sweet tea and sunsets

Greetings from South Carolina!

First blog in the great state of SC and can I just say 'wow' already? There is so much history and beautiful sites to be seen. Hence half of my post's title. The other half, sweet tea. I knew I'd love it down here but the tea? Amazing. So much better than any Arizona tea I've ever consumed.


My parents and I began our journey at 4:30am on Monday, and arrived around 2:30pm to Florence where we would be staying. We would have gotten here about two hours earlier but we stopped at this huge discount store and then for lunch. I was thankful that we made it in one piece (and that I slept for probably 6 hours of the trip). My mom said I fell asleep before we hit the highway in PA. I can tell you that I missed Maryland, most of Virgina and North Carolina. Thank goodness for my dad is all I can say.


We went to Myrtle Beach on Tuesday which was wonderful. The water was warm and calm. It was definitely relaxing before the hustle and bustle I am about to experience. I sat down by the water for about 40 minutes and thought about how much I've dreamed about living near the ocean for so long that I cannot believe it is finally coming true. Will I miss PA? Absolutely. There are already tons of things down here that are way different than in PA. Today I heard a native say that they are just now opening a yoga studio down here. I think about how many yoga classes we had at the Y and cannot even imagine that they wouldn't have the same down here. They also have places called Bojangles (fried chicken joint -- and you better believe I will be trying it out) and Kangaroo (gas station), in addition to selling alcohol in just about every store you walk in. And while I grew up in a pretty rural area, Florence is such a different place. Everything is really spread apart. There is no way I will be walking to restaurants like I did in West Chester, which I will definitely miss.


Arriving to Francis Marion University (where we are staying until Sunday), has been quite the experience. It definitely reminds me of Jefferson Apts at Cal (I refuse to refer to them as their current name Vulcan Village). The furniture is the same but the sofas and such are definitely nicer than the ones I had at Cal. The smell as you enter the building even reminds me of Cal. It's not a smell I know how to describe but it's familar to me.


We had introductions and everything today with other corp members. There are 33 of us, which is small compared to most. I have the priviledge of being part of the first corp group to come out of South Carolina for Teach for America. I don't think I understood what being part of a Charter Corp meant until we visited the house (and by house, I mean MANSION) of Miss Darla Moore, a huge TFA advocate. Her place was beautiful and to say beautiful is definitely an understatement. She and other community leaders were so excited to have us here. They have been fighting for a reform in education in South Carolina and they think that we are the beginning of that reform. As much as we thanked them all for having us, they thanked us for being a part of the change. The weight of their words is indescribable. They believe so much in us and they don't even know who we are. That's some kind of faith. I can't even imagine letting them down.


I'll leave you with this: today we were asked why we joined TFA. I answered that I saw the other side of it with the after-school program. I saw the frustration, the understanding that young kids (as young as second and third graders) had of the differences between races and the priviledges that each had (or in most cases, didn't have). I want to be on the side of things that changes it all. I know that's ambitious and some will call me crazy but there are 32 other people staying in the same building as me right now that feel the same.


I do it for these kids in this picture and all those kids that will walk into my classroom in the fall and beyond.




five in the air for the teachers not scared to tell those kids that's living in the ghetto that [those] holding [them] back that the world is theirs.



-Lupe Fiasco The Show Goes On











Good night,
A

it's becoming real...

Good evening friends!

Jeremy, myself, and Caleb on the back of the moving truck with my life aka everything in my apt. :)

Although I have to be up in 3.5 hours -- yes 3 AM for you Eastern Standard Time folks -- I decided to write a little something before I hit the sheets. Thankfully Big R (aka my dad for those of you that don't know me or didn't know that I call him that) is driving because I don't know that I could tomorrow. I'm yawning already just thinking about sitting for 9 hours, but DRIVING it sounds painful. I suppose come late July this will be my reality; just when I thought 4 hours to Pittsburgh was bad.



