Delta Bound

Ever since I accepted my position with Teach for America, people have given me sad, pitying looks whenever I mentioned going to the Mississippi Delta for the summer. While I had my own reservations about going to a very rural area when I've never spent much time outside of the city, I was sure I'd be fine. Sure, its hot in the Delta. But I can handle heat. Ok, its humid there. But I went to school in DC, a city that was literally built on top of a swamp. Yes, it is very rural. But hey, there are 14,000 people in Cleveland and they need to live somewhere, right? 

So, I mentally prepared myself for a summer similar to DC in weather and somewhat like a movie in terms of the town dynamics. I had this vision in my head, fueled by 22 years of watching films like Sweet Home Alabama, that Cleveland would be some sort of picturesque archetype of small town America. It would have one main street that would have a couple of restaurants, a bar or two and a local general store. Off of the main street, there would be 10 or 12 blocks of houses and a small school. The people would all know each other and wave as they drove past. The town would be small, but I would find it quaint and charming and by the end of my five weeks, I'd have fallen in love with the area. I could not have been more wrong.

The word rural does not accurately describe the town of Cleveland. The word that should be used is isolated. There's nothing here. I mean nothing. Correction, there is a Walmart. Liz and I went this afternoon to get a few things and she was having some kind of panic attack about the next five weeks and being in the middle of nowhere. She grew up on a farm, in the middle of nowhere and she thinks this is bad. And it is more ungodly hot than I could have ever imagined. DC doesn't hold a candle to this place. Between the work, the strict eating schedule and the heat/constant sweating, we're all going to lose 15 lbs. I don't know how people live here with this heat all year.

All these things aside, I'm trying to stay optimistic about the next five weeks. I've very hesitant about the work load, especially after seeing the enormous manual that they handed us at check in today. B.B. King is going to be here next week and we have the opportunity to see him for only $20. Thats definitely something I would never have the chance to do anywhere else. Plus, its only five weeks. I'm going to take it one day at a time, learn as much as I can and I'm sure it will go by much faster than I ever imagined it would. Hopefully I won't have some kind of nervous breakdown before then, because right now I feel like it is a distinct possibility.