Week 1- check!!!

I have successfully gotten through week 1 of TFA Institute!!! This has to be quick-- I'm getting ready for my first official day in the classroom tomorrow... I teach US History 1st period for 11th grade students. 

Here is a quick day in the life of Ms. Barnes-

5:30- Alarm goes off.

5:31- Go downstairs to pack lunch and eat breakfast.

7:03- Load bus and go to Davis HS

7:30- Arrive at Davis HS

8:00- begin sessions

4:00- after a long day of Curriculum & Literacy sessions, and a working lunch, we load the busses

4:30- arrive back at University of Houston

5:00- dinner

6:00- get back to work!

sometime between 11-2... max out, go to bed. 

Busy busy busy!!!! It's been crazy, sometimes stressful, and oftentimes overwhelming. I have great people around me who make me laugh and keep things fun- which helps A TON. 1 week down, 4 to go. 

Tomorrow I officially become Ms. Barnes! I apologize for being somewhat MIA recently... we all are literally living and breathing TFA. They even have their own language (90% acronyms) and time zone (Teach for America Standard Time, aka TFAST). I'm not even joking. 

Days 4/5

We made it to the Rio Grande Valley! McAllen is a very nice town with lots of palm trees (which I love)!!! EVERYONE speaks Spanish here, and the radio offers either country or music in Spanish. Definitely a different place, although I think I'm going to like it. It's really neat being this close to the border! 

Dad and I did quite a bit of exploring yesterday and this morning. We were trying to see the Rio Grande... and this morning we did. Here we are.. the other side of the bank is Mexico. We hiked about 1 1/4 hours through the RGV State Park to get to the river. We were practically eaten alive by bugs... There seems to be an infestation of critters down here, which I will have get used to. Fire ants, mosquitos, noisy birds... oh my. We survived, narrowly. 

The Rio Grande is not exactly accessible to the casual tourist. You have to be dedicated to this endeavor. Don't worry- we were. Yesterday we drove near two border/international bridges.... narrowly turning off before rolling into Mexico. On another attempt, I was pretty convinced that "the man" was watching us as we crept slowly along the river bank in our car. But don't worry- we weren't apprehended by the Border Patrol. This morning we legally viewed the river with no problems!!

This path was part of our hike to the river. I dropped Dad at the airport this morning, and he is currently in the air. We had a fabulous trip, and it was great spending so much time with him! I am taking off from the hotel in a few minutes to begin my adventure!! I'm staying at a current corps member's house tonight, and tomorrow will make my way to the University of Texas- Pan American in Edinburg, TX. Wish me luck! 

In other news, my condolences to Susan Boyle for not winning. Congrats on 2nd. 

Day 3

Friday was our big driving day. We left Springfield, Missouri (where we stayed Thursday night) at about 7:50 am. We stopped at a Cracker Barrel in Oklahoma City for lunch... and by dinner we were in Austin, TX!! For all of you not-so-adept-at-History-like-me folks (please note the irony), Austin is the capital of this fine state. We had dinner at Chili's, took a short pit stop at the Capitol building, and then hit the road to San Antonio. We made it here about 9:30 or so, where we stayed at the Drury Plaza downtown. The hotel used to be a bank- it's super sweet. We walked along the River  Walk last night and checked out the Alamo at night. Quiz me on what happened there- I've got it down solid. 

These are the awesome shirts I mentioned in Day 2... we got them at the Lincoln Museum gift shop. Aren't they great??? They say I heart History, if you can't tell. We wore them all day yesterday... I think people thought we were going to a convention or something. I thought of a bunch of different alibis to tell people, but unfortunately no one ever asked. I'm pretty excited about the shirts. In the above photo, we are at the Texas Visitor Center, just 2 miles into the state. In case there was any doubt, we picked up our fair share (and then some) of brochures and maps. Oh, and also a few "Don't Mess With Texas" bumper stickers. If you want one, let me know. 

This is the Capitol building in Austin. It is beautiful!!!!!! I'm hoping to take a field trip there with my students someday. It is now Saturday morning, and we are off to the Alamo!!! This afternoon we will be driving to McAllen. I'm VERY excited to see what it's like. Stay tuned!

