was pretty late and people were trying to sleep :). I managed to do quite a bit of sleeping myself, and Crystal ended up having a layover in DC with me, so we had breakfast at the train station together and talked some more! It was so much fun, and it made time go by SO much faster. I slept a bit more on the second leg, and when I woke up, I started talking to the girl sitting next to me. Arkeisha is a fabulous lady from Georgia, who is going to school in New York, and somehow we got on the subject of her research, which lead to talking about womanism, which I’d never heard of, so of course I had to read the introduction of the book she had about it, and I swear to you, it changed my life! We literally geeked out for hours, talking about feminism, womanism, race, culture... it was so intense! We both just kept looking at each other and laughing, because really, who expects to talk about stuff like that outside of a classroom with a stranger you meet on the train? I cannot believe how much I lucked out with my fellow passengers. They truly made 24 hours on a train a worthwhile experience that I would definitely repeat. But not anytime soon :P.
So now I’m back in Savannah, applying for jobs and catching up with old friends. I’ll be sure to update you again when I hear something from abroad. Right now I’m literally applying all over Europe, from Portugal to Ukraine, so wish me luck!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
new york, new york!
So the best way for me to tell you about my New York experience is to tell you where I ate. Because I ate a lot.
The first place Hannah and I ate was at the Indian place across from our fabulous hotel. Now, I just have to say, Hannah and I bonded pretty much immediately. It wasn’t even weird that we’d never actually met in real life, and we had so much fun together. So we ate Indian at like, midnight. Because you can do that in New York. We slept in on Saturday a little, and after my complimentary coffee from the hotel, we walked to the deli I’d researched online. Because if I was going to go to a real New York deli to eat a sandwich the size of my head, it was going to be a damn good deli. And it was. We split a pastrami on rye, and it came with complimentary cole slaw & this huuuge plate of pickles. DELISH. I also loved the owner, and our server, and the entire experience was just... perfect.
Okay. So after that I think we took the subway to the Staten Island Ferry. Hannah was a bit apprehensive about that particular form of transportation, but I was kind of determined because taking the subway is a part of the quintessential NYC experience! The map is a little overwhelming - definitely on a whole different level than Boston - but I actually figured it out! I, the person with no sense of direction, actually figured out the subway map. Hannah was much better with walking directions (I was always confused about which way we were going) but I totally had the public transportation thing down. I’m sort of proud of myself. Anyway. The Ferry was really cool, especially because it was free! You can see the Statue of Liberty from the boat, as well as the gorgeous Manhatten skyline. So that was fun. Then we took the subway again over to Central Park, whereupon I took a nap and basked in the glory of that much greenspace in the middle of that much iron and concrete and metal! It really is a gorgeous park, even nicer than I expected. Lots of trees, flowers, lakes... people just chilling out everywhere.
At that point we were hungry again, so we took a taxi to Chinatown for some fabulous Chinese food! Now, the subway had already been an experience in itself, including this dude very loudly preaching about Jesus and abomination for several stops. But the taxi was maybe the best ever, and not because of our driver, but the driver who was driving the cab next to us. He was absolutely blasting his music, totally rocking out, and I had my window open and was laughing and like, nodding to the music, and the cabbie noticed and turned out his music and smiled at me and we rocked out together! Then we drove off and two blocks later, he pulled up next to us again, and I think he was playing Madonna or something equally fun, and I just laughed and laughed. When he saw it was me again next to him, his face was so surprised! It was too great.
Anyway. Chinatown & Little Italy were great. I bought a really great purse and some new sunglasses, ‘cause the old ones broke (so surprising!). There were people selling things everywhere, and so much FOOD. It was intense. Some really great people watching. We got ridiculously cheap pastries at a bakery (more food! yum!) in Chinatown that were so worth the dollar a piece they cost. The actual Chinese food we ate for dinner was a big bowl of noodles, beef, and vegetables. I also got some shrimp dumplings, good times!
After that, we were pretty exhausted, so we took a late night subway trip home, which was kind of perilous, ‘cause we had to change lines, but again I DIDN’T GET US LOST. I rock. And then we geeked out on our computers and talked and laughed and things. Our hotel was so lovely, by the way. It’s this great boutique hotel right in Midtown, with fabulous furniture and very helpful staff. Sunday was pretty uneventful - we got bagels and lox for breakfast (another food item to check off my to-eat list) but the place we went didn’t have anywhere to sit down, so we walked down the street to Starbucks to eat! More people watching out the window - there were these hilarious tourists who freaked out when they saw a Starbucks and had to run inside immediately. I was just like... they’re everywhere in New York? Calm down?
Hannah left pretty early in the afternoon, so I spent the afternoon walking around the city a bit more, exploring other neighborhoods and things. I ate some pizza and had a smoothie and read the paper. It was pretty fabulous. The weather was absolutely gorgeous all weekend, not too hot, nice and sunny, and not a single drop of rain ‘til I got on the bus to go back to Boston. I ended up liking the city so much more than I thought I would, and I was sad I didn’t really get a chance to stay longer. I really wanted to do the museums, but they take up so much time and I wanted to use what little time I had to actually see the city, so. That got cut. I am definitely going back!
