New Orleans has enough problems of its own without Chicago importing its own.
It wasn't until the last few weeks, since my sister and neice came to visit, that New Orleans really became home for me. I have a stake in her future. I am no longer the wide-eyed idealist I was when I first moved here. I've learned a few things about myself. I've learned I'm stronger than I thought and that it's okay to ask for help. I've learned that teachers often learn more from their students than they teach them. I know that whatever doesn't kill you does make you stronger. I have no idea how I survived this school year intact, but here I am and in 3 days I'm out of here 'til the end of July. Maryland to New Brunswick to Maryland to Michigan then back to New Orleans.
I'm rambling now and Lakeview Brew actually closed 20 minutes ago. Suffice it to say that I wouldn't give up this school year for anything but I wouldn't want to go through that again either. We survived. 'Nuff said.
- Mood:
nostalgic
(7/9) Prozac Nation-362 pages (22/5968 pages)
I'm celebrating with pecan pie down at Lakeview Brew, enjoying free air conditioning. Heat index of 103* right now. Iced chai latte is delicious.
- Mood:
happy
New Orleans/Baton Rouge, LA
11:20 am CDT, Sat., Jun. 20, 2009
... HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING...
DAYTIME HIGHS IN THE MID TO UPPER 90S... COMBINED WITH HIGH HUMIDITY READINGS WILL CAUSE HEAT INDICES IN THE EARLY TO MID AFTERNOON TO REACH BETWEEN 105 AND 110 DEGREES. THESE CONDITIONS CAN INCREASE THE RISK OF HEAT RELATED ILLNESS.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A HEAT ADVISORY MEANS THAT A PERIOD OF HOT TEMPERATURES IS EXPECTED. THE COMBINATION OF HOT TEMPERATURES AND HIGH HUMIDITY WILL COMBINE TO CREATE A SITUATION IN WHICH HEAT ILLNESSES ARE POSSIBLE. DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS... STAY IN AN AIR-CONDITIONED ROOM... STAY OUT OF THE SUN... AND CHECK UP ON RELATIVES AND NEIGHBORS. IF POSSIBLE... REFRAIN FROM DOING OUTSIDE WORK DURING THE HOTTEST PART OF THE DAY. IF YOU MUST BE OUTDOORS... WEAR LIGHT WEIGHT... LIGHT COLORED CLOTHING... DRINK PLENTY OF WATER... SLOW DOWN AND TAKE FREQUENT BREAKS. &&
More Information
... A HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA AND COASTAL MISSISSIPPI UNTIL 7 PM TODAY.
.HOT WEATHER WILL CONTINUE OVER THE REGION TODAY AS A STRONG HIGH PRESSURE IN THE UPPER LEVEL OF THE ATMOSPHERE REMAINS CENTERED OVER THE GULF SOUTH REGION.
- Mood:
hot
(4/30) A Hope in the Unseen-390 pages (12/3518 pages)
(5/4) The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat-233 pages (13/3752 pages)
(5/9) An Unquiet Mind-219 pages (14/3971 pages)
(5/20) Reading Lolita in Tehran-343 pages (15/4314 pages)
(5/24) The Genius Factory-258 pages (16/4572 pages)
(5/28) A Leg to Stand On-222 pages (17/4794 pages)
(5/30) Girl, Interrupted-169 pages (18/4963 pages)
(6/6) Saving Louisiana?-180 pages (19/5143 pages)
(6/21) God is Red-292 pages (20/5434 pages)
goal is 50 books for 2009
8 of 10 Caribbean books read (10/21)
25 of 100 Modern Library's Best 100 books read (6/30)
3 of 10 New Orleans books read (2/11)
- Mood:
accomplished
- Mood: pleased
Start off with a drive up Esplanade to Carrollton to Canal and have lunch at Mandina's. Then walk all the way around City Park on a crystal clear day that just doesn't happen too often in New Orleans, just warm enough and hardly any humidity. The New Orleans Museum of Art is right there and it's free to Louisiana residents, so check that out for awhile. Then hit Rouse's for file powder and head back down Carrollton to Basil Leaf for a delicious Thai dinner, during which you watch the streetcar rattle by and after which you walk the rest of the way up Carrollton to the Riverbend levee. Walk along the levee for awhile, with the river on one side and the city on the other and stars shining bright overhead, only to get cut off from the rest of the city by the train. Finally, end up at Creole Creamery for dessert of chocolate chicory ice cream in a waffle cone. Waffle cones taste like fortune cookies.
