Catching My Breath

The Mass of the Holy Spirit is a time-honored tradition that Cristo Rey takes part in each year. Students, their families, faculty and staff, donors, and friends of the school are invited to celebrate mass and ask for the inspiration of the Holy Spirit for both the students and their teachers, so that they might learn as much as they can.

Last night's mass was absolutely beautiful! It was such a powerful experience, and I'm so happy that I got to be a part of it. The students returned to school an hour before mass, and we gathered in our 8th period classes. I happen to love my 8th period, it's my most outgoing drama class, so I was really happy to share the experience of Mass of the Holy Spirit with them.

The music was in a combination of languages and styles, representing the various ethnic backgrounds of CRJ students. The Nigerian Igbo Catholic Choir, about 20 people, was there, along with their drummers. Some parts of the Mass and the music were in Spanish, Vietnamese, and Latin, and the music styles ranged from traditional to tribal to upbeat. It was an amazing celebration of the school, and as we processed in, I couldn't believe just how many people were there!

That's right...we processed in. We walked down the aisle as a whole school, grade by grade, faculty mixed in with students. The aisle was lined by the Knights of Columbus in full regalia, and we had several visiting Jesuits, Archdiocesan priests, and sisters, as well as the president of St. Thomas University in Houston. The gym was transformed into a beautiful space for worship, and really reflected how hard the development staff and campus minister have worked over the past few weeks.

I was a Eucharistic Minister at mass last night, and I think that was the coolest part of the whole experience. So many of my students came to me to receive the Eucharist, and being able to say their names when I offered them the blood of Christ definitely made the whole mass even more meaningful. One student who I'd had to send to P.H. (Penance Hall, or detention) over something that happened in our class this past week, came to me to receive communion, and it felt like a reconciliation in a sense.

Immediately after the Mass had ended, there was a real live mariachi band to lead all 1,000 people into the party in the cafeteria, or as everyone at CRJ calls it, the cafe! James Coney Island, a Houston institution so I've been told, was there serving chili dogs, chips, and cookies and soda, and it was a great time for the students to show their families around the school. I met the families of two of my most wonderful students, one freshman and one junior. I was so honored that the girls introduced me to their moms, and it was so good to honestly brag about each of them!

Not only were families of students everywhere, but it was also great to meet families of the other faculty and staff. I was in line for food with my 3 housemates who came and our JVC Program Coordinator, Katie, when I turned my head, and was so pleasantly surprised to see a familiar face... a good friend from PC, Charlie DaSilva!!

Charlie has a good friend who also teaches at CRJ, and he came to visit for the weekend... AND brought me my favorite treat from LaSalle Bakery in Providence! No, not banana hazelnut iced coffee, he couldn't bring liquids on the plane... but banana chocolate chunk bread! A whole loaf! As of writing this, I've already had two pieces, and I couldn't be a happier girl. Especially since I am off today and Monday! I slept in (til 7:45, woohoo!), had a leisurely breakfast, cleaned up my room a little, had lunch with Eva thanks to a groupon left by the JVs from last year, and just finished working out at the gym. We have a connection with the Houston YMCA, and are working on a very discounted membership... but for now, I have a 1-week free trial membership :).

It was so nice to have a day for some self-care, and I'm really enjoying time to myself for a few hours. Plans for the weekend include cleaning the whole house as a community, possibly a high school football game, and seeing Sister Mary and Charlie! Have a wonderful long weekend, and I'll post more when there's more to share!

xo

I was the happiest girl last night... 4-day weekend, and LaSalle!

Miss Tully at her desk... better decorations to come! The bookshelf behind me isn't mine... just what's on my desk :).

Let's Go Eat

Last night, Megan and I screamed like teenage girls. I'm pretty sure I acted the same way that most of my freshman ladies would have had they been in the same 100 mile radius as One Direction (1D, as the kids are calling them these days). 

We went to the Astros game, and not because the Phils were in town (that's in 2 weeks, woohoo!). The Astros were playing the Giants... and many of you know, there are few teams I like less than the Giants. However, during the trading period, my Phils traded Hunter Pence to the Giants, and while I'm still really upset about it, the Astros fans are still upset that THEY lost Hunter to the Phillies. Megan and I wanted to see Hunter while he was in town, and while we're pretty sure there were more Giants fans than Astros fans at the game last night, we were not Hunter's only fans. People of Houston and San Francisco love him, and we got to the park at 5:45 for a 7:15 game to go to batting practice.

Of course, we had a clever sign with us. Two, actually. Megan made a sign before she went to bed on Tuesday night (Ms. Tully needs to go to bed early) that read "Phans transplanted from Philadelphia, PENCE-sylvania," and I had 3 papers, each with one word on them: Let's Go Eat. If you're not a Phillies phan, this probably sounds weird, but Hunter Pence's tagline refers to his habit of eating a big meal after a big win. It's kind of taken over in Philadelphia... remember the excellent Liscio's Italian bread commercials where he is using the bread to measure the height of his socks and to row down the Schuylkill?

