My first official week

So this week marked my "official" start of my graduate program (even though I already completed one course - which I am so happy I did, 6 classes would have been unmanageable).

Monday and Tuesday consisted of orientation for my field placement. As part of my program, the school places you in an area of interest and you must complete 480 working hours in that field. I have been placed at the Widener Charter School and will be working exclusively with 7th graders. Monday was extremely overwhelming, mainly because we were receiving loads of information without much detail. I was also stressed out because my debit card number had been stolen before I moved, and due to poor customer service from State Farm, I still had not received my replacement card. Due to this, I am unable to withdraw cash, which I needed in order to mail out a child abuse clearance, and receive my new PA license to register my car. The child abuse clearance can take up to 14 days to process, and until that comes in, I cannot work with the students at the Charter School.

On Tuesday we had a training session from 9am-4pm on a program called "Incredible Years". It is a program that is designed for Kindergarten and 1st grade students with behavioral and social difficulties. It was very interesting, but since I will not be working with that age group, it was not applicable to majority of the group. We also found out more about what we will be doing in the school - for my age group, I will be facilitating one-on-one sessions with students that myself, and the school staff believe could benefit from counseling. There is also a possibility of forming groups and holding sessions, but that is still being worked out. I thought I would be working alongside someone that is a practicing Social Worker for the school, but that is not the case. I will be the practicing Social Worker for the 7th graders, and I have two supervisors I can refer to. This is very scary and exciting. I am excited about getting a ton of experience, but I am also learning all of this myself. I have no background in social work, so I don't know the first thing about counseling anybody. I am confident in my supervisors and know I will receive a lot of support and guidance from them.
On Wednesday and Thursday I attended formal class. Wednesdays I have one class - Human Behavior and Development. My professor seems very laid back and has a lot of experience and knowledge in a variety of fields. She has done a lot of international work and coordinates annual overseas trips. Every Spring holiday she takes students to Thailand for 14 days. I am definitely looking into this for my elective, which doesn't occur until my 3rd year. It seems like a great trip, and I've always wanted to go there.

On Thursdays I have two classes - Field Practice and Social and Economic Justice. My field practice course provides and outlet for the students to discuss what they are doing in the field and how they can apply certain theories and knowledge to their work. Its going to be a great class and will help me greatly at the Charter school. My Social and Economic Justice class is taught by a very passionate teacher. She has a background in policy and makes learning about it very enjoyable.
I love that all of my teachers have a MSW and can relate to what we are going through as graduate students. They are very empathetic (and that might also come from them being social workers) and are willing to help us any way they can. I am very excited about all of my classes.
I took some pictures while on campus (its very tiny) but I wanted to show you all how beautiful it is:

Normally, I will be at the Charter school on Fridays (in addition to Monday and Tuesday), but school hasn't started for them yet so I have a long 4 day weekend. I have made friends with many people in my classes, but so far I only hang out with one person outside of school - and she went home for the weekend. I plan on exploring a bit, getting some laundry done, and reading for next weeks classes. I am definitely feeling lonely, but I am trying to keep myself busy so I don't dwell on it too much. Wish it were easier for me to come home or send you all here.
I also learned something new about living in PA - you cannot buy liquor in convenient stores or gas stations. I went to 4 different places last week trying to find some wine, and discovered that you can only purchase liquor at "wine and spirit" stores. Luckily, I found one 2 blocks from my house! They have a huge variety of wine brands and since I don't have a "favorite" brand I tend to pick the ones with cool names. I found a lot of funny names that I plan on trying soon - I settled on "Monkey Bay" a sauvignon blanc from New Zealand that is wonderful!

Mushu had to see what I was drinking of course but did not enjoy the smell. He quickly moved on to attempting to eat my food. What a crazy kitty he is.
I hope everyone has a fun Labor Day weekend - its supposed to rain here on Monday :( hope you all have good weather!

xoxo
Sam and Mushu

Exploring Media

Last week I finished up my first graduate class. I am so glad I decided to take it early - having one less thing to worry about this semester takes a lot of stress off my shoulders. I had a paper to complete and submitted it on Sunday. After it was finished I decided to walk through the town I live in and explore. Here is what I found:

Apparently I live in Tree City :)

After walking around, it is clear why Media is "Tree City"
Every street has trees - its absolutely gorgeous

The town also has a lot of churches - they all look different and are so beautiful. 

I ate at this diner with Mom, and it was amazing. I'll never get over how good the comfort food is on the East Coast

Confession: I am addicted to Dunkin Donuts. If I want it, I will walk - it helps me justify my consumption of coffee and glazed munchkins (which are donut holes - munchkins is a much cuter word)
 

 The beginning of State Street. This is the main downtown area that is one block from my apartment (my cross street is at the opposite end)

Quincy's - one of the more eclectic shops on the street. It has very funky and unique decorations for the home and garden. 

The restaurant at the end of the street is called House, and it is AMAZING! (As you can see, their brunch hours get crowded, but it is worth the wait to get in). I had a buffalo chicken panini with gorgonzola cheese and caramelized onions which was divine! (And only $8!! If this place existed in San Francisco it would easily be $12 and crowded with Hipsters) 

Planned Parenthood on State Street! Might try and volunteer or get a job here over the summer

This place is on my "next place to eat" list. The hot dog choices sound delicious - can't wait for Oktober fest

More trees - love the green!

A row of houses - the architecture here is beautiful

I found a park tucked away from the main street

I had a strong desire to explore, but I also watch a lot of Zombie movies and my imagination got the better of me so I decided to observe from a "safe" distance. 

 A cute apartment complex - heading back up State Steet

Another church on State Steet

Businesses and houses

The fanciest bank building I have ever seen

A bar/restaurant that I will need to check out

Although this type of pub seems much more appealing to me....

