Friendships with Fellows

One of the great things about this experience aside from the teaching and the courses is the friendships that are made along the way. I've only been here for a week, and already it feels like I have been working with everyone for months. This experience makes me remember why I want to be a teacher, and it helps me to remember that there are so many people passionate about working in an area that is constantly changing and adapting to new norms. I'm so excited to continue working in Chicago and continue to meet new people along the way. I could not have asked for a better group of coworkers. I am so happy with my cohort, and I am confident that when we leave this program, we will have experiences that will stay with us throughout our teaching careers. I cannot believe how fast time flies, and working with such great people makes the long days and meetings exciting and engaging. I am so grateful to be part of such an incredible organization, and I am happy that I have had the privilege of working with such an awesome group!

This morning, we played kickball with all of the other neighborhoods and staff. This was a really cool bonding experience, and it gave us all a chance to work with one another outside of the classes and professional experience. The game was all in good fun, and for a while, I forgot about all the negativity that surrounds many of the Chicago neighborhoods. For those few hours, we were just playing kickball at the park, we weren't in a "dangerous" neighborhood, we weren't uncomfortable. The park itself was really nice, having such vast amounts of green space in the city is not the most common, and the park was filled with walkers, runners, bikers; the happy faces just showed me that there is so much more to this city than people realize. So often, when people hear the term Chicago, they think of downtown and the loop area, people don't always visualize the communities or neighborhoods that make up the city. This experience has showed me there are so many great areas of the city I would have never known existed today had I not been given this opportunity. Our kickball game was in Little Village, predominately hispanic community. This area was filled with beautiful artwork, local shops, and vendors throughout the streets. I loved how welcoming everything appeared to be, and this part of Chicago is something I would never have ventured off to on any other typical day. I think in order to truly understand Chicago culture, it is important to be well informed about the different demographics and neighborhoods that exist. Visiting different neighborhoods and schools has given me the opportunity to see some of the character that exists in the city, and I never would have imagined the city is as diverse as it is. Stepping outside my comfort zone has given me the chance to see what Chicago truly has to offer, and I have a much better idea of what my teaching experience will look like.