happy 2009 to all!  hope this year is the most wonderful one yet.

january is a lovely month, during which the institute grants us four weeks of freedom to do anything we fancy.

i’m kicking my way off campus and out of my comfort zone — which i’ve occupied for too long (in other words, for more than a semester) — and will be traveling to new mexico to Teach for America (well, sort of.)

the mini-internship/program will have me shadowing two different Teach for America corps members, each for two weeks.  i am still a bit sketchy on the details, but i know that i’ll be in the classroom interacting with middle schoolers and high schoolers, and at least one school is located on the Navajo Nation reservation.

i’m definitely excited, but also a tad scared.  not so much of the teaching kids part, because heck, i’m a camp counselor!  but i hear that teaching (for America!) can be draining, both physically and emotionally.  and how formal is the environment?  what can i expect of navajo culture?  will the kids even like me???

i’ve been prepping in my own way, reading and watching some suggested materials from one of my hosts.  so far, i’ve learned a ton about the history of relations between the native americans and the US federal government, and current conditions on the “rez”…unfortunately, i can’t say that it’s pretty (metaphorically, of course.  the snippets of landscapes i’ve seen have been beautiful, in a rugged, non-northeastern-US sort of way.)

but hurrah for my next adventure — i’m glad to be traveling again!  not sure about internet availability in nm, but will try to update!

hope you all are well!

 

sk =)