Our seats were in section 409, and there was one other family sitting there by the time the game started. We didn't really care too much... we paid $10 for a ticket to the game, a hotdog, a soda, and a bag of chips. Good deal, huh? We were sitting enjoying the game and cheering louder than the rest of the stadium for the Astros during the first inning, when a man in a shirt and tie came up to our section. He was an intern with the Astros, and he happened to have 3 extra seats in section 113. Would we like them? (Did I mention that Cassie, our communitymate who is actually a Giants fan, came with us?)

YUP. AGAIN, we got magically moved down close to the field, and found ourselves right behind the Giants dugout. It was amazing to be so close to the players! Megan and I knew this was our chance- we were in direct eyeline of Hunter, if only he'd look up coming into the dugout! We worked so hard all night, trying desperately to get his attention. I'm pretty sure we each tweeted at him, and we were starting to get sad as the game went on. All we wanted was some acknowledgment! The fans around us loved our sign, and they wanted him to acknowledge us too... people kept stopping to read our sign up close, and we had lots of conversation about how sad it was to lose Hunter. The Astros fans were very sympathetic.

In the 8th inning, when we thought it was hopeless, we tried to get his attention. As Hunter was running into the dugout, we screamed and held up our sign... AND HE LOOKED UP! And read the signs... and smiled... and waved!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Megan and I were jumping up and down like 12-year-olds, screaming and laughing. Everyone in our section loved it, and they were all very happy for us and our success. So much so that they insisted that we try to move down closer to the dugout so that he could sign our poster at the end of the game... and one guy actually went down to try to distract security so that we could. We found ourselves in the second row, and while we didn't get Hunter's autograph, I was less than 5 feet away from him.

All in all, an awesome night. We're not sure how we'll be able to handle the upcoming Phils game... we plan to be there when the park opens at 5. We're bringing tissues.

I'll post pictures later... let's go teach!

Hurricane Update!

To everyone who is worried about me and Isaac:

Don't be! I promise! While I do appreciate the texts telling me to batten down the hatches, and one in particular to find all the flashlights and candles (done, thanks to this weekend!) and fill the bathtub with water... Isaac won't be visiting today. He may show up a little late, but not in excess- don't worry about me, worry about my NOLA!

I downloaded the American Red Cross Hurricane app to my phone, so not only will I know how to prepare if Isaac changes his mind, but I'll know IF he's coming here- the app alerts me if the area I'm in goes under a hurricane watch or warning. Thank you for the worries, but use them for someone else :). Here's to being halfway through my week!

xo

Brighter Than the Sun

And the posts roll on...

I think I'm definitely beginning to feel more settled here! Can you tell? I'm making time to blog! I also think I've been wanting to blog because life is really starting to pick up, and if I don't write things down, I'm worried I'll forget something!

I am starting to incorporate teaching techniques from other teachers I've observed into my own lesson plans, and I think it's been pretty successful so far! I have been subbing for a teacher who has been in Ireland for the Notre Dame vs. Navy game, and I sit in on many of John's classes since we share a classroom. I stole one of John's ideas today into my composition lesson plan, and I think it went pretty well :). Much better than kids just staring at me talk and trying to listen. John's control of the classroom and ease of conversation and engagement of students has been such an asset for me to watch day in and day out. One of his English classes for seniors is called "Hyphenated Americans." His class is mostly students who are stereotyped as various -Americans... conversation is SO COOL.

Andrew, who is in Ireland, is also a really exceptional teacher. He has been sending the students videos to watch each day where they have to solve mysteries... and they are simultaneously working on being showing, not telling writers. This is quite helpful for my writing class, but also such a great idea, and I can't wait to talk with him about spicing up my lesson plans when he returns! His videos also make me quite Ireland-sick... Andrew also studied at TCD, and is spending time in Dublin. His character, inspector Hoytzito, was wandering down Grafton Street, and my heart was breaking. We listened to Irish trad music for the rest of the class while different groups worked on solving their mystery.

I'm excited to really improve upon my lesson plans and engage my students in the way that Andrew does his, and take some time to really plan out the next few weeks! I'm off on Friday and Monday, and while I will definitely take some time to relax, I am excited to take some time to really plan out where I'm going with my lessons.

Here's what school looks like when I arrive each morning... it's pretty, isn't it?

I Got the Power

Update: We have power :). Thanks to everyone for your thoughts, prayers, well-wishes, and offers of couches on which to crash!

It has struck me in the past few days how much imagery about light and darkness has struck out to me, especially in prayer. I've started trying to read the night prayer part of the Liturgy of the Hours, Compline, every night before I go to bed. It was my favorite part of the day in Kenya and I really like having a concrete way to settle myself before sleep. Last night's compline had a lot of light/dark and illumination imagery... so coincidental when all I wanted in my house was a little bit of light in the darkness.