Day 2

On Thursday morning we said goodbye to Andrea and Little B-to-be and hit the road. It was wonderful seeing Adam and Andrea- thanks for the hospitality, guys! We made it Springfield, IL about noon. We spent about 3 1/2 hours at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (I know you're thinking, oh my gosh... Dad must have loved this place and Chelsea begrudgingly stayed for that long). But no, I assure you that I was captivated by Mr. Lincoln and his museum. It's a really neat place where we learned a lot about Abe's life and presidency. I'm trying to think of an interesting fact to share... but it all seems to be slipping away... I really did learn a lot, though- I promise. We bought some sweet shirts there, which I will post with day 3's pictures. After the museum we went across the street to the Old State Capitol building, where (President!! woop woop) Obama announced his candidacy. It was magical. 

After leaving Springfield, IL we made our way to St. Louis. Here we are under the arch! We also visited the Museum of Westward Expansion... where we learned about westward expansion. It was very neat. They had a huge timeline, which I wish I could've downloaded into my brain. We chose not to go up the arch, because the little trolley cars look like a panic attack waiting to happen. They are tiny and you can't see out of them. No bueno, says this girl. 

The courthouse below is where the Dred Scott case was decided. After being decided in St. Louis it was appealed up to the US Supreme Court. The lawsuit was filed by 2 slaves who wanted their freedom. The Supreme Court decision ruled that blacks do not have citizenship rights, and are considered property. Therefore, white citizens have the right to buy and sell their property... which included blacks. Very, very poor judgment. 

On to day 3! It was a wonderful day had by all! (Dad and me)

Day 1

Day 1 of the trip has been an overwhelming success. We left Altoona this morning at 10:14... by mile 14 we had already cracked open the Little Debbies and Fruit Jammers. We are a pair to reckon with, let me tell you. On the way to Madison, we crammed in a history lesson. I now know about the Norman Conquest, Confucious, Feudalism, Alexander the Great, and Plato. I'm up to about 1350 A.D.... Making progress! 

We got to Madison about 1. After breaking into the A team's house, we went to work. Dad put together a fabulously sturdy picnic table (pictured below), and I did some of my pre-Institute work that is due next week. When the A team was done with work, we went to Famous Dave's for dinner. We were VERY happy to have Adam join us!!!! We thought he would be in Cedar Rapids for work, but (luckily?) he had a project to finish up and was in Madison longer than expected. It was fun! 

Tomorrow we plan to hit the road about 7:30. Stay tuned! 

YEE-HAW

Here we go!! Leaving for Texas in the morning- 1,600 miles lie between me and my new state! I imagine a billboard at the Texas state line welcoming me.... I think it will have George Bush's face beaming down at me. Hmm, am I sure about this whole living in Texas thing? 

I'm super pumped, despite the recent news warning people to avoid Mexico (swine flu, drug lords, etc.) You know, ya gotta have faith (George Michael, anyone?) I think my first purchases will be cowboy boots and a belt buckle. It's important to fit in, right? I wonder if I can sign up for line dancing classes in McAllen... Grandma, when I come back in July I'll have you teach me a few moves!!

Here's the rough plan for our trip: Tomorrow (Wednesday) Dad and I will drive to Madison, WI (we didn't want to be overly ambitious on the first day) and hang out with Andrea and Little B!! Adam, we'll miss you!

Thursday we will head south, with a pit stop in Springfield, IL to see the Lincoln library/soak up some historical knowledge!! (I'm thinking we'll film spots for a future classroom Jeopardy game...) We are planning to stay in Springfield, Missouri if I remember correctly. 

Friday we are going to go as far as San Antonio, TX. Saturday will feature a visit to the Alamo (again, I need to learn as much about History as possible in this 5 day trip).... then we will be driving to our final destination: McAllen, TX!!!! Dad is flying home Sunday afternoon.... and I will be officially entering into the intense, driven world of Teach For America. 

Phew. I'll try and blog from the road... There are bound to be a few adventures and stories to tell :) 

Adios for now!

I'm a college grad!!!!

I am officially a college grad!!! Family- thank you for being there to support me!!!! I appreciate you tons and love you lots!!!!! Now the countdown begins to Texas... Dad and I leave on our road trip a week from tomorrow!