On the train home today, I looked around, and saw that I was the only one still sportin’ my work clothes. Yup, that’s right. everyone, I mean EVERYONE was in jeans , and there I was rockin my pin strip pants with my uggs. Haha yup…gotta love it. I just got back from my USD alumni event – it was awesome! I got to see a lot of my friends who live here in new york, and then got to meet some great, wonderful people as well. it was quite the extravagance with drinks, and delicious food, and great, great people. Tonight I realized how fortunate and lucky I am to be an alumni of USD. Go toreros!
So for the past few days I have been all up and out of the school I feel. Randomly I would get pulled out of my day and my schedule, to attend to something to help with recruiting efforts or with chaperoning students to go off campus. I think the difficulty there is that I don’t get to spend as much time ON campus with my students, but instead, I get to spend some long, quality time with a smaller amount of students. I suppose that is the trade off, but still, it is just quite the adjustment to be out and in and all of a sudden realize that oh in 15 minutes you are NOT going to be administering a test to your students, but rather, you will be in a cab with a student on the way to harlem to give a presentation on why those 8th graders should attend our high school. Yup, just like that. it all goes with the spirit of what is needed and where I am needed, and for that, I am all game. Going on these presentations, visiting these classrooms and spending time with the student ambassadors in hearing their academic lives, their school lives, and social lives, I am just continually, continually impressed. These students work hard, they get wonderful, amazing grades, and they have so many responsibilities to balance – not just family, but their own social lives, and of course, their academics. It is quite impressive and great and I am so blessed to be able to hear them speak about their accomplishments in school.
I have been slowly but surely been having brighter days, but my heart is still in sadness for the state and conditions in the Philippines. I just can not believe and am still in shock that the storm has hit marikina as it did. Nothing really ever happens in that area of town, and for something like this to erupt, it is just so absurd to me. I am keeping manila in my prayers as a “super typhoon” is expected to hit on Saturday. Winds in the 100 mphs? I can’t even fathom…but it is what it is.
For the past few days I have been reconnecting with a lot of my friends with who I have felt I have lost touch with for a little bit. Since I got into the swing of things with beginning my school year as a teacher, and starting to get into a routine of things, it is point blank, exhausting. Today when I got home, I definitely spent no time in getting into sweats and my pajamas. It was just that desirable that I worked as fast as I could to get as comfortable as possible!
It is of course only the beginning of fall, and yet I have already felt like this would be my winter in California. YUP…apparently it gets colder, and sister pat read on article on how this may be one of the coldest winters. Awesome. Crystal is NOT looking forward to that, but I am definitely looking forward to listening to Christmas music as soon as the day after thanksgiving begins!
And with that folks, it is time for bed time. There’s no time to waste, because whether I like it or not, the train WILL live with or without me.
Oh yeah, and I do love random, spontaneous visits with ryan and jess. That is awesome. It is great just randomly surprising ryan at his work with jess, and spontaneously getting dinner. It is great that we are finally all within only a few miles of one another. It is great that I also have friends who share a passion for social justice with me, and understand what I am going through. It is a blessing to have my sister here before she embarks on her new journey to Hawaii. It is indescribably amazing to live with beautiful, beautiful sisters and missioners. When I think only about this one month that has passed since I have been here in new york, I just think, wow, this has been such a whirlwind so far, and I know that the best truly is only yet to come.
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