And I wanted to make a footnote that the next time someone tells me people in New York are rude, I am going to lose it. Everyone I talked to was so helpful, whether it was to give me directions, take my order, or answer my questions. I found people on the subway to be especially friendly - this one guy literally held the doors for me and told me to get back on the train! I had run onto it with Hannah, sure it was the right train, until the electronic thing that tells you which stops are coming up had Coney Island listed as the last stop, which was definitely the wrong way! So I was like, no, Hannah, we have to get off! And we were already off the train and the guy calls out, no, this is the right train, it’s not going to Coney Island because we just came from there! So we jumped back on. Such an amazingly nice thing to do, I still can’t get over it.
I’ll leave my last week in Boston and my trip home for my next entry... I think this one is long enough ;).
The first place Hannah and I ate was at the Indian place across from our fabulous hotel. Now, I just have to say, Hannah and I bonded pretty much immediately. It wasn’t even weird that we’d never actually met in real life, and we had so much fun together. So we ate Indian at like, midnight. Because you can do that in New York. We slept in on Saturday a little, and after my complimentary coffee from the hotel, we walked to the deli I’d researched online. Because if I was going to go to a real New York deli to eat a sandwich the size of my head, it was going to be a damn good deli. And it was. We split a pastrami on rye, and it came with complimentary cole slaw & this huuuge plate of pickles. DELISH. I also loved the owner, and our server, and the entire experience was just... perfect.
Okay. So after that I think we took the subway to the Staten Island Ferry. Hannah was a bit apprehensive about that particular form of transportation, but I was kind of determined because taking the subway is a part of the quintessential NYC experience! The map is a little overwhelming - definitely on a whole different level than Boston - but I actually figured it out! I, the person with no sense of direction, actually figured out the subway map. Hannah was much better with walking directions (I was always confused about which way we were going) but I totally had the public transportation thing down. I’m sort of proud of myself. Anyway. The Ferry was really cool, especially because it was free! You can see the Statue of Liberty from the boat, as well as the gorgeous Manhatten skyline. So that was fun. Then we took the subway again over to Central Park, whereupon I took a nap and basked in the glory of that much greenspace in the middle of that much iron and concrete and metal! It really is a gorgeous park, even nicer than I expected. Lots of trees, flowers, lakes... people just chilling out everywhere.
At that point we were hungry again, so we took a taxi to Chinatown for some fabulous Chinese food! Now, the subway had already been an experience in itself, including this dude very loudly preaching about Jesus and abomination for several stops. But the taxi was maybe the best ever, and not because of our driver, but the driver who was driving the cab next to us. He was absolutely blasting his music, totally rocking out, and I had my window open and was laughing and like, nodding to the music, and the cabbie noticed and turned out his music and smiled at me and we rocked out together! Then we drove off and two blocks later, he pulled up next to us again, and I think he was playing Madonna or something equally fun, and I just laughed and laughed. When he saw it was me again next to him, his face was so surprised! It was too great.
Anyway. Chinatown & Little Italy were great. I bought a really great purse and some new sunglasses, ‘cause the old ones broke (so surprising!). There were people selling things everywhere, and so much FOOD. It was intense. Some really great people watching. We got ridiculously cheap pastries at a bakery (more food! yum!) in Chinatown that were so worth the dollar a piece they cost. The actual Chinese food we ate for dinner was a big bowl of noodles, beef, and vegetables. I also got some shrimp dumplings, good times!
After that, we were pretty exhausted, so we took a late night subway trip home, which was kind of perilous, ‘cause we had to change lines, but again I DIDN’T GET US LOST. I rock. And then we geeked out on our computers and talked and laughed and things. Our hotel was so lovely, by the way. It’s this great boutique hotel right in Midtown, with fabulous furniture and very helpful staff. Sunday was pretty uneventful - we got bagels and lox for breakfast (another food item to check off my to-eat list) but the place we went didn’t have anywhere to sit down, so we walked down the street to Starbucks to eat! More people watching out the window - there were these hilarious tourists who freaked out when they saw a Starbucks and had to run inside immediately. I was just like... they’re everywhere in New York? Calm down?
Hannah left pretty early in the afternoon, so I spent the afternoon walking around the city a bit more, exploring other neighborhoods and things. I ate some pizza and had a smoothie and read the paper. It was pretty fabulous. The weather was absolutely gorgeous all weekend, not too hot, nice and sunny, and not a single drop of rain ‘til I got on the bus to go back to Boston. I ended up liking the city so much more than I thought I would, and I was sad I didn’t really get a chance to stay longer. I really wanted to do the museums, but they take up so much time and I wanted to use what little time I had to actually see the city, so. That got cut. I am definitely going back!
And I wanted to make a footnote that the next time someone tells me people in New York are rude, I am going to lose it. Everyone I talked to was so helpful, whether it was to give me directions, take my order, or answer my questions. I found people on the subway to be especially friendly - this one guy literally held the doors for me and told me to get back on the train! I had run onto it with Hannah, sure it was the right train, until the electronic thing that tells you which stops are coming up had Coney Island listed as the last stop, which was definitely the wrong way! So I was like, no, Hannah, we have to get off! And we were already off the train and the guy calls out, no, this is the right train, it’s not going to Coney Island because we just came from there! So we jumped back on. Such an amazingly nice thing to do, I still can’t get over it.
I’ll leave my last week in Boston and my trip home for my next entry... I think this one is long enough ;).
