It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Today being the first day I’ve had free since I returned from Indiana, I took full advantage of my unscheduled hours. I slept in well beyond my needed eight hours and then spent the rest of the morning leisurely reading. I picked up a novel on Friday and have been engrossed since then. My current escape is In the Time of the Butterflies, a beautiful crafted novel by Julia Alvarez chronicling the lives of three sisters who participated in the resistance movement against the dictator Trujillo who controlled the Dominican Republic. Anyway, I more than half way through already and despite its consistently melancholy mood I am enchanted by Alvarez’s character development and narrative expertise.
I made my way to Rohrs, my favorite coffee shop, and met a few of my neighbors. An older man with thick glasses saw me writing a letter and commented how this practice was a “lost art.” We struck up a conversation about my recent arrival in the city and his hobby of writing poetry and people watching. As I walked out of the shop, he asked me to come and meet a couple young ladies. Jenny and Carolyn sat outside visiting and warmly shook my hand. These beautiful women have lived in my neighborhood since the 1940s; they are now in their eighties and still enjoying all that the Upper East Side has to offer.
Yesterday was filled with Teach For America related activities. I completed my final certification exam early in the morning, surprising the administrator by finishing long before anyone else. I then stopped at Strands, an amazing bookstore near Union Square. Their slogan is “18 miles of books” and I believe it’s almost true. There are shelves upon shelves of books all available for purchase at discount prices. New, used, and rare books line the packed shelves that are patronized by the most literary in the city. After perusing the stacks, I made it uptown to a meeting of TFA new teachers. Some of our more experienced counterparts had invited any interested party to come and learn more about the KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) model to academic success. About ten of us crowded into a small apartment living room and listened to three young men, one second year teacher, a third year, and a KIPP school principal, explained how they had seen their students make amazing gains. I enjoyed the short meeting and plan to attend their workshops in the future.  
The main event for the day was a barbeque hosted by David and Mary Bois of Westchester County, New York. Two hundred Teach For America corps members and staff met in Manhattan to take big yellow school buses to the breathtaking New York countryside. When we arrived at the red-brick mansion, someone on the school bus joked, “Just keep teaching and this’ll all be yours.” Our hosts provided all two hundred guests with a delicious catered meal. We spent time chatting, swimming, playing tennis, and petting their spoiled pug. David Bois is a lawyer in New York who defended Al Gore during the election. He and his wife are long time supporters of Teach For America and enjoy opening up their beautiful home to all of us new teachers.
Now I’ll be getting ready for my actual New York City teacher training. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday will be spent on the Upper West Side as I am familiarized with the official district policies and procedure. I just hope the sun as shinning as bright as it was today.