Hello Internet!
Ok so I've had this blog up for about a month without posting a single thing; this will more than likely end up being pretty indicative of my posting habits. In case anyone other than my mom or sister reads this, I'll give you a brief introduction. I am a young college grad with an English degree, a vague notion that I would like to travel, and some past experiences confirming that I like to teach. Combine all of that with a complete and utter disregard for the corporate world and you might begin to understand why I am typing this from the common room of a hostel in NYC where I am taking a CELTA course to get certified to teach English as a second language (or a foreign language or to ELLs or whatever you prefer).
I would really like to be able to tell you that I got off the plane in Jersey, confidently found transport to Manhattan, and have been living it up ever since (or for the 4 days I've been here). In actuality, I was very much overwhelmed by the sensation of finding myself in the middle of the biggest city I've ever been in completely alone, knowing that I had an entire month before I could go back home to everything that felt safe and familiar. I ended up going to a little metro dinner on the same block as my hostel to find food, and trying as hard as I could to appear unaffected and confident. If the fact that my eye's felt like they were going to pop out of my head hadn't clued me in to the fact that I was completely failing at this, the waiters' responses to me sure did. After asking where I was from (I so didn't pull off the local act I was going for) and how long I was staying (he assured me that I would get used to it), my waiter and the rest of the staff proceeded to be very, very nice to me and sneak glances at me like they were afraid the poor farm girl was going to have a meltdown in their dinner. If there is one thing that I have learned about New York so far, it's that the rumors of their rudeness have been greatly exaggerated. People have for the most part either ignored my existence (my preference when riding the subway) or been kind and/or courteous.
I don't want you to think that I have been going around the city for the past few days wide-eyed and terrified, depending on the kindness of random strangers. I did spend my first full day riding the subway completely lost and enjoying all of the NYC landmarks that I stumbled upon. Times Square was the first stop on my journey to find the university my class is in (a destination that was not reached that day, although thankfully I found it the next day when my class started). I hopped off the train because hey, I was apparently at Times Square! I didn't stay long, but the iconic buildings and the sheer size of all the billboards and throngs off people streaming through the streets were exactly how I'd pictured NYC. I was Alice, I had drank the potion, and I was firmly down the rabbit hole. Throughout the rest of the day, I found myself walking down Wall Street (not finding the protesters occupying it, although I did look for them), taking a ferry to the Statue of Liberty, meeting a wonderful Taiwanese girl whose name I sadly cannot remember, and going with her to the beautiful 9/11 memorial (after which we both got lost on the way to the subway and stumbled upon the protesters).
I didn't truly begin to feel at home, though, until I started my classes. When I first walked into the building, which I had found by sheer chance and a momentously helpful sign, I met a group of people who have already become great friends and comrades. They are all incredible people, ranging from a man who has lived in Greece taking care of sea turtles to another who worked for 2 years as a clown for the Barnum and Bailey circus. And most importantly of all, I can be myself around them, bizarre sense of humor, bouts of nervousness, and all without worry. It seems like this will be vital if the signs of "encouragement" from the last class are anything to go by. First of all, it is never a good sign if the people running the class you are taking think you will need signs of trite motivational sayings to keep you going. It's even worse when some of those signs say "Smile! Tomorrow will be worse!" and numerous others advise you to say goodbye to both sleep and any loved ones you might feel the need to interact with. So far, a whole 2 days and one 20 minute lesson of teaching in, I'm feeling pretty good about everything. However, it is possible that this will be my last post for the rest of the course and my next post will be lamenting the hair that I pulled out and the coma that I will soon fall into.
Ok so I've had this blog up for about a month without posting a single thing; this will more than likely end up being pretty indicative of my posting habits. In case anyone other than my mom or sister reads this, I'll give you a brief introduction. I am a young college grad with an English degree, a vague notion that I would like to travel, and some past experiences confirming that I like to teach. Combine all of that with a complete and utter disregard for the corporate world and you might begin to understand why I am typing this from the common room of a hostel in NYC where I am taking a CELTA course to get certified to teach English as a second language (or a foreign language or to ELLs or whatever you prefer).
I would really like to be able to tell you that I got off the plane in Jersey, confidently found transport to Manhattan, and have been living it up ever since (or for the 4 days I've been here). In actuality, I was very much overwhelmed by the sensation of finding myself in the middle of the biggest city I've ever been in completely alone, knowing that I had an entire month before I could go back home to everything that felt safe and familiar. I ended up going to a little metro dinner on the same block as my hostel to find food, and trying as hard as I could to appear unaffected and confident. If the fact that my eye's felt like they were going to pop out of my head hadn't clued me in to the fact that I was completely failing at this, the waiters' responses to me sure did. After asking where I was from (I so didn't pull off the local act I was going for) and how long I was staying (he assured me that I would get used to it), my waiter and the rest of the staff proceeded to be very, very nice to me and sneak glances at me like they were afraid the poor farm girl was going to have a meltdown in their dinner. If there is one thing that I have learned about New York so far, it's that the rumors of their rudeness have been greatly exaggerated. People have for the most part either ignored my existence (my preference when riding the subway) or been kind and/or courteous.
I don't want you to think that I have been going around the city for the past few days wide-eyed and terrified, depending on the kindness of random strangers. I did spend my first full day riding the subway completely lost and enjoying all of the NYC landmarks that I stumbled upon. Times Square was the first stop on my journey to find the university my class is in (a destination that was not reached that day, although thankfully I found it the next day when my class started). I hopped off the train because hey, I was apparently at Times Square! I didn't stay long, but the iconic buildings and the sheer size of all the billboards and throngs off people streaming through the streets were exactly how I'd pictured NYC. I was Alice, I had drank the potion, and I was firmly down the rabbit hole. Throughout the rest of the day, I found myself walking down Wall Street (not finding the protesters occupying it, although I did look for them), taking a ferry to the Statue of Liberty, meeting a wonderful Taiwanese girl whose name I sadly cannot remember, and going with her to the beautiful 9/11 memorial (after which we both got lost on the way to the subway and stumbled upon the protesters).
I didn't truly begin to feel at home, though, until I started my classes. When I first walked into the building, which I had found by sheer chance and a momentously helpful sign, I met a group of people who have already become great friends and comrades. They are all incredible people, ranging from a man who has lived in Greece taking care of sea turtles to another who worked for 2 years as a clown for the Barnum and Bailey circus. And most importantly of all, I can be myself around them, bizarre sense of humor, bouts of nervousness, and all without worry. It seems like this will be vital if the signs of "encouragement" from the last class are anything to go by. First of all, it is never a good sign if the people running the class you are taking think you will need signs of trite motivational sayings to keep you going. It's even worse when some of those signs say "Smile! Tomorrow will be worse!" and numerous others advise you to say goodbye to both sleep and any loved ones you might feel the need to interact with. So far, a whole 2 days and one 20 minute lesson of teaching in, I'm feeling pretty good about everything. However, it is possible that this will be my last post for the rest of the course and my next post will be lamenting the hair that I pulled out and the coma that I will soon fall into.