Friday, July 24, 2009
this week: lead paint, the symphony, and pretentious people!
I’ve had a pretty great week, as a matter of fact. I spent most of the weekend in and around Boston, but I actually traveled a lot more than I had initially anticipated.
My new friend, Jesse (the one who taught me how to play darts last week) is from Providence, RI and he was there Friday night helping his friend renovate his loft to use as a workspace. As I was doing nothing Friday after class and had never been to Providence, I decided to hop on the train to hang out with him for the night. When I got there, I got to hear the whole tragic tale of the lead paint. Apparently they had the loft tested for lead in the paint, and a healthy level is 30. Six walls were tested, and there was anything between 300 and 14,000. Which is rather, um, deadly. Jesse literally threw away the shoes he was wearing because he didn’t want to kill his cat when he went home and walked around on his own floors. Obviously his friend will not be moving into that loft, and all the work he spent in the last two months making improvements was for naught. I expected both guys to be pretty tragic, and they were a bit, but somehow we still had a great time telling jokes, drinking, and making fun of Providence.
I had always thought Providence was supposed to be this really great city, lots of culture, cool people, etc. No. It’s actually sort of sketchy and full of obnoxious and rather trashy people. Luckily, I was only there for a few hours until Jesse drove us back to Boston. It was absolutely pouring by the time we left, so we had to literally pull off an exit and sit in a parking lot for 20 minutes until it cleared up. Of course it was already 2 am and we were both exhausted and just ready to go to sleep. Ridiculousness. We still managed to hardcore bond. It’s really crazy how many cool people I’ve met in this city in the short time I’ve been here. I am going to miss Boston A LOT.
Saturday afternoon (after sleeping in and doing some serious lounging) Mary and Kyle picked me up to go to Tanglewood for a picnic and a John Williams concert. Now, before I go on, let me tell you that Mary and I have been planning to do this for weeks, but all she really said was that it would be live classical music with the Boston Pops, so it was a pretty big deal, and that it was outside of the city. It’s actually a good 2 1/2 hours away (2 exits from the New York state line) and is a HUGE DEAL. Let me tell you about Tanglewood. When I say a John Williams concert, I mean that the man was conducting. Now, I would not particularly call myself his biggest fan, but to see him live and conducting his own music was pretty freaking cool. And the food people had! It’s an outside event, but there is a covered area where you can get the expensive seats. It’s all surrounded by a huge lawn where people frolicked and ate wine and cheese and REALLY ELABORATE MEALS. These people were busting out the tables and candlesticks and like, really intense hors de vors (I know I spelled that really wrong, don’t judge). We brought some tasty food ourselves - pasta salad, 7 layer dip, mozzarella & tomato, fresh fruit, etc. It was NOT this kind of place to grill red hot dogs, I can tell you that.
Tanglewood is located in the Berkshires, which is a part of the northern Appalachian mountains, and I wasn’t really thinking and forgot how cold it would get at night. I wore a sundress, which was perfect until the sun went down. I was huddled under a blanket and was still cold, and I think Mary and Kyle felt sorry for me because they bought me a souvenir sweatshirt, and I will thank them for that until, well, forever. I had such a great time and the music was great, as were the classic film clips they played along with the live music for a LIVE MOVIE MONTAGE, and if you know me at all, you know movie montages are pretty much my favorite part of any given awards ceremony, so.
On Sunday I met up with my fellow Harry Potter geek to go see another film, 500 Days of Summer, which was super cute and funny. The movie was playing in Cambridge (where Harvard is located) and even though I take the bus there every day to catch the train, I never actually stop and look around. We walked around Harvard yard and I drooled over the library and the trees and the people lounging on the lawn with their books. Boston is such a reading city - everywhere I go people are reading books! I’ve actually gotten to the point where I can read on a train, standing up and jammed up next to people!
After the movie, I went over to my roommate’s boyfriend’s house for a barbecue, which was a lot of fun. He just bought this great townhouse in Charlestown, with a great little backyard perfect for relaxing on a summer night. After some tasty eats, we walked over to Bunker Hill for and looked at all of the fancy houses. I took some more photos, and not only that, I actually posted them on facebook. The shock.
As far as school is concerned, I’m almost done! I am literally leaving to go home a week from tomorrow! WOW. It seemed like we had 300 things due this week, so I spent a lot of time in the absolutely gorgeous library downtown, typing furiously and churning out lesson plans. I’m starting to really feel confident in my abilities as a teacher - I don’t get as nervous and it’s a lot more fun. Of course I’ve still got a lot of things to work on, but it’s a whole lot better than the first week :).
I’ve been going back and forth in my head a lot about whether I want to save money and find a short term job in Georgia for a while, or just take the plunge and go straight to Europa. Today I’m leaning toward the latter - I’m so just ready to get started! I don’t have a ton of money, but I still have a good chunk saved up and apparently Frankfurt is the ideal place to look for a job (lots of business people looking to improve their English), so I’m going to aim to maybe go stay with Maria and do just that! I can mooch off some different relatives for a while ;).
That is about all for now. I could tell you how I sang “Cecilia” at karaoke the other night, or how I sincerely like all the people I have classes with, or how I went on this ridiculous blind date with a really pretentious guy who was trying to impress me with all the money he had and all of the intellectual celebrities he knew, but I will not, because this thing is already insanely long and I’M ON A BUS TO NEW YORK CITY, where I will be in AN HOUR. So my next update will be about my brilliant weekend with Hannah.