My apartment is empty and everything I own is in a storage unit or my parents' house OR a suitcase/laptop case/garment bag/large purse thing. Packing for 6 weeks is not an easy task, mind you, but I have managed to take less bags than previously thought. How's that for being a girl? :)


People keep ask how I'm feeling. Right now? Absolutely exhausted. How will I feel on Tuesday? Excited to spend the day at the beach before the next 5.5 crazy weeks of my life ensue. Wednesday? Excited to meet new people. Sunday? Nervous for everything that will commence on Monday. After that? Probably a mixture of anxiety, home sickness, and sleep withdrawal. I'm excited to start a brand new chapter of my life, but it scares the heck outta me all at the same time. Yes, I do believe I'm fully capable of making this large change, and yes, once I know what grade and where I'm living/teaching I will be more content, but it is starting to hit me that every one in my support network will be 9 hours away -- minus Porsha who is making the 9 hour trek with me. (Stay tuned for that blog when I write about her on kitty drugs so that she won't meow for 9 hours.) It seems daunting -- and not that I won't make friends because hey, I've already made facebook friends with some of my SC Corp Members, but it'll still be different. Not a bad different, just different.

It's probably time to drift into sweet oblivion (for 3.5 hours at least). I leave you with these words:

drinking old cheap bottles of wine saying things we haven't for a while, a while yeah; we're smiling but we're close to tears; even after all these years; we just now got the feeling that we're meeting for the first time; oh these times are hard; yeah they're making us crazy; don't give up on me baby
-For the First Time by The Script

Best,
A

welcome!

I contemplated how to begin this blog. should I start with an ever-enthasiastic 'hello!' or 'hey ya'll!' or simply just say 'hi friends' which seems to be a popular phrase in my life right now? instead I vowed to simply just begin the blog with 'WELCOME!'

as you can tell by the tagline or whatever the line in red at the top of this page is called, I'm literally packing everything I own, along with my cat, and moving it to the great state of South Carolina to join Teach for America and become an Elementary school teacher. yay! it's quite terrifying, yet there is something unique and fantastic about it as well.

if you don't know me, the one thing you need to know before we even get started is that I'm a planner. everything in my life is planned out to save anxiety, stress, and fear of the 'unknown.' being a planner can be a great thing for someone who worries consistently (and for those of you who do know me, you know that I worry way too much about everything). but for the first time in, I'd go as far to say, my life, I don't have a set plan. I have yet to panic about the fact that I have no idea where in South Carolina I will be living or what grade I'm going to teach, or even when exactly I'll be moving to South Carolina. it's a strange feeling to for once, not be worried. my mom, on the other hand, has taken all the worry I've left behind and consumed it for herself. I suppose that's what moms do, but I feel bad. perhaps I'll become more concerned as time goes on, but for now I'll focus on the fact that I have less than a week in the great state of Pennsylvania to figure out how to say 'see you later' to my best friends and family. (I refuse to say goodbye because I will see them again. I mean, who won't want to visit South Carolina?!)

I have already had to say 'see ya later' to my PAL kids, which was one of the most difficult things to do. three years with some of these kids to build relationships, create memories, establish ground rules and now I'm finished. they are, of course, skeptical about my return to visit them during breaks, despite my every effort to persuade them otherwise. as with most things, I've learned in my life, actions speak louder than words, so I will have to prove it to them. they hold a special place in my heart as I've watched them grow. I can only hope I've had some postive influence in their lives.

I haven't had to say 'see ya later' to many other people yet, as I'm still in town for the next few days, but as Friday quickly approaches, I've realized who has really made every effort to see me before I flit off to my other summer destinations. I'm blessed (to say the least) that I have such a strong support system here in PA. I cannot imagine making it through these past 5 months without them. the transition to SC will definitely be difficult, but I have a feeling it will be well worth it.

you will learn in this blog that I love music, even though many will attest to the fact, and I do mean FACT, that I cannot sing a note, despite all my efforts in the shower, car, my room, at work, etc. I will undoubtedly end or begin each blog post with lyrics.

but I know something is coming
I don't know what it is
but I know it's amazing, can save me
my time is coming
I'll find my way out of the longest drought
-Rascal Flatts Feels Like Today

good night,
A