I stayed at Casa Helen Prejean last night, and pulling up to Cristo Rey this morning was like a light in the darkness. I do so enjoy my students, and today was a big day for many of them! They met their future bosses for the year... half of the corporate workstudy partners were on campus for a breakfast this morning, and they were given tours of the school by their future students. Many of my students popped into my room and introduced me to their new co-workers... that felt good :). I'm also really connecting with one of my drama classes, and I really look forward to spending time with them each day!

Pulling up to CRJ was literally a light in the darkness... the new facade features a beautiful, giant cross: illuminated for all to see. I'll post a photo when I get the chance to snap a good one... it's really so cool, and a great greeting every day!

xo

Dancing In the Dark

As I sit in the beautiful, air-conditioned library at Rice University, after having a fun though stressful weekend, I'm still smiling. The struggle to keep my head up gets a little bit bigger with each turn of events, but I am trying to push through the small mess we're in with a good attitude. As I tell my students, "for success, attitude is equally as important as ability," and if I don't have a good attitude, I won't be able to do my work tomorrow.

You may be wondering why I've chosen "Dancing in the Dark," one of my all-time favorite Bruce songs, to be the title of this post. Well, it's the perfect descriptor for this weekend.

I arrived home on Friday after my first exhausting week of teaching, and thought that my house was a little toasty, but just that we had turned the A/C down and it needed to kick back on. I was wearing jeans, it's Texas, and I was warm. Nothing out of the ordinary here. Except for when I flipped the switch for the ceiling fan in my room, nothing happened. And the light switch didn't work. Neither did the one in the bathroom.

We'd had a thunderstorm that morning- that must be it! The powerline must have gotten knocked down. Except that the traffic light on the corner worked... Maybe someone blew a fuse in the house before she left for work? I looked for the circuit breaker, found it, realized that I had no clue what to do with it once I found it, and caught a quick glance at the calendar across the kitchen. August 24th. Shoot.

The JVs before us had left us a note- make sure that your utilities are all set up before August 24th, or else they'll be shut off! We knew this, we talked about it, and we waited for a bill to come for us to pay. We were told that the Houston Program Office would be setting up our utilities.... and they thought we would be setting up our utilities... so no one did anything, and now we're hot and in the dark.

Casa Helen Prejean to the rescue! Once I called Karen at work in a panic to set up the rest of the utilities and see what she could do about the power situation (she's the house bookkeeper), called/emailed approximately every adult in Houston I know (not many, but still a lot), and texted the other house to let them know that we'd need a place to crash, Rachel came home. Then Megan, Eva, and Cassie, and after Karen and her boss Maria sorted things out with our utilities, we went to pick Karen up at work.

We ate the ice cream in the freezer (priority), packed the rest of our food into a cooler, and packed clothes and pillows and loaded up in my car and headed to our temporary home on Wichita St. It's honestly been a lot of fun for the weekend, kinda like a giant sleepover. Luckily, Casa HP has a lot of extra beds and had a lot of extra room in their fridge, so we were welcomed with open arms. It's been like one giant super-community!

We are, however, quite anxious to get back into our own house. The other community has been so gracious in letting us take over their living room, but enough is enough. Fingers crossed our power will be back tomorrow, and I'll come home from work and walk into a nice, cool house. It's been fun... a little funny at this point, but did y'all know that it's really hot in Texas? And a little bit humid?

I'm trying to keep my head up throughout all this mess. We went to a great mass at St. Anne's in downtown Houston this morning, where I saw Chris and Ryan AND Mr. and Mrs. Reed!! (Kathleen Reed, my college roommate's parents and sister and brother-in-law) It was so nice to see familiar faces! We went to the ministry fair at St. Anne's after mass, and we were able to get information on what seems to be a lot of cool volunteer opportunities throughout the city.

Yes, I know I'm already volunteering a lot, but it would be nice to meet people outside of the world of JVC! Also, I could probably dedicate an entire blog post to Chris and Ryan and how amazing they have been to me already- I am probably the only teacher at CRJ (or in Houston/Texas/the US) to have leftover duck, green beans, and delicious potatoes for lunch on the first day of school. They are definitely looking out for me, sending me home with a lovely bag of goodies beyond my delicious lunch, and I will be eternally grateful to the Reed family for all the amazing things (and people) they've given me over the years- the gift of friendship is truly amazing.

This whole ordeal is definitely frustrating. It could have absolutely been avoided and I'm disappointed that we had to go through this, but it has definitely been a DEEP look into living simply. Lots of JV communities don't have A/C (Tom doesn't in Philadelphia), and lots of my students don't either. Not having electricity in the house is, yes, quite annoying, but lots of people in our surrounding community of Houston use it sparingly because they have to financially. We had a place to go, and people to help us sort everything out. We're not evacuating our home because of Hurricane Isaac (yet...). We may be in the dark, but if you put it in perspective, we're definitely dancing.