Hope you all are well! xoxoxo
My new friend, Jesse (the one who taught me how to play darts last week) is from Providence, RI and he was there Friday night helping his friend renovate his loft to use as a workspace. As I was doing nothing Friday after class and had never been to Providence, I decided to hop on the train to hang out with him for the night. When I got there, I got to hear the whole tragic tale of the lead paint. Apparently they had the loft tested for lead in the paint, and a healthy level is 30. Six walls were tested, and there was anything between 300 and 14,000. Which is rather, um, deadly. Jesse literally threw away the shoes he was wearing because he didn’t want to kill his cat when he went home and walked around on his own floors. Obviously his friend will not be moving into that loft, and all the work he spent in the last two months making improvements was for naught. I expected both guys to be pretty tragic, and they were a bit, but somehow we still had a great time telling jokes, drinking, and making fun of Providence.
I had always thought Providence was supposed to be this really great city, lots of culture, cool people, etc. No. It’s actually sort of sketchy and full of obnoxious and rather trashy people. Luckily, I was only there for a few hours until Jesse drove us back to Boston. It was absolutely pouring by the time we left, so we had to literally pull off an exit and sit in a parking lot for 20 minutes until it cleared up. Of course it was already 2 am and we were both exhausted and just ready to go to sleep. Ridiculousness. We still managed to hardcore bond. It’s really crazy how many cool people I’ve met in this city in the short time I’ve been here. I am going to miss Boston A LOT.
Saturday afternoon (after sleeping in and doing some serious lounging) Mary and Kyle picked me up to go to Tanglewood for a picnic and a John Williams concert. Now, before I go on, let me tell you that Mary and I have been planning to do this for weeks, but all she really said was that it would be live classical music with the Boston Pops, so it was a pretty big deal, and that it was outside of the city. It’s actually a good 2 1/2 hours away (2 exits from the New York state line) and is a HUGE DEAL. Let me tell you about Tanglewood. When I say a John Williams concert, I mean that the man was conducting. Now, I would not particularly call myself his biggest fan, but to see him live and conducting his own music was pretty freaking cool. And the food people had! It’s an outside event, but there is a covered area where you can get the expensive seats. It’s all surrounded by a huge lawn where people frolicked and ate wine and cheese and REALLY ELABORATE MEALS. These people were busting out the tables and candlesticks and like, really intense hors de vors (I know I spelled that really wrong, don’t judge). We brought some tasty food ourselves - pasta salad, 7 layer dip, mozzarella & tomato, fresh fruit, etc. It was NOT this kind of place to grill red hot dogs, I can tell you that.
Tanglewood is located in the Berkshires, which is a part of the northern Appalachian mountains, and I wasn’t really thinking and forgot how cold it would get at night. I wore a sundress, which was perfect until the sun went down. I was huddled under a blanket and was still cold, and I think Mary and Kyle felt sorry for me because they bought me a souvenir sweatshirt, and I will thank them for that until, well, forever. I had such a great time and the music was great, as were the classic film clips they played along with the live music for a LIVE MOVIE MONTAGE, and if you know me at all, you know movie montages are pretty much my favorite part of any given awards ceremony, so.
On Sunday I met up with my fellow Harry Potter geek to go see another film, 500 Days of Summer, which was super cute and funny. The movie was playing in Cambridge (where Harvard is located) and even though I take the bus there every day to catch the train, I never actually stop and look around. We walked around Harvard yard and I drooled over the library and the trees and the people lounging on the lawn with their books. Boston is such a reading city - everywhere I go people are reading books! I’ve actually gotten to the point where I can read on a train, standing up and jammed up next to people!
After the movie, I went over to my roommate’s boyfriend’s house for a barbecue, which was a lot of fun. He just bought this great townhouse in Charlestown, with a great little backyard perfect for relaxing on a summer night. After some tasty eats, we walked over to Bunker Hill for and looked at all of the fancy houses. I took some more photos, and not only that, I actually posted them on facebook. The shock.
As far as school is concerned, I’m almost done! I am literally leaving to go home a week from tomorrow! WOW. It seemed like we had 300 things due this week, so I spent a lot of time in the absolutely gorgeous library downtown, typing furiously and churning out lesson plans. I’m starting to really feel confident in my abilities as a teacher - I don’t get as nervous and it’s a lot more fun. Of course I’ve still got a lot of things to work on, but it’s a whole lot better than the first week :).
I’ve been going back and forth in my head a lot about whether I want to save money and find a short term job in Georgia for a while, or just take the plunge and go straight to Europa. Today I’m leaning toward the latter - I’m so just ready to get started! I don’t have a ton of money, but I still have a good chunk saved up and apparently Frankfurt is the ideal place to look for a job (lots of business people looking to improve their English), so I’m going to aim to maybe go stay with Maria and do just that! I can mooch off some different relatives for a while ;).
That is about all for now. I could tell you how I sang “Cecilia” at karaoke the other night, or how I sincerely like all the people I have classes with, or how I went on this ridiculous blind date with a really pretentious guy who was trying to impress me with all the money he had and all of the intellectual celebrities he knew, but I will not, because this thing is already insanely long and I’M ON A BUS TO NEW YORK CITY, where I will be in AN HOUR. So my next update will be about my brilliant weekend with Hannah.