Thanks![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
ekaterinn. I needed that. We both needed to not be teachers for a day.
- Mood: content
Only in New Orleans...could you finance the 8th grade spring trip to DC by selling parking for Mardi Gras. At our faculty meeting this afternoon when we were discussing logistics I could only think that they'd never be able to have this conversation in Chicago. And that is yet another reason why I don't think I could ever leave.
- Mood: happy
I got a little mini-promotion today. No extra money or anything, but I am in charge of the 504 students at my school. In plain English, those are the students who qualify for testing accomodations like extra time or a small group setting but not for special education services. I have to call their parents to find out if they want accomodations for LEAP (Louisiana's standardized testing) since most of the IAPs are way out of date, as much as 4 1/2 years old. That's what evacuation all over the country will do for a kid.
They must be starting to trust me and give up some of their control.
We also had two new teachers start today, 2nd and 3rd grade. We're now fully staffed. Hopefully that lasts.
- Mood: pleased
(1/8) Poor Man's Provence-221 (2/488 pages)
(1/14) We've Had a Hundred Years of Psychotherapy-And the World's Getting Worse-242 pages (3/730 pages)
(1/23) Bayou Farewell-338 pages (4/1068 pages)
(2/11) The Sound of Building Coffins-356 pages (5/1424 pages)
(3/3) Lincoln's Melancholy-243 pages (6/1667 pages)
(3/16) A Mercy-167 pages (7/1834 pages)
(4/7) It Sucked and then I Cried-253 pages (8/2087 pages)
(4/9) Introvert Power-237 pages (9/2424 pages)
(4/12) Just Another Kid-411 pages (10/2835 pages)
goal is 90 books for 2008
8 of 10 Caribbean books read (10/21)
25 of 100 Modern Library's Best 100 books read (6/30)
3 of 10 New Orleans books read (2/11)
- Mood: accomplished
...teaching equivalent fractions to a 6th grader. (Who despite being almost 14 performs on a 2nd grade level in reading, writing, and math. Thank you New Orleans public school system.)
...sunset over the Mississippi while taking Stitch for a walk, and counting 125 train cars at the corner Mazant and Chartres.
...a long overdue after-hours haircut, on the recommendation of my 4th-6th grade fashion consultants.
...cafe au lait with soymilk and Ekaterina until the coffeeshop closed at 10 pm.
...the Louisiana Music Factory, which will get another chunk of my paycheck this weekend as I shop for Christmas presents and continue to flesh out my music collection.
This is a problem, I'm getting entirely too attached to New Orleans. How could I ever leave? Where could I go?
- Mood: thankful
For the low cost of 30 seconds to leave your mailing address as a (fully screened and seen only by me) comment to this post you too can have a card shipped to you direct from the 9th Ward of New Orleans by a public school teacher who probably cares too much and definitely needs a few days off, a haircut, and coffee.
If you would like my address to fill my mailbox with pretty cards, just ask in your comment.
- Mood:
50* IS cold, actually
Sometimes I have to pinch myself and ask if this is really my life. Three years ago I was fresh out of college and back living in very safe and comfortable Hampstead, Maryland, working as an AmeriCorps VISTA. I could safely go out for a run at 11 pm. Then I came down to New Orleans for what was supposedly just a volunteer trip in March 2006 and, as D. would say, New Orleans had "somethin' to say" about me ever leaving. As they say, "New Orleans chooses you." I live in the 9th Ward and teach at a school named hope.
