Thursday, May 6, 2010

In Love with Long Island

Last Nov. after a grueling Sept and October travel schedule, I was assigned a last minute trip to Long Island. To say I was bummed was an understatement. What I wanted to do more than anything was stay at home and never leave, but it is called work, not do whatever you want whenever you want. I dragged my sorry self to Long Island and found that it is my favorite place to train.

Long Island is like an alternate universe resting next to "Real New York." The city signs are written differently than in the rest of the state. For example I drive past a town called Hicksville. (I didn't make that up.) The sign welcoming me to the town should read Hicksville, NY, but it says Hicksville, LI. Its like Long Island has become its own state.

No mater how many times I visit the accent is still funny. One of the teachers asked me, "Would you like me to get you a cup of cawffee, Dawling? The stuff in the lounge is mashugana." I giggled and started to say, "You sound just like coffee talk, with Mike Myers." But I overheard the rest of the teachers talk about dawgs and daughters, and I realized that this is the way that they sound.

The funny thing about going to LI, is I'm the one with the accent. I tried to get a cab to pick me at 99 Shaw Ave, after repeating Shaw several times to the operator, I gave up and spelled Shaw. When she repeated it back to me it sounded like "Shore" Ave.

The very best part of LI is the food. It has ruined me for all other pizza. I know longer can eat pizza outside of NY, or LI.

Next week, I'm off to AZ for a team meeting with all the other Literacy Specialists. We'll discuss our new organizational system. I'm hoping that I will still be assigned my LI schools, as I just said my first "Forget about it," yesterday and I don't want to lose my new accent.

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