Hope you all are well! xoxoxo
Thursday, July 16, 2009
It's been a while, hmmm?
So, the last 10 days have included some exciting, eventful days, and some regular, boring kind of days. Which I guess is to be expected.
I made it to the MFA (Museum of Fine Arts) last Wednesday. It was absolutely fantastic, even moreso because it's free on Wednesdays for poor vagrants like me ;). I only got to see about half of the museum - it's absolutely enormous - so I'm going to go back before I leave to see the rest. My favorite parts? The Mexican art/photography exhibit and the Madonna installation. Other than that, I haven't been overly touristy lately. I've been really tired from being in class all day that I haven't wanted to do much after, even going so far as to avoid grocery shopping (which is not smart, I know). I do eat lunch in the Boston Common pretty regularly, because the weather has been gorgeous and the park is like a 3 minute walk from the building where my classes are.
Class itself has been challenging and inspiring and wonderful and stressful, all at the same time. The people in my classes are fantastic - I could easily be friends with at least half of them. None of us ever really hang out after class. I don't really know why. Maybe because we see one another 8 hours a day and just don't give a shit anymore afterwards. Our teachers are really helpful and fun, and the students we teach (I've already taught 5 lessons!) are just ideal learners. They're so excited to learn and they soak up everything.
My teaching skills are kind of hit and miss, much like everything with me ;). I taught an amazing lesson yesterday and an absolutely horrendous one today. When I get it, though, when I really connect with the students and they take something away from the lesson... it feels pretty great. I can see them making connections and taking notes that they'll actually use in real life. I taught someone the word "celery" last week - we bonded over our mutual hatred of it.
Anyway, after my first week of classes, I headed to Hartford, Connecticut to visit some really extended family, as well as my parents, who happened to be visiting said family. I found a bus that took me there and back for 30 bucks, taking less than 2 hours each way, and I just couldn't turn it down. It was very spur of the moment - I found the tickets online the night before I actually left. I got to see some first cousins, once removed, as well as their families. Actually went to a huge family gathering on Saturday and knew no one but my mother, my half-great aunt, and the wife of said first cousin, once removed (Hi, Holly!). I kind of felt like a party crasher. The food was pretty kick ass, though. Our family sure can put back some grub.
Meeting Holly and hanging out with her was absolutely the highlight of the weekend, though. I can totally see why she and my mom bonded. Randomly hanging out with my parents in Connecticut, of all places, was pretty neat, too. Holly took my mom and I to an actual L.L. Bean store, because Mom loves the catalog in a really bewildering way. She was pretty excited in the store, too - you don't usually see that kind of reaction from her unless there's chocolate involved ;). I actually got a new bathing suit out of the trip, thank God, because I've had my only other one for 4 years and it's such a pain in the you know what to get on and off.
This week has been pretty great. I went out last night and learned how to play darts! Apparently I don't totally suck at it! I could've been a contender, I tell you, had I started playing at a younger age. It's so much more fun than playing pool. I also did my standby karaoke song, Keep on Lovin' You by REO Speedwagon, and rocked the house as usual :P. Then tonight I went out with a new friend to see the new Harry Potter movie, and it was AWESOME. AWESOME. AWESOME. The best movie so far, definitely (I say that after every one!). The actors have all grown up and are just awesome. I even liked most of the changes (and there were some significant ones), especially the extra Luna scenes.
Anyway, I am absolutely exhausted, exhausted, exhausted. I have lots of pictures I need to upload, but it's not going to happen tonight. Be grateful you got a blog post!
I made it to the MFA (Museum of Fine Arts) last Wednesday. It was absolutely fantastic, even moreso because it's free on Wednesdays for poor vagrants like me ;). I only got to see about half of the museum - it's absolutely enormous - so I'm going to go back before I leave to see the rest. My favorite parts? The Mexican art/photography exhibit and the Madonna installation. Other than that, I haven't been overly touristy lately. I've been really tired from being in class all day that I haven't wanted to do much after, even going so far as to avoid grocery shopping (which is not smart, I know). I do eat lunch in the Boston Common pretty regularly, because the weather has been gorgeous and the park is like a 3 minute walk from the building where my classes are.
Class itself has been challenging and inspiring and wonderful and stressful, all at the same time. The people in my classes are fantastic - I could easily be friends with at least half of them. None of us ever really hang out after class. I don't really know why. Maybe because we see one another 8 hours a day and just don't give a shit anymore afterwards. Our teachers are really helpful and fun, and the students we teach (I've already taught 5 lessons!) are just ideal learners. They're so excited to learn and they soak up everything.
My teaching skills are kind of hit and miss, much like everything with me ;). I taught an amazing lesson yesterday and an absolutely horrendous one today. When I get it, though, when I really connect with the students and they take something away from the lesson... it feels pretty great. I can see them making connections and taking notes that they'll actually use in real life. I taught someone the word "celery" last week - we bonded over our mutual hatred of it.
Anyway, after my first week of classes, I headed to Hartford, Connecticut to visit some really extended family, as well as my parents, who happened to be visiting said family. I found a bus that took me there and back for 30 bucks, taking less than 2 hours each way, and I just couldn't turn it down. It was very spur of the moment - I found the tickets online the night before I actually left. I got to see some first cousins, once removed, as well as their families. Actually went to a huge family gathering on Saturday and knew no one but my mother, my half-great aunt, and the wife of said first cousin, once removed (Hi, Holly!). I kind of felt like a party crasher. The food was pretty kick ass, though. Our family sure can put back some grub.
