Three Down, Two to Go

Christmas parties, that is.  Apparently the Agency just becomes a Christmas machine in December, and being in multiple programs only magnifies this effect.  My favorite thus far definitely Breakfast with Santa.  The senior class of a private school in the Bronx hosted 90 or so of our kids for breakfast, crafts, candy, games, and Santa (complete with presents).  Best part:  there were so many of their kids there, I was more or less responsible for nothing other than getting the kids to and from.  Which is kind of like a present for me. (picture: walking across the Brooklyn Bridge after dark)

On top of the Christmas parties, tutoring has been ending, which means that (besides the tutoring Christmas party) I’ve said my goodbye to my tutees until after Christmas.  In the interim, I’ll be working on getting materials ready for a second round of assessments for January.  The first time around, the results I got back from my tutors were a mess.  If you’ve never waded through educational testing, congratulations.  Keep it that way.  If you have, imagine trying to explain the procedure of a test to 2-4 laypersons in 10 minutes.  This time around, since the results will actually get reported to higher ups at the Agency, I’ll adjust my instructions to try to get more consistent results.

On the more general side, I’m starting to get used to being the only person non-Hispanic person in a room , going grocery shopping regularly for real food, and figuring out how to get from one place to another via trains that primarily run north-south despite a preponderance of evidence indicating people, occasionally, travel from east to west.  I am not yet used to checking the weather before I leave the house (at Wartburg, it didn’t matter if I was a little off between skywalks and random 20 minute breaks where I could run home to adjust).  I assume that coming back after Christmas will reinforce the fact that this is NOT like studying abroad (my other experience living in a large city) where I came back after 4 months to a dorm room, meal plan, classes, homework, and life as usual, which will keep the adjustment process going.  It seems like just knowing that I have three times as long here means I’m taking extra time to get situated. (picture above: the tree moments after being lit for the first time)

And in continuation of my very brief series Get to Know a Christmas Album, I’d like to bring you the Vinyl Edition.  That’s right, Sing Along with Mitch Christmas. I’m not sure how widespread the influence of Mitch was, but he made albums with themes including commonly-known songs and tear-out lyric sheets so everyone can sing along.  As I recall, this is the album I learned to use the record player to, although I got most of my practice on children’s books accompanied by 45s at my grandparents’ house. (picture at left: the inside of Radio City from the top level)

Honorable Mention:  The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late) by Alvin and the Chipmunks.  I’m not actually a big fan of the Chipmunks in general, mostly because of how grating the music is, BUT this is Get to Know a Christmas Album Vinyl Edition.  The thing about record players, unlike tape, CD, or mp3 players, is that, while they require more work of the listener, they also allow more options, like speed.  I once read somewhere that the Chipmunks music was recorded at normal speed then just manipulated on the record to sound like it was being played really really fast, so I decided to slow it down.   There’s something about the enunciation that is just a little too entertaining.    (the picture:  some of the kids played with my camera while waiting for their moms on Saturday)