Grocery Shopping in the City

For the first 4 weeks of living in NYC, Richard and I ate out for every meal. Yes, EVERY meal. We showed up here with very little from our former lives, which meant that we had no pots or pans, hence the reason I wasn't cooking. Trust me, eating out all the time sounded appealing to me at first. Not only is it expensive to live this way, but I learned that you tire of it quickly. It has been quite hot in NY lately, and after long days of working neither of us have wanted to wait in long lines to get food, nor have we wanted to get back onto a subway or bus to travel to get food. That has left us eating at places within easy walking distance from the apartment. Gotham West Market is only a few blocks away and has several restaurants under one roof. The prices are fair and the food is great. Still, it would be nice to eat some familiar (comfort) foods from time to time.

Last week I received a sale flyer from Macy's in which I found a 12-piece pot, pan, and utensil set on sale. This would be perfect since I need practically everything for the kitchen. I showed up without even a can opener, so Richard has been using a utensil on his Leatherman to open cans for me. I purchased the set and now that I have pots and pans, I'm in the mood to cook. This means that I need groceries. There's an upscale market on my block where I've purchased last minute items, but I haven't considered buying regular groceries there because I assume the prices will be higher because of the convenient location (based on my experience with the $103 mani/pedi, but that's a story for another time). There is a Food Emporium a few blocks away, which is great for picking up a few items on the way home from work, but what about when you need more than a couple bags? I suppose I could hail a cab to get all my grocery bags home, but I'm a stubborn, do-it-myself type of person. I tried buying a larger supply of groceries once, and it was heck lugging all of it home. I used a bag I bought from Food Lion in Charlotte. I did have several of these bags, but I gave the others to Alli before we moved, and I just kept one.

One day during training, my teammate asked if I had tried Fresh Direct. It is a grocery delivery service. You can order everything you need online, including produce, paper items, and many pre-made and ready-to-eat meals, and they deliver to your home or office for a mere $5.99 delivery charge. When you place your order, you choose a 2 hour window of time in which your delivery will arrive. Place an order by midnight one day, and your groceries will arrive the next day, at the time you have chosen.They keep your previous orders on file so you can easily re-order things you use regularly. Everything comes in a box (or several boxes). Cold items come in a separate box.  The great thing about my apartment building is that the delivery comes directly to my door, not just to the concierge desk downstairs! To me, that is worth $5.99! Last night we tried mini Shepard pies which were fantastic! I ordered a new fruit I wanted to try -- a plumogranate -- a cross between a plum and a pomegranate. Fresh Direct listed the price per pound of the fruit, but I didn't know what I would get by choosing "1" ( a pound of them or 1 piece of fruit), but learned that I only ordered 1 single piece of fruit. Oh, well. I will know next time.

Familiar Faces

I am a very lucky lady! One of my sweet students from last school year (in Charlotte) is visiting New York with her family and they contacted me about getting together while they're in town. McKenna is one of those super smart students who is constantly seeking knowledge -- a dream student! She was consistently the first student to arrive each morning, so she was frequently my helper in getting the classroom set up for the day. I was lucky to only have 12 students, many of whom were as enthusiastic as McKenna.  The students had been together since preschool, so they were a tight group whose parents are friends, as well. When I first joined the school, I worried that it be hard to meld with them since I was the outsider. That was far from the truth. The students and their families welcomed me with open hearts and open arms. I had the best school year I've ever had! It was difficult to say goodbye at the end of the year, knowing I wouldn't be able to spend my days with those sweet souls. We said goodbye, with intentions of staying in contact, but we all know how hard it is to maintain any type of relationship long distance. When McKenna's mom sent me a text message about getting together, I was thrilled.