So, that's all for now... hopefully my next post will be a lot more upbeat :). Here's to the second week of school... and Labor Day in sight!

xo

You can't start a fire, worryin' about your little world falling apart.

Building the Kingdom Together

Another quick update: today, I don't have to teach!!

It's Building the Kingdom Day here at CRJ, so all 400 students as well as faculty and staff are out at various service sites accross the city for a few hours this morning! I will be at the elementary school next door with two other staff members and about 25 kids. Not sure what we'll be up to, but I'm excited!

For those of you who haven't heard me go on about service learning for everyone... I am SO excited about today! I think that service learning is necessary for every person, regardless of background or his/her own needs. You can get something out of serving others always, and I would some day love to be a service learning coordinator at a school like CRJ. So yes, I am so excited about today. I'll post more when I get back from the day itself... first bell just rang, I have 15 minutes until I have to take attendance!

xo

Hump Day!!!!!

I know, I know... I owe you all a really big blog post...

But I only have time for a short one! So here's a brief check-in:

Students: Are awesome. They blow me out of the water every day. So smart, so diligent, so funny. First period freshmen are still tough, but today went a little bit better. Baby steps, right?

Drama:  IS THE BEST THING. I LOVE teaching drama! I am having so much fun with my students, and genuinely laugh during every class period. They're so talented, I actually can't wait to work on more acting techniques with them!

I: am absolutely exhausted.

Community: Is so fun! We're going to see a movie in the park tonight... Breakfast Club! I'll probably fall asleep before the end of the movie but I'm still excited for the outing.

Lesson Plans: Are so much work. To my teachers: I salute you all. Thank you for your hard work helping me learn! I am pretty much at school until 5:30 every night fixing my plan for the next day. And I'm only teaching two courses, so I can't imagine teaching more!

I owe many of you emails, phone calls and text messages... and I promise I will get to them this weekend. After I sleep for 24 hours.

xo

First-Day Jitters

One down, four to go! And gosh, are freshmen awkward.

I was probably shaking the entire time, but I survived my first class. I got up at a very dark 5:45 AM and rolled out of bed, into my first day of school teacher dress, and was out the door by 6:30! Even though I wanted to leave by 6:15... I wasn't expecting anyone else to be in the bathroom before 6 AM, but my housemate Eva also has an early day. Iced coffee, hot tea, and a granola bar in the car (I could have opened a mobile cafe), and watched the sun rise on my way here, and after an exciting school-wide assembly, class started.

And really, freshmen are so awkward. But some of them were so much fun! And terrified, but excited to learn.

I'm currently at my desk, watching my amazingly talented co-worker John teach his juniors. I hope that I can some day teach as well as he can! That's all for now... just wanted to check in :). Thank you all so much for the tweets, texts, calls, and notes of support over the past few days and weeks. I feel so consumed by love and grace... and so incredibly lucky to have the support system that I do and to be in this incredible school!

xo


PS- I got a mystery package... who sent me a map of Houston and two Houston books from Amazon? THANK YOU! Please take credit so I can thank you accordingly :).

A Note from Ms. Tully

Well, I survived my first two days.

Not that they were really anything to survive.. but can you say overwhelming? Because I feel like that's all I've said for the past 24 hours.

People at Cristo Rey are amazing, let's start there. SO welcoming, warm, and supportive! I have a lot to do before Monday, like A LOT, but they are giving me lesson plans, books, classroom management techniques, DVDs... they couldn't be more helpful. I really like everyone here, and it's a fun staff to be a part of. They even made the blood-born pathogen training we had to do today a lot of fun.

I'm actually still at school! And yes, it is 5 PM Texas time. We have the senior mass this evening called the Cross of Constantine mass, which I'm really looking forward to being at! The seniors will receive their blazers that they can wear as a part of their uniforms, as well as special crosses for being a part of the first graduating class of CRJ. It's supposed to be a beautiful mass.

Today was a lot of planning on my part, since classes start Monday! I just finished my first syllabus ever, with a lot of borrowing from two of my other English Department members. Hopefully I'll have the syllabi for the two classes I'm teaching finished by the time I go home tonight, so I can make copies of them tomorrow to give to my new students! Then there will be lesson plans on lesson plans on lesson plans... yikes! My goal is to have my first week planned out, and then I can work ahead.. I have a ton of prep time during the day, which is great! Thanks, student work schedules!

What can I say? I love this. I love it here. Even though I'm the most overwhelmed, nervous, and clueless, I am SO excited about it. I get to teach, work with campus ministry, and help the seniors with the college process in a supportive learning environment for both myself and my students. AND, as my colleague Justin pointed out to me today, I am working for social justice every single day.




