Confessions of a Lone Star Bum

This is going to be difficult to say.  I suppose it is the male pride that loathes the necessity of admitting wrongful judgment.  After all the trash talk and incessant harassment of natives temporarily relocated across the state, I now have to eat my words.  Here it is.  I like Houston.

As much as I wanted to hate the city, its unique, eclectic culture won me over.  There seems to be an endless number of interesting, indie coffee shops where the atmosphere is almost as cool as the fact that they all serve beer.  The food is wonderful, the salsa scene is robust, and there are numerous dingy pubs that have Saint Arnold’s on tap.

Along with the many amenities, Houston houses many of my closest friends.  Most of my time back in Texas has been spent making rounds throughout the state, seeing old friends and family before my departure for Turkey.  Houston was my last stop because the Turkish Consulate is located here, and I finally have all the documents to apply for my work visa.  The bureaucracy is expectedly and exceptionally annoying.  However, it appears as though everything is going to fall into place nicely.

The current plan is as follows.  I leave Dallas the night of August 22^nd and arrive in London the morning of the 23^rd.  I will spend the rest of that week and the subsequent weekend with several friends in London.  Currently we are planning on attending the Notting Hill Carnival, provided it is not canceled due to the riots.  On Monday the 29^th, I will catch a flight from London to Belfast, Ireland.  Throughout that week I will be traveling with Irish friends that I met while in Mexico.  We will be moving down the east coast and stopping in Dublin.  Around the 3^rd, I will fly back to London and continue on to my orientation in Ankara, Turkey.

The most amazing part of this entire trip is that the cost of most of the travel is covered by the Fulbright Commission.  The only costs I incurred are those related to my side trip to Ireland.  Everything else I managed to arrange as travel expenses related to my grant.

It is hard to believe that in about ten days I will be starting these journeys.  I hardly feel mentally prepared.  Then again, experience tells me that such travels are really not something you can plan for.  Even the most conscientious of planners find their efforts thwarted while abroad.   So far I have the most important pieces in place, and as for the rest, well, I will ride whatever wave comes my way.

Downtime

On only a select number of occasions have I had the opportunity to enjoy Phoenix mid-week with no responsibilities.  The weather is nice, the coffee is invigorating, and my mind is calm except for several looming question:  how many unemployed people are there in Phoenix and why, with no income, are they all hanging out at Starbucks?  Who knows, maybe Friends was not that off base in creating a group of young professionals who spend their entire work day in a café talking.  As a teacher, such an idea is laughable.

My time off school has been glorious.  Yesterday I arrived back in town after traveling to Texas for Austin City Limits.  The festival was simply glorious.  Originally I was a bit disappointed with the lineup.  There were not too many artists with whom I was familiar.  By the second day, I realized this was actually beneficial because it introduced me to a whole new world of music to explore.

My favorite performance of the festival was, not surprisingly, Norah Jones.  Her musical and songwriting abilities are such a spectacle.  She held the crowd in silent captivation for a solid hour.  There is also the fact that I have a ridiculous, boyish crush on her.  Most of the show my behavior was probably comparable to that of a teenage girl at some boy band concert.  Although I have to say I did a pretty good job of suppressing my desire to shout things like “I love you Norah” or “Will you mother my children?”  She made eye contact with me though, and I tried to pass on the message telepathically.

Outside of the concert I was able to spend some time with old friends and even show some newer friends around the Austin area.  Strangely enough during the festival I mostly ran into old high school friends.  It was nice to catch up with them and see what they are doing and where they find themselves.  At times it seems weird to think that I am five years out of high school.  Life tends to move at an increasingly rapid pace the older you get.

The rest of the week I plan on sleeping in and using my day to complete some much needed chores that school does not leave time for.  I also have several papers to complete for ASU.  After that it is back to the grind until Holiday Break.  Thankfully, once Christmas comes I really feel as though I can coast.  The bulk of my master’s work is happening now, and by Christmas the students will be scared about graduating.  Things will begin to stabilize and hopefully stay that way until June.

I hope all of you are doing well.  Keep in touch.

Taylor

Hello “Real World”

It was around 8 o’clock when I finally pulled into El Paso after a long ten hour stretch of driving.  For the past sixty miles of my westward journey I had been watching the sun slowly descend towards the horizon.  Its last bit of light was now casting purple, dancing shadows across the face of the small mountain range which stood before me with unmistakable Texas’ pride.  Tom Petty was coming through the radio and it seemed as though the melody of “American Girl” played some part in electrifying the small wispy clouds that graced the sky above into their glorious neon coloring.  The first leg of my journey to Phoenix was complete and it had ended with quite the breathtaking view.  I guess Texas decided to give me one last, sweet sunset as a friendly goodbye.

The past several weeks have been nothing but a maddening blur.  I have had little time to concentrate on the fact that I am officially moved out of my childhood home and no longer under my parents’ care.  The reality of such independence and responsibility did not really begin to sink in until last night when my sister somewhat nostalgically proclaimed, “just think, this is the last night you and I will ever be living in this house together.”  At the moment I was far too tired to process such a thought, but this morning as I pulled out of the neighborhood I grew up in I could not help but reflect back on the moment as both excitement and anxiety welled in my belly.

People tell me I am a “real adult” now entering into the “real world”.  These statements seem strange to me not simply because they seem to negate that my life experience thus far has been “real” but because their connotation seems far withdrawn from reality.  The truth is I do not feel “grown up” or ready for this responsibility.  And I especially do not feel prepared to be in charge of the educational development of young minds.  I myself still feel like a kid, unsure and uncertain of who I am and who I ultimately want to become.  I imagine, however, that this is simply a first step in my journey that will become defined with time and by the decisions I make each day.   Maybe I will never be ready for responsibility until it lands in my lap and demands my attention.  I guess this is what they call diving in head first.

Currently I am reading or rather listening to the audio tape of the book “Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert.  The book is a memoir that Gilbert describes as her personal journey to find balance as she traveled through Italy (where she sought pleasure), India (where she lived a life of complete spiritual devotion), and Indonesia (where I am guessing she finds her balance).  In many ways the book is also reflective of the theme of stringing meaning from the often chaotic and confusing world in which we live.  I cannot help but relate as it seems I myself have thrown my entire life into the back of a UHaul to tug behind me as a journey off to an unknown city with no family or friends.  I imagine this will be a time of incredible self-discovery and important life-lessons.

I realize my last series of blogging ended rather abruptly.  That is because the road trip I was taking ended rather abruptly.  Unfortunately I came down with strep throat the day before my big concert in Kerrville.  I was pretty sick, even through the wedding, but at least I made it to that.  Most of my time was spent in Austin on the couch being taken care of by my friend Eileen’s parents.  One can learn a lot from the Mennitt family in terms of hospitality.  They are always willing to take somebody in no matter the time or the cost.  Hospitality is a virtue that seems to carry significant weight in most countries I have visited.  Unfortunately in America it seems as though we are more frightened to open up our homes to others than we should be.  I hope in my new stage of life I can begin to develop a sense of hospitality, which I think is closely related to community.

Tomorrow I will continue my drive up I-10 through Tuscon and into Phoenix.  This leg will be a bit shorter than yesterdays.  Hopefully enough time to allow me to finish my book.  When I arrive in Phoenix I will be staying with another new TFA corps member.  On June 6^th I have a certification test I need to pass to make my placement process run smoothly.  That night there is a social and the next day I hope to get all my belongings moved into a storage unit.  Then starting on June 9^th Teach for America takes control of my life until the end of July.  Hopefully during this time I will be able to find a place to stay in the city.  I have a fold-out couch so you must come visit.

Oh the times they are a changin’