I may be a little biased since this video -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysmLA5TqbIY -- was my only impression of Cleveland before going, but I'd say the best way to describe the city is self-deprecating. At first Foster and I were impressed by some of its parks and architecture, but then we realized that the average Clevelander hates the city... and life.
For example, I quote this from a janitor in a mall when we unsuccessfully tried to find a bathroom: "Psh, man the bathrooms closed over an hour ago. Thanks for shopping in this ghetto ass mall in this ghetto city."
And I quote this from a guy we somehow met on the street: "I'm back in this dump because my mom died. There's absolutely nothing to do here. I hate this place. Have fun."
And then we saw a movie because there wasn't much else to do, and there was only one other person in the theater sitting alone when we walked in after the movie had already started. Anyway, we conclude that Cleveland definitely has some potential, but is unfortunately a sad sad city.
On a more positive note, Chicago was awesome! Deep dish pizza, the "L", blues bars... now that's a city I wouldn't mind spending more time in.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
CouchSurfing
When I mentioned to my friend Nick that I would be driving cross-country, he recommended that I use the website couchsurfing.org to find people to stay with (for free) along the way. I had never heard of it, and at first didn't really put much thought into it -- it seemed a bit creepy (and almost dangerous) to stay at a random person's house in an unfamiliar area. But after browsing through the website I realized it's such a brilliant idea.
CouchSurfing envisions "a world where everyone can explore and create meaningful connections with the people and places they encounter." It's an international non-profit network that connects travelers with locals around the world. Each user creates his/her own profile - complete with photos, a personal description, philosophy, interests, types of people you enjoy, one amazing thing you've seen or done, and traveling history. Once you create a profile, you can connect with other friends you have made while traveling and give each other references to further legitimize you pages. Once a member (which is free, but you can donate money) with a full profile, you can search for people in a certain city based on a number of factors including age and number of people he/she is able to host. After browsing several different profiles and choosing a person who you think seems compatible and AWESOME, you can request his/her couch for a specific night, and assuming he/she is reliable, you should hear back shortly!
So I actually tried it out and browsed through a bunch of profiles of people who were offering to host in Cleveland. After judging people on their profiles (probably inaccurately), I chose a 21-year-old guy who seems cool and sent him a message "requesting his couch." He got back to me within a day with his address and phone number and now I will be meeting this guy and sleeping at his place in only a few days -- pretty cool! Assuming this experience doesn't lead to my kidnapping, I definitely plan on using CouchSurfing in the future during my travels, and may even offer to host travelers on my couch once I'm settled in L.A. (as long as whatever future roommates I have are okay with it).
CouchSurfing envisions "a world where everyone can explore and create meaningful connections with the people and places they encounter." It's an international non-profit network that connects travelers with locals around the world. Each user creates his/her own profile - complete with photos, a personal description, philosophy, interests, types of people you enjoy, one amazing thing you've seen or done, and traveling history. Once you create a profile, you can connect with other friends you have made while traveling and give each other references to further legitimize you pages. Once a member (which is free, but you can donate money) with a full profile, you can search for people in a certain city based on a number of factors including age and number of people he/she is able to host. After browsing several different profiles and choosing a person who you think seems compatible and AWESOME, you can request his/her couch for a specific night, and assuming he/she is reliable, you should hear back shortly!
So I actually tried it out and browsed through a bunch of profiles of people who were offering to host in Cleveland. After judging people on their profiles (probably inaccurately), I chose a 21-year-old guy who seems cool and sent him a message "requesting his couch." He got back to me within a day with his address and phone number and now I will be meeting this guy and sleeping at his place in only a few days -- pretty cool! Assuming this experience doesn't lead to my kidnapping, I definitely plan on using CouchSurfing in the future during my travels, and may even offer to host travelers on my couch once I'm settled in L.A. (as long as whatever future roommates I have are okay with it).
Saturday, June 5, 2010
A College Graduate
I am now a college graduate, and the diploma that I received at graduation (which was really just a picture of a turtle disguised as a diploma) means that I now have the knowledge and the skills required to succeed in the real world. Leaving behind the support system that is college, all of my friends and I are now expected to live an independent life, find a job, and financially support ourselves (unless you're one of those people who are living back at home). And thankfully, I was able to find a job! However, my job is starting to seem like it may remind me college.
Four years ago, I left home to move to a new state that I knew nothing about. I didn't know how to use public transportation, do my own laundry, or cook. And while I started to get worried about making friends when the guy next door kept a trunk full of knives under his bed, living in a freshman dorm allowed me to become close with lots of great people who I am still friends with and hope to stay friends with in the future.
Now, in a little over a week I will be embarking on a cross-country road trip to again move to a new unfamiliar area in a new state, but instead of starting college I will be starting my 2-year commitment to teach at a public or public charter school for the nonprofit organization Teach For America. For the summer, I will again be living in dorms, but this time I will be living with other "2010 corps members." Instead of attending undergraduate classes, writing papers, and taking tests, I will be teaching at a district summer school program under the supervision of veteran teachers, participating in professional development classes and clinics, and administering tests.
I don't feel as though I'm completely on my own as a college graduate. This is partly due to receiving friendly weekly and sometimes daily email updates from the TFA-L.A. staff, and partly due to having already met energetic and enthusiastic 2010 corps members as well as current corps members from all parts of the country. Having this support system has made this new experience seem more like College Part II than a new job.
However, I am prepared for this perception to be completely shattered when I am in front of my own classroom in Los Angeles in a few weeks without having had any prior experience in the field of education. And I look forward to this challenge. Through hard work and determination, I hope to one day be known by my students as "the hot teacher."
Four years ago, I left home to move to a new state that I knew nothing about. I didn't know how to use public transportation, do my own laundry, or cook. And while I started to get worried about making friends when the guy next door kept a trunk full of knives under his bed, living in a freshman dorm allowed me to become close with lots of great people who I am still friends with and hope to stay friends with in the future.
Now, in a little over a week I will be embarking on a cross-country road trip to again move to a new unfamiliar area in a new state, but instead of starting college I will be starting my 2-year commitment to teach at a public or public charter school for the nonprofit organization Teach For America. For the summer, I will again be living in dorms, but this time I will be living with other "2010 corps members." Instead of attending undergraduate classes, writing papers, and taking tests, I will be teaching at a district summer school program under the supervision of veteran teachers, participating in professional development classes and clinics, and administering tests.
I don't feel as though I'm completely on my own as a college graduate. This is partly due to receiving friendly weekly and sometimes daily email updates from the TFA-L.A. staff, and partly due to having already met energetic and enthusiastic 2010 corps members as well as current corps members from all parts of the country. Having this support system has made this new experience seem more like College Part II than a new job.
However, I am prepared for this perception to be completely shattered when I am in front of my own classroom in Los Angeles in a few weeks without having had any prior experience in the field of education. And I look forward to this challenge. Through hard work and determination, I hope to one day be known by my students as "the hot teacher."
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