Did I mention that I'm happy? And my community is really great. I made dinner last night, and then we watched 7th Heaven on DVD and laughed a whole lot. I'll post pictures of my very own desk and classroom space once I get everything up. Maybe by next June.

On Baseball

Note: this is my second new post of the day! Check out the one below it to read about my first impressions of Cristo Rey :).

You learn a lot about yourself through travel, and the same could be said for your baseball team. I mentioned the other night that Megan, Rachel, and I went to the Astros game on Saturday, and it was more than just a fun night with some community members!

I just want to give those who might not know a brief explanation of my love for the great game of baseball. I grew up a Phillies phan, pre-2008 World Series Championship. I loved them when they were terrible, I love them the same now that they’re terrible again. I think I have high blood pressure during baseball season because of them. My roommates tell me that I’m a different person when I watch baseball- I yell and scream, and while there’s famously no crying in baseball, I do it anyway (I cried in Disneyworld of all places when the Giants beat us my junior year of college, and again last year… and sophomore year when the stupid Yankees beat us…).

That said, I feel for the Astros- it, yet again, is not their year. This Saturday night game, however, was a kind of bizarre experience for a few reasons:

11. The Ballpark. First of all, it’s indoors (thank God). What happens if the ball hits the ceiling? That’s just awkward. It is a retractable dome, but who in their right mind would ever open a dome in Texas? There is a giant wall in left field. In order to hit a home run there, you have to aim it perfectly through some weird arches where fans stand to watch the game. If they were allowed that close to the field in Philadelphia, no visiting team would be safe. Also, there is a little random hill past the warning track along the back edge of center field, which also has a flag pole in it- ON the field. What?

22.  They have no fans. It’s honestly just sad. There were 3,000 people in the park TOPS on a SATURDAY NIGHT game. When the jumbotron instructs the fans to “make noise,” the noise level in the stadium does not change, except for the three out of towners, Phils and Reds fans respectively, who know to follow baseball instructions. There are so many giveaways during the game as incentives for fans to go, but they don’t seem to be working. Instead of the Hatfield hot dog toss, we tried to succeed in the Texas tamale toss.

33.  No one is sure what the mascot is. Now, I know I’m one to talk being both a Phils phan (what is the phanatic?) and a proud PC Friar, but still. The team is called the Astros, the park seems to be train-themed, and the mascot in the costume walking around the park is some anonymous brown animal that could be a dog or a bear, but then it has horns, and no one is really sure. What is an Astro? I thought it was space-related since NASA is here, but I left the park more confused than when I came in.

44. The traditions. 7^th inning stretch music = “Deep in the Heart of Texas.” Need I say more? Because when they get a home run there is a train that goes across the aforementioned wall, and a cowboy shoots a loud but fake gun. When the team wins, fireworks go off. INSIDE the dome. Wha?

Now, I know each team has its traditions, but those left us very curious. We did, however, really like the tamale toss and the Astros slogan, “ROOT. ROOT. ROOT.” Houstonians call them the ‘Stros, or at least those who acknowledge their existence. It’s hard to be baseball in the land where football is king, but come ON, Houston, there is more in the world than the Texans!

So, what did I learn about myself and my team at an Astros/Brewers game? Well, if there was any doubt where my allegiances lie, it’s gone. Phorever a Phils Phan. Give me a word I can put a Ph in phront of, and I will. I also learned how aggressive Phillies phans are- there was very little security at the Astros game, and the ushers don’t have to break up fights (phights?). Mostly, I learned how lucky I am to be a Phillies phan, part of a tradition that boos Santa Claus (those were Eagles fans though, a different breed of tortured Philadelphia sports fan), our own pitchers, and almost every umpire in the MLB. We have a beautiful ballpark, and a real pride in our city, whether or not the team is something to be proud of.

Also, side note about nice Texans: the tickets we had were given to the JV house, seats in the 400 level of the stadium. We were a little lost trying to find the escalator to get up to our seats, and when we mentioned to the usher that it was our second day in Houston, he told us, “well then y’all can pick a seat down here.” We were in the 100 level on the third base line for the game! We had the section practically to ourselves, which was sad, but we had great seats- and a perfect view of the out of town scoreboard. 

Suddenly I See

We woke up yesterday, had a quick breakfast, and got in the car with Ana, Eva’s boss at her new placement. Ana took us to all the different agencies we’ll be working with so that we could meet our co-workers and see where our community members were working. It was a great day, but a lot of back and forth. I am so happy that now I’ll be able to picture everyone in her workplace, and I learned a lot about the city of Houston in the process.