I never had romantic ideals of New Orleans, never spent spring afternoons sipping coffee in a courtyard in the Quarter or at Jazz Fest or riding the streetcar down St. Charles. Heck, the St. Charles streetcar wasn't even running when I came to visit and the Canal Street streetcar just ran as far as Claiborne and was free 'cause hardly anyone was visiting. My first Mardi Gras was spent at the St. Anne parade through the neighborhood followed by dinner at Sugar Park. My first impression of New Orleans was from the Claiborne bridge down into the Lower 9th Ward. But jeez, I never expected to have a drive-by shooting 2 doors down on a Sunday evening.
http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/c
In more positive news, Chicago came to visit and brought us cake this time. If only all faculty meetings consisted of 6 layer lemon cake.
Teaching is tough but it's so totally worth it. This is historic, both the election and what we're doing with public education in New Orleans. We have the potential to change the world if we seize the moment.
- Mood: optimistic
(11/12) City of Refuge-403 pages (62/16123 pages)
(11/27) Ekaterina-373 pages (63/16496 pages)
(11/30) Bohemian New Orleans-169 pages (64/16665 pages)
(12/13) The Choiring of the Trees-388 pages (65/17053 pages)
(12/16) Annie on My Mind-234 pages (66/17287 pages)
(12/18) A Place Where the Sea Remembers-163 pages (67/17450 pages)
(12/25) Our Grandmother's Drums-319 pages (68/17769 pages)
(12/29) Heart Like Water-356 pages (69/18125 pages)
goal is 90 books for 2008
8 of 10 Caribbean books read (10/21)
25 of 100 Modern Library's Best 100 books read (6/30)
2 of 10 New Orleans books read (12/29)
- Mood: accomplished
For those of us who live at the shoreline
standing upon the constant edges of decision
crucial and alone
for those of us who cannot indulge
the passing dreams of choice
who love in doorways coming and going
in the hours between dawns
looking inward and outward
at once before and after
seeking a now that can breed
futures
like bread in our children's mouths
so their dreams will not reflect
the death of ours:
For those of us
who were imprinted with fear
like a faint line in the center of our foreheads
learning to be afraid with our mother's milk
for by this weapon
this illusion of some safety to be found
the heavy-footed hoped to silence us
For all of us
this instant and this triumph
We were never meant to survive.
And when the sun rises we are afraid
it might not remain
when the sun sets we are afraid
it might not rise in the morning
when our stomachs are full we are afraid
of indigestion
when our stomachs are empty we are afraid
we may never eat again
when we are loved we are afraid
love will vanish
when we are alone we are afraid
love will never return
and when we speak we are afraid
our words will not be heard
nor welcomed
but when we are silent
we are still afraid
So it is better to speak
remembering
we were never meant to survive
- Audre Lorde, The Black Unicorn
- Mood: contemplative
Friday night: dinner jazz cruise on the Steamboat Natchez
Saturday: breakfast at Cafe du Monde
ferry over to Algiers to Mardi Gras World
lunch at Napoleon House, delicious pesto pasta salad and a Pimm's Cup for me and red beans and rice for them
driving tour of Lower Nine
back to the house to take care of the animals, D. at Voodoo Fest
dinner at Deanie's Seafood
Sunday: breakfast buffet at Orleans Cafe
10:30 church service
back to hotel room for first half of Saints game
wandering Quarter enjoying perfect weather
lunch at Johnny's Po-Boys
Then they're going to Snug Harbor for dinner and a show tonight. All that and I didn't even have to walk down Bourbon Street once. I'm back in love with New Orleans and extending an open invitation to y'all to visit. :-)
- Mood: happy
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marathoner452- aka "Maryland," aka "Ms. Ice Cream"
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