Meeting Holly and hanging out with her was absolutely the highlight of the weekend, though. I can totally see why she and my mom bonded. Randomly hanging out with my parents in Connecticut, of all places, was pretty neat, too. Holly took my mom and I to an actual L.L. Bean store, because Mom loves the catalog in a really bewildering way. She was pretty excited in the store, too - you don't usually see that kind of reaction from her unless there's chocolate involved ;). I actually got a new bathing suit out of the trip, thank God, because I've had my only other one for 4 years and it's such a pain in the you know what to get on and off.
This week has been pretty great. I went out last night and learned how to play darts! Apparently I don't totally suck at it! I could've been a contender, I tell you, had I started playing at a younger age. It's so much more fun than playing pool. I also did my standby karaoke song, Keep on Lovin' You by REO Speedwagon, and rocked the house as usual :P. Then tonight I went out with a new friend to see the new Harry Potter movie, and it was AWESOME. AWESOME. AWESOME. The best movie so far, definitely (I say that after every one!). The actors have all grown up and are just awesome. I even liked most of the changes (and there were some significant ones), especially the extra Luna scenes.
Anyway, I am absolutely exhausted, exhausted, exhausted. I have lots of pictures I need to upload, but it's not going to happen tonight. Be grateful you got a blog post!
Monday, July 6, 2009
July 4th Weekend
I think this has to be one of the best 4th of Julys I've ever had. Seriously. I cannot express how awesome my roommate Andrea & her boyfriend, Matt, and their friends are! They've just taken me under their wing and have made this whole experience so amazing. I'm not even homesick, which is just ridiculous.
So, the 4th. I slept in a bit and then I left for Matt's place in the afternoon. He and Andrea were having a dinner party, which is always exciting. (Homemade food + great people = cannot go wrong.) He cooked chicken parmasagna, ziti, veggie sausage, and homemade marinara. DELISH. Of course there was salad and appetizers, too, and Andrea made a dessert I didn't get to eat because I had to leave after the fireworks to make it home at a decent time!
The fireworks were really well done, and we had a radio on the roofdeck tuned to the Boston Pops that were playing live. Hanging out on the roof watching the fireworks was really nice because no one was in my way! It was also a fun communal experience, because pretty much everyone in the building came upstairs to watch.
Getting home afterward was an experience, let me tell you, and not because I got lost. There were just 252367268659 people trying to get on the subway at the same time! Luckily the cops were directing traffic AND the ride was free to save time. So that was good. It was also nice to get on the bus at the beginning of the line, because I didn't have to fight for a seat.
Today I chillaxed for a bit, and this afternoon I went with Andrea and some friends to the local beach! The water is pretty sketchy, but the sand is nice and the weather was just absolutely gorgeous, much like yesterday. Upper 70s, sunny, breezy. LOVE IT. Perfect weather to lie on the beach, drink a Corona, and chat. I used to think I didn't like Coronas... but I may have changed my mind. Now I feel guilty for calling it piss water for so many years. Corona, I am sorry!
After the beach (and a shower!) Mary and her husband, Kyle, picked me up and took me to a lovely dinner on a park bench in Cambridge :D. We were going to go eat inside somewhere, but we ended up finding this great little falafel place (yummm) and just taking our wraps to go. After that and some mochas from the local independent coffee shop, we headed back to their place to lounge about, gossip about people from our hometown, and geek out over music. I really heart them. It's nice to hang out with a couple who are so easy with each other and balance each other out so well!
I have to get up in less than 4 hours, but I'm so awake because I'm nervous and excited about school starting! I think it's going to be an amazing experience. There's actually a school in Aschaffenburg on Teaching House's list of international schools, which would be holy crap, so amazing. There are also a ton of schools in Frankfurt. So I'm reallllllly hopeful that will work out! It looks like most places want you to already reside in Germany before they hire you, so of course I was getting ahead of myself and looking at plane ticket prices. Kayak found me a flight for less than $400 in the beginning of September! They just updated their website with this amazing feature that I've always wanted - they've expanded the radius of "nearby airports" to 200 mi, which means I can search for flights from Savannah, Jacksonville, and Atlanta at the same time. :D
Okay, as awake as I am, I need a couple of hours' sleep, so I'm going to do that. I'm also going to buy some new batteries for my camera tomorrow, because the crappy ones I got from Dollar General are dead (so shocking, I know). Wish me luck!!!!
So, the 4th. I slept in a bit and then I left for Matt's place in the afternoon. He and Andrea were having a dinner party, which is always exciting. (Homemade food + great people = cannot go wrong.) He cooked chicken parmasagna, ziti, veggie sausage, and homemade marinara. DELISH. Of course there was salad and appetizers, too, and Andrea made a dessert I didn't get to eat because I had to leave after the fireworks to make it home at a decent time!
The fireworks were really well done, and we had a radio on the roofdeck tuned to the Boston Pops that were playing live. Hanging out on the roof watching the fireworks was really nice because no one was in my way! It was also a fun communal experience, because pretty much everyone in the building came upstairs to watch.