Seeing the different social services in a city is a great way to learn about it as a whole, its problems, and where it is thriving. Many of my housemates will be working with people experiencing homelessness, and seeing their placements was a great look at the different reasons for homelessness in Houston and the services available to the homeless. Their organizations are really incredible- they minister to everyone: the sick, the addicted, pregnant women and families, and the mentally disabled. Rachel’s site has 400 beds, and if needed has mats for many more people when it’s raining or (rarely) too cold.

The people we met amaze me in terms of their willingness to serve without judgment, and their intense understanding of homelessness. Just because someone is experiencing homelessness does NOT mean that it’s his or her fault. In fact, for the most part, they are the product of a system that underserved them. They are hard workers and 99% do not want to be there. The classic picture of the “shelter shopper,” someone who goes from one place to the next just freeloading off of different ministries, is rarely a reality.

There is a lot of interesting work surrounding immigration and refugee resettlement in Houston, which Cassie and Eva will be dealing with a lot. Karen will be combating human trafficking, which is a big issue in Houston (where there is water, there is opportunity for trafficking) and its surrounding areas. Human trafficking awareness month is September, and I’m hoping to be able to volunteer for some of their events and learn more about the issue next month.

Ana, our tour guide for the day, was so helpful in showing us around! She was born in Brazil but grew up in Houston, and has a wealth of knowledge about the city. She and I had a conversation about Hurricane Katrina’s impact on the city of Houston, not only in terms of emergency preparedness but the impact on all the social services agencies in the city. It’s been difficult for them to deal with the influx of people, but also the way that certain landlords and other agencies view them and accept their services in the aftermath. I’m excited to explore this topic further!! She also took us to a Texan chain called Pappasito's for Tex-Mex lunch. I had shrimp fajitas that were SO good!

And yes, I did get to go see Cristo Rey. And I love it even more than I thought I could!!!!! I am SO excited to begin working there- can I start right now?! My co-workers were so friendly, supportive, and excited, and I am feeding off of their enthusiasm. It’s slightly overwhelming, but also a dream come true, and I can’t wait to start working tomorrow. I will have my own desk (yes!!!!!!), and the school as a whole is so cool. And well-air-conditioned (phew).

Our reception at each site was so warm and welcoming! It’s so nice to not have to explain what a JV is at every place we go, and the people of Texas have been so friendly and warm. They love to make jokes about how hot we must be, since we’re all from “up north.” I have been trying to write down funny expressions I hear, like “she’d get lost just crossing the street.” Try to hear it in a Texan accent- it’s just better.

That night we watched the closing ceremony of the Olympics- why did I ever stop listening to the Spice Girls? I’m not sure, but have begun listening to them again, don’t worry. We had a fun night of coloring and working on my Spanish skills, since I’m the only one in the house who doesn’t speak Spanish. It’s coming along though!

We came home absolutely exhausted- most of my housemates and I came home and took a power nap that lasted much longer than we anticipated, and dinner was cleaning out leftovers, since our fridge is full of them! That's what's on par for tonight, as well. Today, we planned a week and a half of dinners, community nights, and Spirituality nights- I’m planning the first one, and cooking dinner tomorrow night

!

More topically themed posts are heading your way, less day-to-day, I promise. I just wanted to share my excitement about my new job and city! I actually wrote one about baseball that I'll publish right now too. Double post day, woohoo!

xo

Settling In

Hello, everyone!

Yes, I promise I am in fact alive and well, I’m sorry it took me so long to update again! It’s been a whirlwind few days, but I can say today that I’m settled in and comfy. I still don’t have internet in my house, so I’m writing from a very cool café that’s about five minutes from the house called Bohemeo’s.

I have done so much over the past week! It’s hard to put into words. I think there will be a post to follow about my retreat, but I’ll answer questions that I’ve been getting the most- questions about my community!

This is my little corner of Houston!

We have a great closet! It's a lot more organized now that I have some bed risers :).

I live with 6 girls, and the first few days have been so much fun. One of our community members, Cassie, unfortunately had to go home after orientation because of a death in the family, and she will be back in about a week. We miss her, it honestly feels like something is missing in the house!

The rest of my community: Eva- from Springfield, MA. Eva went to Holy Cross and Worcester State (smarty pants), and is working as a caseworker for Catholic Charities in Houston. She is hoping to go to med school after JVC. Her roommate is…

Megan- from Marlton, NJ! Megan and I had actually met before we got to Houston due to a lot of various connections from home. And it has been so fun to live with her, and GREAT to have another Phils fan in the house. Megan is working with the St. Vincent DePaul Society in Houston, and went to Loyola Maryland undergrad. She and Eva live across the hall from me and…

Karen- Karen is my direct roommate! She’s from Chicago, and is working with Houston Rescue and Restore to advocate against human trafficking. She’s a lot of fun, and went to Loyola Marymount in LA.

