Columbia, Bank Street, and Regulations

It's been an exciting week!

My mom came to visit me on Tuesday, which was absolutely lovely. She and I made an air-mattress fit into my tiny little room, and we went grocery shopping on Wednesday. We had dinner that night, which has lasted me just about all week. (Of course now I'm resorting to coffee and snacks.)
New York seems to trap all of its heat and store it in the subway, but today it's finally cooling down.

On Thursday I saw Mike & Ruthy, two fantastic folk-rockers who now have a young toddler. They played in a tiny little venue somewhere in the vicinity of 4th ave. I squeezed in with all of these young couples and ordered my one-drink minimum. Their new album comes out at the end of the month, and I can't wait!

Congestion (read: traffic) is unfortunate, but it seems to be getting better once I learn to avoid peak hours. I finally had a breakthrough in navigating the subways: I can take an express train that cuts about 20 minutes out of my commute. Unfortunately, my Metro card stopped working, and I don't know if I'll be reimbursed for the days I've lost. It may be gone forever.

Two of my classes at Bank Street overlap quite a bit. They even have the same article on their syllabi. Both require me to interview parents and subjects who are different from me socioeconomically and culturally. I'm really enjoying my experiences with interviewing people about their children. Some parents are very invested and bring a sense of academic learning right into their homes. One mother gives her children homework of her own, and if they don't come home with work assigned by their teacher, the mother will make them write a reflective essay. A father I interviewed says he teaches his children math at home.

Erev Yom Kippur is tomorrow night. I will probably be fasting, which shouldn't be a problem this year. I am ecstatic about coming to Wes next week! Oh boy. If I can work it out with Vicky Zwelling, I might be able to give an individual info session on my own on Friday. This also means I'd get reimbursed for my travel expenses....!!!

Anyhow, maybe I should get back to my academic pursuits, seeing as I am in the Columbia library with a guest pass laboriously acquired after Jack so generously checked me in as his guest. Tonight there will be food and a rush event at the Columbia Alpha Delt, so I will most definitely be mooching off of and socializing with my siblings.

More updates about the teaching later!