A cute wine bistro - very crowded for Sunday brunch and mimosas. 

Media - Everybody's Hometown :)

Trader Joes!

Made friends with a dog

A sushi bar

The trolly that runs through State street

I don't think they ever take down Santa and his reindeer

The church by my apartment

I am so happy I live here - its a great little town.


Love and miss you all!

My first week in PA

I made it safely! The plane ride was a breeze, I took some Dramamine to help with my recent nausea and it worked wonders. I was able to enjoy the plane ride and watch guilty pleasure reality TV. I tried not to sleep on the plane so when I finally arrived at my hotel I was exhausted. I feel asleep around 9pm and woke up before my alarm at 7:30am. Thankfully, the time change has been an easy adjustment.

My first week of class:

I left early for class and remembered that during my visit back in April that you need an ID card to get into each building. I decided to wait outside the main building in hopes that someone would walk by with a card to unlock the door. I met a fellow student and we chatted about the program and what to expect. As we were talking, another student walked up to the door and just opened it - no ID card necessary. I still went to get one during my lunch break, just in case.
My class consisted of 16 students, 2 of which are also in the dual program with me. For the duration of class, we were placed in small groups where we worked on group exercises. The class itself is very diverse, with each of us coming from a completely different background. I was also surprised at how many of us do not have a strong background in social work. It was nice having large group discussion since many people have worked in the social work field and were able to share their experiences with us. The class was extremely helpful and I already feel like I have created a strong base for the social work program. We learned a lot about social work practices in the 5 classes we had. It was also nice being able to meet people right away that I will be working with during the next three years.

While I was taking this class, I was staying at a hotel. My mom didn't get in until Wednesday night, so on Tuesday I planned on using my day off to search for apartments. Unfortunately, I woke up to this alert:

Since I did not have a car, public transportation became an issue (I was also without rain boots and and an umbrella). I stayed at the hotel and did a Craigslist search for apartments. I was having a hard time finding anything, and was pretty stressed about the lack of results. I did manage to set up two viewings - one studio apartment in Media (the town I originally wanted to live in) and Wilmington, DE.
During class on Wednesday, I received a call from a realtor at Media Real Estate saying that an apartment that had been on hold had become available and asked if I wanted to check it out. I left her a message confirming that I would love to see it, and I waited to hear back from her.
Mom got in late Wednesday night, and Thursday we set out to try and get a lot done. At noon we went to Media to see a studio apartment. When we walked in, we were in a studio that was slightly bigger than the closet at my moms house. It was so tiny and the fridge was smaller than the one at our hotel! Oh, and they were asking for $725 a month! Absolutely ridiculous. We then threw our apartment eggs into the Delaware basket and drove to check it out. Once again, I was immediately disappointed. We left an hour early to check out the surrounding area, and the apartment was clearly in the "wrong" side of town. There was no street parking, the houses were run down, and the only stores were the liquor stores on each block. I was so disheartened, and I hadn't heard back from the realtor about the other studio apartment.
On Friday, I had class all day, so my mom went out to look at apartments for me. She managed to get a hold of the realtor that called on Wednesday and at 10:30am I had an apartment! Even though I didn't get to see it, I trusted my moms judgement and had her set up the lease. We even got the keys that night so we were able to check out of the hotel on Saturday and start moving things in!
I absolutely love my apartment. It is in the town I wanted to live in, and only 2 blocks away from the main street. Some pictures of the town:

                                                                                                         

The middle picture was taking downtown - its one long street that has a ton of shops and restaurants. On Wednesdays from May-Sept, the shut down the street for an event called Dine with the Stars - restaurants expand out into the street and you eat outside. I plan on attending next Wednesday and I will be sure to post about it.

Since I was able to move in over the weekend, Mom and I were able to start furnishing. We took down the dimensions of the apartment and went on an Ikea run. First we had to exchange our small car for a much bigger on. Once we had the bigger car, we went on our mission.

We still ended up with two carts filled with furniture even though I am only living in a studio apartment. Even with the bigger car, we still had to make two trips. Luckily, the kitchen pantry I picked out had to be picked out by the staff and the wait time was over an hour. This gave us enough time to drop off the rest of the furniture and head back to Ikea. Packing the car took some extra skills, but we managed to do it :)

The weekend consisted of furniture building and a lot of shopping. Mom was such a great help and there is no way I would have been able to do much without her help. On her last day, Monday, she went and locked down a car for me. Toyota was having a clearance on the 2013 Corollas so we got one for a great deal! Its much easier having a car to get around, and I am so grateful my mom was able to help me figure out the best deal budget wise for me. Here's my new car (since my other cars were named after I Love Lucy characters, it was only appropriate that I name this one Fred)

Getting the keys!

Even though I had the apartment, my furniture, and a new car there was one more thing I needed......

I know that living in a new place was going to cause some loneliness, so I decided to rescue a cat from the local shelter. This little guy stole my heart! His name is Mushu and he is too cute for words. Even though he wakes me up early in the morning, I love having him in my home. There is nothing happier than coming home after a long day and having him bound toward me the second I open the door.
Now that my apartment is fully furnished here are some pictures!

My building - I am on the "second floor" (I am only up one small flight of stairs but there is a floor below me, which is sort of in the basement - their windows are at ground level)

My kitchen doorway, which is separated from the main room

Kitchen window and pantry that I built

My apartment, from the kitchen doorway

My apartment, from the front door

Study area and small hallway that leads to the bathroom (on the left) and two closets

The view from my window

I can't wait to get my boxes so that I can start decorating and making it feel more like home here. So far I am adjusting well and love where I'm living. I have this week off so I can run a lot of errands and work on my paper for the class I just had. My semester starts next week, and I will try and update weekly on my classes and adventures that I have. 

Miss and love you all!

Sam