Rachel- is from Cincinnati originally, but went to Loyola Chicago (are you sensing a theme here?). She is working at Star of Hope Mission in Houston, an emergency shelter for women and children. She lives in the front room with…

Cassie- from Burlingame, CA! Cassie is home, but when she comes back, she’ll be working at Catholic Charities doing refugee resettlement. She’s a BC grad, and we can’t wait to have her back!

So, as you can tell, I’m the only community member who was lucky enough to be Dominican-educated instead of “Jesucated” and proud of it! I have lots of Dominican things sprawled throughout the house already, and I am so excited to connect with the Dominican sisters here in Houston. I have really liked what I’ve learned about Jesuit spirituality so far, but I’m a Dominican at heart.

Our house is called Casa Rutilio Grande, named after the Jesuit martyr who was a friend of Oscar Romero in El Salvador. Eva’s family is Salvadorian, and her grandma actually knew both Rutilio Grande and Oscar Romero! We have pictures of them all over the house, and are excited to do more research on their lives. We call Rutilio Grande “Ruti G,” a nickname that was passed down from communities before us.

We spent the weekend getting settled in the house- cleaning, re-organizing, and unpacking. I have definitely made my room feel homey, and one of the first things I hung up was a set of Christmas lights! PC has very strict fire codes, and I wasn’t allowed to have them in my room for the past four years, so I was really excited to be able to use them here in Houston. Last night, three of us went to the Astros game, and we’re looking forward to the Olympic closing ceremony tonight!

Look for posts in the coming days about: retreat, baseball, and first impressions of Houston, including a run-in with my roommate Kathleen’s sister, Christine, and her husband, Ryan!

Gonna Make This Place My Home

Hello from Houston! My car is empty! And don't worry, it's not because someone took my stuff. I unpacked my belongings into my new home! This morning after a lovely breakfast at the hotel, we made a pit stop at Bed, Bath, and Beyond (I forgot pillows of all things...), and went to my house!

We told Kathleen, the JV I'm replacing, that we'd meet her at noon, but it was only 11:30 so we decided to pass by the house on Polk Street and continue on to check out Cristo Rey. There is a ton of constuction happening at the school, but it was great to even see a little bit of it! I am so excited to start my work there. I just found out I'll be teaching three sections of Freshmen writing seminar and one of Drama. I can't wait to meet the kids!

We got back to Polk Street in a much more direct way than getting to CRJ.. Houston has been a bit challenging to navigate so far, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it soon. Once we pulled in the driveway, I went up on our adorable porch and met Kathleen! It was so good to finally meet her, as she's been so helpful over the past few weeks. She gave us a tour of the house and helped us move my stuff in. It's a very cute house, nicely air conditioned and very big! The closets are huge, which is great.

Tomorrow is the big day! My Dad's flight is in the morning, and I will hopefully be on the road to Normangee,TX by 2 for my orientation. You won't hear from me for a while- I'll be in a tech-free zone as far as I know for a few days at least, but I'll be sure to update you all when I return :). I can't believe that I start tomorrow- I am so excited, but I am a little nervous and overwhelmed at the same time. I can't believe I'll be living in Houston for a year! Prayers and positive energy will be much appreciated.

Mission Control, This is Houston...

... The Tullys have landed.

I'm here!!! I still honestly can't believe 1) that I'm here, 2) that I'm staying here for a year?! and 3) that JVC starts on Sunday!

We drove through the Bayou this morning, and saw lots of signs for places we couldn't pronounce- Bigeux Lake, Atchafalya Basin- and advertisements for Cajun restaurants. While we didn't stop, it was great to see part of the culture I've learned about over the past few years.

There is a scene in Disney's The Princess and the Frog where the characters "go on down the bayou," and I of course had the song stuck in my head throughout the whole drive. If you haven't seen the movie, I won't spoil it for you (but you should go see it immediately!), but for those who have seen it: there is a place in the Bayou called Evangeline!

We crossed into Texas and were met with the typical "Welcome to..." sign, but the phrase below Welcome to Texas made me giggle: Drive friendly, it's the Texan way. The Texan drivers were friendly, but also very speedy! The speed limit on I-10 was 75--- lots of zooming and passing occurred, but we arrived safely. We were about 2 miles from the hotel, so excited to finally be done driving, and--- we hit traffic.

For the first time in 5 days, we hit traffic. Our last 2 miles were the longest. There was a terrible accident further down I-10 W, and it took about 45 minutes to go 2 miles... but at last, we were here! We arrived at the beautiful Magnolia Hotel, where we have complementary happy hour, milk and cookies before bed, and breakfast in the morning. A few days living in luxury before the simple life begins, eh?

I haven't really explored the city quite yet. We walked just around the corner for a nice light dinner tonight, which was a nice change. Southern food is delicious but HEAVY! Lots of fried, sauced, sweet, oily food--- which of course tastes amazing but after 4 days I was very happy to eat a big salad with some lovely ahi tuna.