I wanted McKenna and her family to see my neighborhood, so I asked them to meet me at Underwest Donuts. McKenna follows my blog and had read my review of Underwest, so she would get to experience one of my favorite places. Her mom told me that they drove past Underwest on the way to their hotel -- what are the odds?! McKenna's dad bought a dozen assorted donuts for all of us to share, then we went across the street, to the Hudson River Walkway, to eat. We had a nice visit, with McKenna catching me up on her summer activities thus far, including a week-long science camp. We didn't eat all the donuts, and her dad said they would send them home with me. Unfortunately, the wind blew the boxes to the ground and the remaining donuts fell out! NOoo..... I took her family to my apartment building so they could see the view of the city. I intended to take them to the 32nd floor terrace, but went to the wrong elevator bank (the one that only goes up to the 31st floor), so I decided on the spot to walk them down my hallway. As we approached my door I thought, what the heck, let's just show them the apartment while we're here. I knocked on the door to my apartment and Richard opened it to find the 5 of us standing there. (I knew he was already awake and dressed, so I hoped it would be alright.) I showed them around our apartment, which didn't take long since it's so small, then proceeded to the other elevators to get to the terrace. I was so happy to be able to share the amazing views with them, but especially happy that a former student would want to visit her teacher. It was a very special visit for me. Thanks for visiting, sweet girl!

Woo hoo! Summer break starts today!

I have been in New York for 5 weeks now. For the past 4 weeks, I've been in training for my new job. Today was the last day of training until it continues in last August. I have 4 solid weeks to hang out! Last night, Richard and I went to a free outdoor showing of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It was held on top of the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier. Astrophysicist Dr. Steve B. Howell introduced the film by giving some interesting information about "close encounters" and little known facts about the movie. I've gotta say that I've not been a huge fan of the movie, although I've of course heard of it and have seen bits and pieces as Richard (the true sci fi buff of the family) has been watching it. Apparently scientists classify "close encounters"by something called the Hynek system. Close encounters of the first kind refer to UFO sightings in general, such as distant lights in the sky. Encounters of the second kind include those in which UFOs interact with the environment, such as electrical interruptions or when crop circles are burned into a field. Encounters of the third kind include interaction with an alien. I never knew that! It was a cool experience and I had the opportunity to take photos of the aircraft collection while atop the carrier. I have always loved the F-16 because I used to work at General Dynamics in Fort Worth, where they were manufactured.

F-16 Fighting Falcon

Grumman A-6E Intruder

Richard, saving my seat.

Already Working

I am so proud and thankful to already be working at my new job. The New American Academy /PS 770 (TNAA) is a public school that has a very special relationship with the NY Dept. of Education and the United Federation of Teachers (UFT). The school works with and receives support from the UFT, but has the ability to let employees go indiscriminately, which is not the case for schools under the umbrella of the union. TNAA also pays their teachers 38% more than the union salary rates. They believe that teacher quality is the best determinant of students success, and therefore provide top quality professional development. They also believe that the best way for teachers to improve is through constant observation of teaching, followed by reflection. The teachers serve as a community of mentors for one another. Teaching teams are comprised of four teachers: the master teacher, who oversees all instruction and serves to liaise with the headmaster; the partner teacher, the apprentice and the associate teacher. The partner, apprentice, and associate teachers divide the 60 or so students in the grade level into three "houses," which would be similar to homeroom teachers in a typical school. All content-area instruction is given in homogeneous groups or "universities." Since my team and I will be teaching kindergarten, we will have to get to know our students before dividing them into universities. The TNAA model is designed such that teachers loop with their students from grade to grade, so we would be with the same group of students until they graduate from fifth grade, and then we would begin teaching kindergarten again. According to one staff member, the school is considering looping in smaller chunks, such as K-2nd grade and 3rd-5th grades.

I have completed the first of five weeks of professional development that I will receive this summer. The staff from the three TNAA schools met each day last week, in the UFT office in Brooklyn, for training in school culture as well as learning about the cultures of our students. We were given five paperback books, two of which we read during the week. We were also required to read the doctoral dissertation of the founder, in order to gain a better understanding of the mission and purpose of the school. New employees were required to write an essay of our personal understanding of the dissertation and an essay based on one of the books, which we will hand in to be read by the founder.

Tomorrow, the new staff members and those who have been promoted to higher levels of responsibility will take a chartered bus to Harvard University, for a week of training in interpersonal skills. Before going, we each had to take a Myers-Briggs personality test. Teachers on grade level teams will learn about the 16 personality types and identify the personality types represented on their teams in order to better understand and appreciate how the others think and behave.

Below is a photo I took from the window on the 25th floor of the UFT building in Brooklyn. You will see many buildings in the distance, but I was trying to focus on the teal colored roof of one of the closer buildings. It is the playground of a school. Never having taught in a large city, I never considered the placement of a playground. What I find appealing about a rooftop playground is that teachers never have to deal with a students running into the street to chase a ball. Interesting!