432.25 Hrs.

Since I have been unable to post for quite a few days, let me relate to you whatever I can remember of this past week.

On Tuesday, the day started out with the first grade intervention group, the third grade small group, and the first grade small group that will be at the beginning of every day I spend at R. R. Moton. After that, I helped out in the library from 11:00 to 11:30 since BBL has not yet started. From the library, I immediately went to teach my fourth grade intervention group. On Tuesdays as on every other day of the week, I will be running a fifth grade intervention from 1:00 to 1:30, but that will not start until Monday. The last group I had of the day was a third grade intervention group from 2:00 until 2:30. After the students were dismissed for the day, J. A. ran as usual.

On Wednesday, my schedule was more condensed since the children get out of school an hour early on Wednesdays. My three groups in the morning were followed by a BBL section, my fourth grade intervention group, my third grade intervention group, and another BBL section with only a few short breaks in between. Because of the shortened school day, J. A. also was released an hour early, so my CY group took a bus three miles south to visit another school that corps members are stationed at.

Thursday was picture day and the day before Halloween, so the students were crazier than I have ever seen them before. I had a hard time controlling the students in any of my groups, and a lot of the day was spent by the teachers yelling at children to respect me more. It didn't feel very good to think that I couldn't control my students on my own, but I guess everyone needs a little help every once in a while. On Thursdays, my schedule runs as usual and without any BBL sections. On this past Thursday, however, I left the school at 1:00 in order to travel to Overtown to help out with the Halloween dance at the Overtown Youth Center. I was a bit nervous to be traveling there on my own since Overtown is the worst part of Miami, but everything turned out just fine. The Halloween dance was fun, and I even learned a few new dance moves from the kids I was chaperoning! The dance lasted until 7:00 that evening.

Yesterday, instead of having LDD at the City Year office, we met at the African American Cultural Arts Center in the Overtown/Liberty City area. For most of the day, we split into groups to complete various service projects; I got to paint some sewing tables for the drama and costume department there. The tables turned out beautifully. I painted a butterfly on my table, and some of the other has stars, and mountain landscape, and other such designs painted on them. The good part of the day was that we got to go home at 3:30! As far as yesterday evening, I was sick with a migraine and went to sleep early. I don't even know if we had any trick-or-treaters.

Today, I slept in until noon, and the only thing I have done so far is my laundry. I don't have any plans besides that for today, other than to relax.

-Aly