In the lobby of the Magnolia

First observations: Houston is far more "cosmopolitan" than I had expected! It's very urban, and I walking down the street to dinner, I could have been in Philadelphia. We walked past "Center City Parking," which obviously made us think of home. I'm excited to explore more tomorrow- and see my little house on Polk Street! I will be moving my things into the house tomorrow afternoon.

Do I--- Do I Have to Leave?

Hello friends!

I'm currently flopped on my bed after a very full morning and afternoon in New Orleans! We got to sleep in this morning, which was a nice change. We left the hotel around 9:30 and walked down Tchoupitoulas to Cafe du Monde for a delicious breakfast of beignets and cafe au lait! We were already sweating by the time we sat down, so we took a seat in the air conditioned section of the restaurant. Our breakfast was great, and a perfect start to our day in NOLA.

Beignets et Cafe Au Lait

After we finished our beignets, we wandered down to the Louisiana State Museum's Presbytere and visited the Hurricanes: Katrina and Beyond exhibit. I went there in January with NOLA 12, and I was really happy to be able to take my dad there. It's a great overview of the systems failures in New Orleans after Katrina, and it's fascinating but simultaneously heartbreaking and overwhelming.

King and Queen of Mardi Gras paraphernalia

Mardi Gras is more than just NOLA- it takes place all over the state of Louisiana!

184 days to Mardi Gras!

A Mardi Gras costume and perch to watch the parade

St. Louis Cathedral is right next to the Presbytere, and we took some time to visit the oldest Cathedral in the US! It's beautiful inside and out-- I think it resembles a castle. We left the Cathedral, walked around the quarter, and then we took a horse and buggy tour to see the city in a more comfortable fashion because it's so hot!

Marie Laveau, known as the Queen of Voodoo, had a shop here

I learned a lot about the city's history, especially about the French Quarter, and our tour guide Brendan was so kind and knowledgeable. We enjoyed the short rest, and before heading to lunch, we wandered back into the museum. We saw an exhibit of old photos of plantations in Louisiana and a great one about Mardi Gras, its costumes and history.

From the Presbytere, we walked a few blocks to the ACME Oyster House for lunch, yet another meal that did not disappoint. We started by splitting a dozen oysters on the half shell, then ordered another half and a half of chargrilled oysters... amazing. Then we split a "10-Napkin" Roast Beef Debris Po'Boy. We had such a lovely time and the food was of course incredible! As we finished up lunch, a second line parade went down the street! It was the perfect musical accompaniment to our bread pudding :).

In my happy place in my happy place

char-grilled

Bread Pudding

We started the walk home to the hotel, but made a slight pit-stop at Harrah's on our way! It's about 3 blocks from the hotel, and while we didn't walk out millionaires, we left with more money than we walked in with!

Part of the second-line!

We took a little siesta  before a dinner at GW Fin's for the evening- more amazing food, but we were still kinda full from lunch. We had planned to do Preservation Hall tonight, but were exhausted after dinner, so we just walked back to the hotel to crash with more Olympics.

HOUSTON TOMORROW! I can't believe it, honestly. Here's to Texas!

Down in New Orleans

Hola, NOLA!

I'm positively thrilled to be blogging from New Orleans, LA tonight! I have loved NOLA from first sight in January 2010, and I know a lot of people have differing opinions about the city, but I don't care what anyone says: it's the best.

We had a looooooooong day today- lots of driving, and while it was truly beautiful to go through southern Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi, it was fairly boring until we got into Louisiana. Lots of the same rolling hills and small mountains. It was an easy drive, but very long! We left Nashville at 8:30 this morning, and having stopped once for gas in Alabama and once for lunch in Mississippi, we arrived in NOLA at 6.

We're staying at a gorgeous hotel on Tchoupitoulas Street in the Central Business District, and we walked about four blocks for dinner tonight based on a recommendation from my cousin Kevin- Cochon. It was honestly one of the best meals I've ever had- my dad and I were so happy! We sat at the back bar and watched the chefs prepare the food as we waited, and it was all incredible! I had a cocktail called "The Swinekiller," which was gin, rhubarb bitters, and limeade. It was so refreshing on such a hot day! I had oven roasted Oysters as a small plate, and even tried (and liked!) the house-made pate that was brought as an amuse-bouche between courses. I had the Lousiana cochon for my entree, which was a great pork dish with "cracklins" turnips and pickled peaches. For dessert, a delicious banana pudding-- do I ever have to leave this place? Weight watchers be damned!

We rolled back to the hotel and positively crashed- We're exhausted but very happy to be here and are looking forward to our day of touring the city tomorrow! Pictures to come, I'm way too tired to deal with Google+ instant uploads tonight, sorry!

PS- Being here is so wonderful, but I desperately miss my teammates from my NOLA immersion trips from 2010 and earlier this year in January. I keep thinking of you all with every step I take! Expect lots of texts tomorrow :)