Better than Ever

I have no good excuse for why I haven’t written in ages. Nevertheless, I have resolved to begin again with newfound commitment to blogging for several reasons. Most of all, I enjoy writing and sharing a bit of my adventures. Also, I know a few people out there who appreciated reading this funny little newsletter and I feel that I’ve let them down a bit. Have no fear – sarah jane in new york is back and better than ever.

Well, needless to say, I have a lot to catch up on. Since my last entry, I have official finished my first year as a public school teacher (yes, I survived), visited with my wonderful brother after his return from Spain, spent lots of time with my favorite Trinidadian, explored the wonders of Washington, D.C. with my mother, hosted a guest of Tobago, and spent a little R&R time on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. School ended for teachers and students both on June 28th and the day after I hopped on a Chinatown bus to come down to Washington, D.C. and spend some time with Musheer. He is still working away at the Inter-American Development Bank in downtown D.C. and loving every minute of it.

Before I came here to Washington, I actually moved into a new apartment in Astoria, Queens with the help of Ben, his friend Lauren, Musheer, Jessica (my fantastic new roommate), and her boyfriend Doug. With all six of us hauling stuff up one tiny flight of stairs it took practically no time to move into my great new place. I think Ben summed it up when he said, “This is so much better than your old place.” My new apartment in Astoria is superb and my roommate is so very friendly and welcoming. She even filled a little box with welcome gifts that had symbolic meaning to our time together. Jessica is originally from Tucson, although we met last year in Philadelphia during our Teach For America training. Ironically, she is the only person I know who teaches the exact same thing as I do and will be moving up to seventh grade with her intermediate/advanced students next year. I can’t wait to see what a year of living with such a fun person has to hold.

While in our nations capital, I’ve been enjoying the hot and humid weather and doing a lot of relaxing. Musheer has rented a nice little place right near Catholic University, which provides easy access to the Metro system and all that D.C. has to offer. The highlights of my capital experience thus far include: Kramer’s Books & Afterwords Café in DuPont Circle, Eastern Market and Capitol Hill Used Books, the American Art Museum and Portrait Gallery, shopping at Hetch’s, afternoon concerts at the Kennedy Center, and excellent meals made by my personal chef. My mother came to visit her place of birth during the first week of July and the two of us probably walked about ten miles a day during her memorable visit. We actually found the hospital where she was born on one of our morning jaunts. It’s hard to believe she was born here and this summer was her first time to come back since moving to Arizona at age five. Her trip to D.C. also included a visit to Arlington National Cemetery, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, WWII Memorial, Korean Memorial, and the White House, as well as a few Smithsonian museums and the Folklife Festival on the Mall. I really had a great time with and Musheer also enjoyed getting to know my mother.

After my mom’s visit, I spent a little time in New York City and then picked up Diadrey-Ann, one of Musheer’s good friends from home, at JFK in the middle of the night. Jessica actually came with me for this adventure and helped me make an adorable sign that would assist us in meeting up with Diadrey-Ann (Musheer said never send two teachers to pick someone up whom they don’t know). Still, our sign worked very well and we got Diadrey-Ann back to our apartment by 3 am. Diadrey-Ann teaches food and family life at a university in Trinidad and she loves to shop. During most of her time in D.C., I taught her how to get around and tried to help her find a few bargains. She is now visiting an aunt in Ohio, but will return to be our guest once again before going back to the Caribbean.

Since the summer is already more than half over, I have begun my online graduate school classes through Pace University. I knew these classes were coming, but I guess I didn’t realize how much work they would be. Taking six summer school hours means a lot of reading and writing and, despite my disappointment at cutting my lazy summer drastically short, I will survive. Even with homework and reading to do, I took off last week to meet my mother in Tamarindo, Costa Rica for a week of adventure. My mom’s friend Leigh had invited her and later me to join her for a short time in this beautiful Central American country. I must say that my mom and I both had a blast. We rode horses, went sailing, rode a zip line above the canopy, went to a natural spa and mud bath, rode mountain bikes, ate new foods, talked with the locals, met other fun tourists, watched movies on cable with Spanish sub-titles, swam in the ocean, got a sunburn, and more. I even got my hair cut (about six inches off) the first day I was there. As the Costa Ricans say, “Pura vida!”