New job! (most likely)

Oh hey!

As the title suggests, I've got a new job, or rather, a new opportunity/path to a new job. I interviewed and was selected to become a teaching fellow with teachNOLA. (www.teachnola.org) I will be training for the next month and then hopefully by January 20th (or so) I will be in front of a classroom of elementary age kids. Pretty crazy, but pretty exciting!

What thrills me the most about all of this is that I am finally able to really start what I moved here to do, which is help rebuild. I don't know how many of you visited New Orleans before Katrina, but even for the passive visitor, like I always was before the storm, how the city has changed is clear beyond obvious physical damages. Even still, I know Katrina was a devastating storm and that it takes time to rebuild, but I am still surprised when I see decaying and unoccupied buildings or empty lots. It's easy to forget how long it takes to recover from a storm like Katrina, especially when you come from a place (Austin) that has a seriously active volunteer community and strong interest in the well-being of its residents. That's not to say that their isn't a disinterest in the well-being of residents of New Orleans, but that it is a different sort of interest than in Austin, I think. Furthermore, I discovered pretty quickly how decades (and probably longer) of racial favoritism and corrupt politics have left rather large portions of New Orleanians in the dust...or underwater...too soon?? (as HBW would say)

Diatribes aside...what's most important for people to realize is that New Orleans has a huge potential to become great. People care about this city and that is also something I've learned (big time) since moving here. The passion of people from New Orleans about being from New Orleans is incredible. And I thought I was proud to be a Texan(!)...

There are things that are maybe inherent to the New Orleans attitude that could stand to be adjusted in order to facilitate a faster recovery effort (for example: "we can do it tomorrow, let's party today" or "it's always been this way and it will always be this way" or "who is going to fix this for me?"). But I think that these attitudes are shifting too, or well, being influenced positively by the influx of non-New Orleanians moving to the city. And the other side of this, I feel like I have definitely been positively influenced by moving here too. I can't see myself leaving for a long time. I rather like it here.

Anyway, this became convoluted really quickly. Basically what I wanted to say was that I'm on the path to a new job and I'm excited to be helping, or rather, helping more. I want New Orleans to be great. I want kids to know that they are capable and intelligent. I want people to believe in public education. I guess I want a lot of things, but I see them as being completely possible and I think that's good. You gotta have hope, right? I think I heard some guy say that...

Oh and here's a picture of my house...