Skip to main content

TFA Begins and other Happenings

Image
By
I took off from Colorado Springs and headed to Tulsa for a big adventure. This week was "Induction" where just the TFA corps members who will be Tulsa met together and had a series of meetings and discussion over a few days. I am learning a lot about Tulsa's community and history.

Yes - this is real. I took this pic in the backyard of Kassie's Uncle's house
which is about 40 minutes North of Tulsa. 

I arrived Tuesday morning and checked into a dorm room. My roommate is from Ohio and is incredibly  kind and considerate. He too is a trombone player. This is my room as I first entered it. You can see my desk by the window.


Many of the things we did this week were out in the community of Tulsa. I have been learning about some of the events of the past, and how that has impacted Tulsa's identity and progression. Below are some pics I took of the area near the Tower of Reconciliation which marks the spot where some of the worst part of the 1921 Tulsa Race Riots took place. This is an amazing and horrible moment in the history of our country, and few history books mention it. 

This was my favorite part of this three-fold sculpture.
There was also "Hostility" and "Humiliation" 



University of Tulsa is really nice. I feel very grateful to be here on such a beautiful campus, not to mention being with wonderful folks. 

My group of 7 or so I did everything with this week...

The city itself is pretty great. It is large ish looking but doesn't feel crowded. One evening we went out into the city in smaller groups and had dinner with TFA alums at their apartments. This was taken from the roof of where we were eating.


It is a beautiful city with complex and compelling stories. I am excited and a little nervous to be here but  I know this is where I need to be right now. I just found out I will be working with the 1st graders of Hamilton Elementary during the summer. I still do not know what grade or school I will be with starting in the fall, but for now it looks like I will be with some of the littlest people!


Kassie is doing really well and I am hoping she will upload some pics/thoughts of what she has been doing in CO. We chat quite a bit and look forward to reuniting in a few weeks as we welcome our son into this crazy world. 



Comments

  1. LucyJune 9, 2013 at 6:54 PM

    Looks amazing, Grey! Can't wait for your grand adventures!

    ReplyDelete
  2. David WilliamsJune 9, 2013 at 9:15 PM

    Thanks for the news and pics! You will be great this summer with the young'ns

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hinckley's Two Month Update

By
I can't believe it has only been two months since Hinckley joined our family! It feels like a lot longer than that and he is growing so big way too fast! At his two month check-up today, he weighed 13 lb 12 oz and was 26 1/4 inches long. Apparently he is so tall that he is off the medical charts for his age. Hinckley is such a happy, easy-going baby. He smiles, laughs, and coos a lot. Having him in our family is so fun because he helps us realize the joy of everything once again. He smiles at bright colors or new sounds, enjoys kisses and cuddling, and squeals in delight at seeing nature when we take walks. Yesterday at church it was like he had a rubber neck; for about five minutes he just kept turning back and forth to take it all in--the sights, sounds, and smells. Today he had to get three shots at the doctor's office and even that didn't phase him for long. Oh he screamed and his face got redder than I have ever seen it. I held him and fed him afterwards and then ...
2 comments
Read more

So begins our stay in DC

By
I will try to keep a fairly good record of our exploits and adventures here in the Nation's capital. It is exciting and I am particularly happy about the amazing opportunities there are for pictures! Our trip began at the bus stop outside of the Barlow Center. I took an exterior shot of the Center - the top 2.5 windows on the right are ours. Once on the bus we went past some of the "Occupy" folk which was interesting. And then we came to our stop just outside of Union Station (where I will also be getting off to work at the FJC). Our first grand site was the Capital. So here we are. Washington DC is very different for both Kass and I, but we are finding a way to call it home as quickly as we can. Our first full day in DC consisted of going to Safeway on the bus, eating a modest lunch, and then going to the the Mall for the second time. We began at the capital building and headed towards the Lincoln Memorial (2 miles) before walking home another 2 miles or so. Our first st...
5 comments
Read more

Dishes

By
It is that time of day when the house is quiet, the table is half covered in pots, pans, and tuber ware with food scattered across. The car isn’t in the garage and the dog lies sleeping on the blue blanket. The sun lies somewhere back there, behind the cloud over those mountains. It makes some nice gold colors on the rocky face of the mountains outside of the window. I guess it is so nice because at this time of year there is a lot of plants and flowers in the back yard so the gold makes it seem sort of dreamlike. Yeah, I’ll do em I guess. Call it being nice or being bored. Does it matter? Approaching the sink I am nipped by the denting smell. The eggshells, scraps of mango, carrot peel, and chunks of tofu drip in my fingers. Oh yes, the trash is under the sink these days. Drip once, drip twice on the floor. The water in the frying pan trembles, shaking the crusty flakes of burnt egg. Yogurt and peanu...
7 comments
Read more