In case you missed A Job History Part 2
At the end of the five-week training Institute, we had one final event on a Saturday morning in late July. All corps members came together one final time before heading off to our assigned regions. Some corps members were heading off to regions where classes had already started. I was one of the lucky ones who had a week to prepare before classes would begin.
Teach for America allowed us to submit our preferences for where we wanted to teach. As I recall, my first choice was Houston, Texas, which I selected when I filled out the application. I had never been to Texas, but I figured that I would get the lay of the land during the Institute and have an easy transition. Once I got to Houston in the middle of the summer, however, I questioned my choice. Oppressive heat and humidity made it very unpleasant. Ultimately, we were placed where they thought was the best fit. I and about thirty-five other corps members were placed in South Phoenix.
In my 1984 Toyota Celica GTS, I drove 1,174 miles on the I-10 freeway that connects Houston to Phoenix. I had a driving partner named Jim who was my roommate at the Institute. He had a purple Ford Escort, which still holds the record for greatest A/C system in any car I've been in.
San Antonio is about three hours from Houston and made a good pitstop for lunch. As I recall, we stopped off at Burger King for a quick bite before getting back on the road. I think our plan was to make it all the way to El Paso, which would have been a full day of driving. We were not destined to make it to El Paso that Saturday. In fact, we barely made it three hours outside of San Antonio.
Deep in the heart of Texas, my dashboard was suddenly lit up with all the warning lights. As I took the nearest exit to pull off from the freeway, I could smell coolant. I turned right on the road from the exit ramp and parked on the shoulder. I could see steam coming out from under the hood. Jim parked behind me, got out of "the purple bug" and walked up to my door. I opened my door, and before he could ask me what was going on, I said, "We've got a problem." We most certainly did.
At the end of the five-week training Institute, we had one final event on a Saturday morning in late July. All corps members came together one final time before heading off to our assigned regions. Some corps members were heading off to regions where classes had already started. I was one of the lucky ones who had a week to prepare before classes would begin.
Teach for America allowed us to submit our preferences for where we wanted to teach. As I recall, my first choice was Houston, Texas, which I selected when I filled out the application. I had never been to Texas, but I figured that I would get the lay of the land during the Institute and have an easy transition. Once I got to Houston in the middle of the summer, however, I questioned my choice. Oppressive heat and humidity made it very unpleasant. Ultimately, we were placed where they thought was the best fit. I and about thirty-five other corps members were placed in South Phoenix.
In my 1984 Toyota Celica GTS, I drove 1,174 miles on the I-10 freeway that connects Houston to Phoenix. I had a driving partner named Jim who was my roommate at the Institute. He had a purple Ford Escort, which still holds the record for greatest A/C system in any car I've been in.
San Antonio is about three hours from Houston and made a good pitstop for lunch. As I recall, we stopped off at Burger King for a quick bite before getting back on the road. I think our plan was to make it all the way to El Paso, which would have been a full day of driving. We were not destined to make it to El Paso that Saturday. In fact, we barely made it three hours outside of San Antonio.
Deep in the heart of Texas, my dashboard was suddenly lit up with all the warning lights. As I took the nearest exit to pull off from the freeway, I could smell coolant. I turned right on the road from the exit ramp and parked on the shoulder. I could see steam coming out from under the hood. Jim parked behind me, got out of "the purple bug" and walked up to my door. I opened my door, and before he could ask me what was going on, I said, "We've got a problem." We most certainly did.
