A quick note on induction

Alright, this is it. I am now officially a Teach For America New York City 2005 Corps Member (whew, that is quite a long title). Today is Tuesday, Day 2 of what they like to call Induction. I arrived in New York on Saturday and then spent the night with a current teacher and had a great time. We went to her favorite Vietnamese restaurant on the upper West side and had a wonderful dinner. Then we met some of her other teacher friends at a bar and most of them said - run while you can. I just laughed and said - no way! Our training started yesterday and we're now running at full speed. Monday afternoon was spent visiting a TFA school in the south Bronx. My favorite part was the student panel they put together where a dozen middle schoolers shared what they thought a good teacher should do to help them learn. I also had dinner at a corp member's apartment in Spanish Harlem and loved the neighborhood. They made us enchiladas from scratch with guacamole - probably the last home cooked meal I'll have for a long time. I thought the neighborhood was great - Latino music, signs in Spanish, and a feel much like Argentina. We're meeting in a gorgeous auditorium at NYU about three blocks from the NYU dorm I'm staying at. My roommates here are friendly and, ironically, the girl in the bed next to me is named Lauren!
I've heard a lot of warnings that Institute (our training in Philly) is incredibly hard. At least I know in advance! I have my interview at Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics tomorrow and already met a girl who was recently hired there. She has grown up in New York and went to NYU. She'll be teaching ESL and Japanese and told me the principal is fairly laid back and the interview was more or less informal. I think that several other TFA corps members also have an interview there and I few of us might make the trip up town together. The school is right on the East River and all the way up on Spanish Harlem on 116th.
Katie is doing well also and we're hoping to meet with an apartment broker at the end of the week when we have some free time. So far, I LOVE New York - the lights, the movement, the smells, and the beautifully diverse people. I have a keen sense for direction and already have people following me from the corp and even had a few strangers asking me directions (and most of the time I even have an answer!). What an awesome adventure this is! Well, I'm off to a lecture and then interview training.