Chi-town

So, I have officially moved to Chicago, Chi-town, the "Windy City," whatever you want to call it. And I can confirm that it does in fact live up to it's cold, windy reputation. I guess the residents here put up with the cold months of winter, for all that Chicago offers in the spring and summer.



My first two weeks have been spent applying for jobs, meeting all of Dan's friends, accepting the fact that I don't have any of my own, decorating the apartment with free things from alleyways and cheap things from Craigslist and surviving the un-shoveled streets while managing to avoid frost bitten toes. All in all, a success.

I am here until May when I depart with my friend Vikki on a one-month long bike trip. My goal until then is to use Craigslist to create a tutoring empire and work as many part-time jobs as possible, so that I don't feel guilty about leaving in a few months time.

Getting my first part-time job here seemed a bit too easy. By day two, I was at my first day of training to become a tutor for Revolution Prep, a company offering ACT and SAT test preparation classes all throughout the country. I had informed the coordinator while interviewing that I had never taken the ACT, since on the east coast the SAT is much more common. She eased my nerves and convinced me that even without taking the test, I would be able to teach a test prep class.

She assigned me to Gage Park High School, a high school on the south side of Chicago, where they were offering an ACT prep class for free, to underprivileged students who otherwise would have been unable to afford it.

I accepted.

I arrived to Gage Park High School for my first day of class a bit early, unsure of what to expect. As I placed my bag onto the moving scanning machine and walked through the metal detector, it hit me...I was in the ghetto.

I found my way to my classroom and introduced myself to the teacher who would be monitoring the class while I taught. I wrote my name on the board and took my place at the podium to wait for the students to arrive. Slowly, the students began to pile in. With iPods in their ears, cell phones in their hands and pants sweeping the floor, about forty students took their seats.

Here goes nothing.

Teacher: "Everyone sit down. This is Miss Gantenhammer, she is going to be taking over the class on Mondays and Wednesdays from now through April."

Students: "Woah, that's a long name."

Me: "You can call me Miss G."

Teacher: "No you can't, you can call her Miss Gantenhammer, because that is her name and you are old enough to say it."

Not off to a great start.

The remainder of the class time was spent introducing the students to the ACT, and explaining the importance of the exam if they plan to attend college. Most of my comments were met with blank stares, as the students threw things at one another and left the room to get water and returned with chips. Once in a while their teacher would cut me off to discipline the students.

Teacher: "Jamal, can you repeat what I just said?"

Jamal: "Hell yeah I can. Can you repeat what I just said?"

Teacher: "It's important for you all to go to college."

Student: "Damn right, I gotta support my child."

On Wednesday, we start Science review. It's going to be an interesting three months...