Getting home afterward was an experience, let me tell you, and not because I got lost. There were just 252367268659 people trying to get on the subway at the same time! Luckily the cops were directing traffic AND the ride was free to save time. So that was good. It was also nice to get on the bus at the beginning of the line, because I didn't have to fight for a seat.
Today I chillaxed for a bit, and this afternoon I went with Andrea and some friends to the local beach! The water is pretty sketchy, but the sand is nice and the weather was just absolutely gorgeous, much like yesterday. Upper 70s, sunny, breezy. LOVE IT. Perfect weather to lie on the beach, drink a Corona, and chat. I used to think I didn't like Coronas... but I may have changed my mind. Now I feel guilty for calling it piss water for so many years. Corona, I am sorry!
After the beach (and a shower!) Mary and her husband, Kyle, picked me up and took me to a lovely dinner on a park bench in Cambridge :D. We were going to go eat inside somewhere, but we ended up finding this great little falafel place (yummm) and just taking our wraps to go. After that and some mochas from the local independent coffee shop, we headed back to their place to lounge about, gossip about people from our hometown, and geek out over music. I really heart them. It's nice to hang out with a couple who are so easy with each other and balance each other out so well!
I have to get up in less than 4 hours, but I'm so awake because I'm nervous and excited about school starting! I think it's going to be an amazing experience. There's actually a school in Aschaffenburg on Teaching House's list of international schools, which would be holy crap, so amazing. There are also a ton of schools in Frankfurt. So I'm reallllllly hopeful that will work out! It looks like most places want you to already reside in Germany before they hire you, so of course I was getting ahead of myself and looking at plane ticket prices. Kayak found me a flight for less than $400 in the beginning of September! They just updated their website with this amazing feature that I've always wanted - they've expanded the radius of "nearby airports" to 200 mi, which means I can search for flights from Savannah, Jacksonville, and Atlanta at the same time. :D
Okay, as awake as I am, I need a couple of hours' sleep, so I'm going to do that. I'm also going to buy some new batteries for my camera tomorrow, because the crappy ones I got from Dollar General are dead (so shocking, I know). Wish me luck!!!!
Friday, July 3, 2009
oh, the MBTA...
So as much as I'm getting more comfortable with public transportation, every time I think I have it figured out, I realize I don't. Remember last night, how I had everything planned to get to the bar? How I wasn't going to wander around Boston in the middle of the night? Well.
I caught my first bus just fine. It was going pretty slow though, and I was worried I was going to miss the connection. When I saw a stop ahead of my planned one that had the bus number I was looking for on it, I went ahead and jumped off. Oh, my naivete. After waiting like, 20 minutes, I was starting to get concerned. I'd seen a million buses go by, but not mine. I asked the kind lady sitting next to me if she knew whether my bus was coming. She seemed skeptical and told me that just because the number was there, didn't mean that bus always came. She told me to take the next available bus to the main transfer station (where I'd planned to go originally) and wait there. I got there, and of course I had just missed my bus (that only came every 30 mins). So I waited, again.
When I finally made it to the bar... there was a line. Because apparently Boston is really serious about fire hazards and it was only a little hole in the wall place. So I waited... again. For like 30 minutes. When I finally got inside, it was at least two hours after I'd left the house. And of course I couldn't stay very long, because I had to catch one of the last buses out.
Naturally, I missed it.
So I walked through a somewhat sketchy part of town at like, midnight. And I was TRUCKING. Because if I didn't make it to my next bus in time, I was really screwed. I probably walked 2 miles? It was a main street, don't get me wrong, but there was no one else walking. People kept staring at me out the window, like, who is that crazy white girl and why is she walking?! I did indeed make it to the bus stop in time, but then this guy walked by and was like, "I hope it's still running, sometimes that bus stops early!" and inwardly I just thought, "why meeeeee?!"
Then the Domino's pizza guy came to my rescue. He saw me sitting there and was apparently concerned for my safety (he told me people get shot in that neighborhood sometimes... awesome), so he drove me home (which was waaaay out of the way) after he delivered his food. Of course a couple minutes after I got into the car, I saw the bus going the other direction (but that doesn't mean it was going to come my way).
My life is ridiculous. And then, today! My mom suggested I map out the route to school to make sure I make it Monday with no problems. So I wrote it down (take the bus to the train, get off, walk a couple of blocks, no big, right?) and was off. Well, I had it all right. Except that I took the bus the wrong way. To the other side of town. So what should have been a 15 minute ride, tops, took a little over an hour. Granted, I did get to witness the adorableness of almost an entire bus full of mothers and babies in strollers, out enjoying the nice weather today. And, you know, I saw some new stuff.
So when I finally got on the train, I was like, COOL, I'VE GOT THIS. Only, there was some kind of malfunction and the train just stopped on the Charles Bridge. For about 20 minutes. When I finally got off the train, I made it to my building with no problems, thank goodness! Because I really couldn't have handled any more confusion.
I then got back on the train to head to the Science Museum, which was free today, so I wanted to check it out. It was okay, nothing exciting. Probably cooler for a 10 year old. There was a pretty nice photograph exhibit, though. So I stayed for like an hour, and got back on the train. It probably took a good 30 minutes to get back across town, where I went to the store to buy some granola, and then I may have gone to the Gap to buy another pair of the pants that I love. Because they are really, really wonderful. The bus stop is right across from there, so I sat down and waited. For a while. And I was like, OH MY GOD NOT AGAIN. So I just walked like, halfway home, thinking I was going to have to walk the whole way home (can I just say, thank goodness for nice weather?!). The bus did catch up with me.
