the final countdown

Four days left and I can hardly wait. I am tired. I am tired of jumping through hurdle after hurdle, I am tired of living in the nastiest cock roach infested dorm known to man, I am tired of trying to do everything right but somehow not ever being able to, and I am tired of living without paychecks and to think I have another 7 weeks until one will arrive! I really want the next four days to fly by. The past 5 weeks have been horrible. It doesn't help that I don't even have a job yet, yeah one is guaranteed but when 80% of the corps has a placement and I don't, it sucks. Teach For America is supposed to be one of the most prestigious programs in the nation and one of the most respected; I am not seeing it yet. I have been somewhat upset with how a lot of things have gone. I need to be out of institute, in my apartment, and in a classroom with my own kids.

The children are the one thing that keep me going. Its intense how closely our collaborative group has bonded with our students. I love my kids and love the progress that each one of them has made. To see them speak English as if they had been learning it their whole lives, to see them master the "th" sound and the clock (today's lesson I taught) is amazing. This summer has shown me that I have an ability to reach the worst behaving students and invest them in the lessons. The other day Jorge and I had a one on one hour where we read his sight words (words that we have in our brains that we know without having to think about it, such as "they") and read Clifford in English. Jorge said "th" words for the first time perfectly and read the whole book...this is a huge feat for a kid who was diagnosed as two grades below grade level in reading and is a complete bully. I left class teary eyed at his progress.

Thank God also for friends and for bonding in adversity. I've become close to some really outstanding people, which makes this whole thing survivable. Joint misery allows for some intense bonding.

I am really excited to go home in a week and drive down here with Mom, I am excited to get away from Houston for a little while and refocus my mind and attention away from this experience and get it ready for fall.

I really miss you guys; I miss the NW so much. I love you all.
Robert