California!

I'm in California! There are so many songs that I could start singing or quoting right now… which is part of the reason that I'm so excited to be here! California is just a really cool place to be. Other than the two weekends last spring that I spent in San Francisco to take teaching exams, I had never been to California - until Tuesday! And after just four days, I love it already. Usually transitions and leaving home are really tough for me, and it still wasn't easy, but overall I've been really excited to be here. It feels like the right place and the right work for me.

A big part of easing the transition is that I've been surrounded by the most incredible group of Teach for America fellow corps members. I've met people who have talked openly and passionately about their life experiences and their future goals, people who have driven me all around San Jose and not gotten mad when my less-than-perfect navigation skills got us lost, and people who let me stay in their home for the weekend when they hardly even knew me. With all my travels last year, I learned how much you need to trust and lean on other people, and I've been lucky to discover amazing amounts of goodness everywhere I go. As a dazed Hoosier who decided to pick up and move across the country to big and exciting California, I'll need to rely a lot on other people, and I'm so thankful for everyone who has helped me already.

So here's the summer plan: Last week we had our TFA Induction at Berkeley in Oakland, this weekend I'm exploring San Jose, and tomorrow I'll catch a ride to Los Angeles, where we'll have a five-week training called Institute. At the beginning of August I'll come back to San Jose and hopefully find a place to live, because on Aug. 5, my school district begins its new teacher training. It will be one heck of a crazy summer, but it's not the first time that I've had to find housing in a pinch and in an unknown city, so I'm hopeful that everything will work out well! Just one more obstacle in this giant adventure….

*Explanation of picture: During some free time, I went for a walk on a trail behind the Berkeley Clark Kerr campus. I ended up climbing a really steep hill, but when I finally turned around, I had the most amazing view of the bay. It was a nice moment :) I found this picture online - I actually haven't taken any all week - but you get the idea.