By the time I got here, I was just exhausted and hungry, so I tore apart a simple meal of granola and yogurt with strawberries and bananas. It was really, really hard not to stop somewhere to eat, but I just kept reminding myself that I was broke, and that my credit card did not need the added stress. The food that I bought for at home is not cheap food - I mean, it's not that I paid a lot, because Trader Joe's is surprisingly affordable. But what I mean is that it's good quality food. Because I know that if I'm not enjoying the food I have at home, I will spend money I don't have to go out to eat. I could easily go into debt just over freaking food, I swear! This morning I had an awesome breakfast of smoked salmon on a pita with tomatoes and cheese, with a side of scrambled eggs with mushrooms. I also tried out my new coffee in a french press, because that's what we have here, and it was awesome! I had to you tube a video to see exactly how it works, even though I thought I had the basic idea. I'm glad I did, because I would have done it wrong!
That's my ridiculous life.
I caught my first bus just fine. It was going pretty slow though, and I was worried I was going to miss the connection. When I saw a stop ahead of my planned one that had the bus number I was looking for on it, I went ahead and jumped off. Oh, my naivete. After waiting like, 20 minutes, I was starting to get concerned. I'd seen a million buses go by, but not mine. I asked the kind lady sitting next to me if she knew whether my bus was coming. She seemed skeptical and told me that just because the number was there, didn't mean that bus always came. She told me to take the next available bus to the main transfer station (where I'd planned to go originally) and wait there. I got there, and of course I had just missed my bus (that only came every 30 mins). So I waited, again.
When I finally made it to the bar... there was a line. Because apparently Boston is really serious about fire hazards and it was only a little hole in the wall place. So I waited... again. For like 30 minutes. When I finally got inside, it was at least two hours after I'd left the house. And of course I couldn't stay very long, because I had to catch one of the last buses out.
Naturally, I missed it.
So I walked through a somewhat sketchy part of town at like, midnight. And I was TRUCKING. Because if I didn't make it to my next bus in time, I was really screwed. I probably walked 2 miles? It was a main street, don't get me wrong, but there was no one else walking. People kept staring at me out the window, like, who is that crazy white girl and why is she walking?! I did indeed make it to the bus stop in time, but then this guy walked by and was like, "I hope it's still running, sometimes that bus stops early!" and inwardly I just thought, "why meeeeee?!"
Then the Domino's pizza guy came to my rescue. He saw me sitting there and was apparently concerned for my safety (he told me people get shot in that neighborhood sometimes... awesome), so he drove me home (which was waaaay out of the way) after he delivered his food. Of course a couple minutes after I got into the car, I saw the bus going the other direction (but that doesn't mean it was going to come my way).
My life is ridiculous. And then, today! My mom suggested I map out the route to school to make sure I make it Monday with no problems. So I wrote it down (take the bus to the train, get off, walk a couple of blocks, no big, right?) and was off. Well, I had it all right. Except that I took the bus the wrong way. To the other side of town. So what should have been a 15 minute ride, tops, took a little over an hour. Granted, I did get to witness the adorableness of almost an entire bus full of mothers and babies in strollers, out enjoying the nice weather today. And, you know, I saw some new stuff.
So when I finally got on the train, I was like, COOL, I'VE GOT THIS. Only, there was some kind of malfunction and the train just stopped on the Charles Bridge. For about 20 minutes. When I finally got off the train, I made it to my building with no problems, thank goodness! Because I really couldn't have handled any more confusion.
I then got back on the train to head to the Science Museum, which was free today, so I wanted to check it out. It was okay, nothing exciting. Probably cooler for a 10 year old. There was a pretty nice photograph exhibit, though. So I stayed for like an hour, and got back on the train. It probably took a good 30 minutes to get back across town, where I went to the store to buy some granola, and then I may have gone to the Gap to buy another pair of the pants that I love. Because they are really, really wonderful. The bus stop is right across from there, so I sat down and waited. For a while. And I was like, OH MY GOD NOT AGAIN. So I just walked like, halfway home, thinking I was going to have to walk the whole way home (can I just say, thank goodness for nice weather?!). The bus did catch up with me.
By the time I got here, I was just exhausted and hungry, so I tore apart a simple meal of granola and yogurt with strawberries and bananas. It was really, really hard not to stop somewhere to eat, but I just kept reminding myself that I was broke, and that my credit card did not need the added stress. The food that I bought for at home is not cheap food - I mean, it's not that I paid a lot, because Trader Joe's is surprisingly affordable. But what I mean is that it's good quality food. Because I know that if I'm not enjoying the food I have at home, I will spend money I don't have to go out to eat. I could easily go into debt just over freaking food, I swear! This morning I had an awesome breakfast of smoked salmon on a pita with tomatoes and cheese, with a side of scrambled eggs with mushrooms. I also tried out my new coffee in a french press, because that's what we have here, and it was awesome! I had to you tube a video to see exactly how it works, even though I thought I had the basic idea. I'm glad I did, because I would have done it wrong!
That's my ridiculous life.
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