The Touring Teacher

Passionate Educator. Spontaneous Traveler. 

[sisterslocdinlove]

10 Week Check in From Jéri

Hey Everyone! I just wanted to do a quick checkin in since I’m about halfway behind my sisters as a I reach the 10 week mark. I’m loving the journey more and more each day. Everything has been going pretty well. I did have some dry/itchy scalp issues around week 6 but a nice scalp massage with tea tree oil helped. I have been getting my hair retwisted about every 3 weeks. I normally keep the style in for about 2 weeks then let my hair down for the last week before another retwist. The hardest thing not to do is to play with my hair when it’s not in a style. I love feeling how my locs have changed and grown. This week is the week that my hair is down, so I’m going to try my best to leave it along until Sunday. Wish me luck. Here are some pics since I last updated.

One month loc’d

Two months loc’d

Me and Cam!

[sisterslocdinlove]

Week 15….month 3 week 3 however you may say this journey has begun and stuck! I’m so excited to see my progress. I didn’t start off short had a nice length but now my hair is brushing the top of my shoulders (when loose and hanging), I’ve learned new remidies when it comes to my hair. I’ve always been the type to wash my hair 2x a week and now I can’t I don’t like the itching but I’ve learned that FRESH LEMON WATER(lemon juice and water) in a spray bottle keeps your hair clean in between I lemon rinse every other week now! My hair is flourishing and so am I! Different styles different looks different hair different Meeeee!!!!

[sisterslocdinlove]

Hey yall …..

It’s been 14 weeks to the day and my hair is beading and frizzing EVERYWHERE (pictured above). I know it may be hard to tell from the pictures but my locs are beginning to thicken up particularly around the roots and to touch or squeeze them I would say they feel stiff like yarn. I have noticed my locs have a natural wave to them and I wonder if that is due to the natural curl pattern of my hair but I am still excited to begin styling and to test some flexi rods. I also realized today that once I pull down my current style I should take a picture of my loc length so that in 3 months we can compare and see what the growth is like.

Overall my journey is definitely going pretty well at this point and I’m feeling really good about how they are coming along.

Fresh style today …

[sisterslocdinlove]

Finally Loc'd

Hey everyone. I’m Jéri the middle sister and on 12.31.18 I was able to finally join my sisters in this journey. I used the instant loc method to begin and during my first retwist I will interlock the roots. New Year, New Hair! 

[touringteacher]

Follow the journey my sisters and I are on!

[sisterslocdinlove]

Hey yall …..

It’s been 14 weeks to the day and my hair is beading and frizzing EVERYWHERE (pictured above). I know it may be hard to tell from the pictures but my locs are beginning to thicken up particularly around the roots and to touch or squeeze them I would say they feel stiff like yarn. I have noticed my locs have a natural wave to them and I wonder if that is due to the natural curl pattern of my hair but I am still excited to begin styling and to test some flexi rods. I also realized today that once I pull down my current style I should take a picture of my loc length so that in 3 months we can compare and see what the growth is like.

Overall my journey is definitely going pretty well at this point and I’m feeling really good about how they are coming along.

Fresh style today …

[miseducatedmelanicmuse]

[miseducatedmelanicmuse]

[yassss-black-diaspora]

To acknowledge that a dark skin, fully “black” features is beautiful would be to relinquish those years of constant torment of black women. Furthermore, her characteristic and personality clashes with the assumption of dark skin women are rude and brash. They can’t even attack her on her personality traits nor her physical appearance, therefore she is an automatic threat.

Also, let’s acknowledge that it has been Black Women but also a white audience who have have acknowledge Lupita. I think that says a lot.

[breathtakingdestinations]

Hiroshima Castle - Hiroshima - Japan (by Al Case) 

[breathtakingdestinations]

Dubrovnik - Croatia (by Jan Stefka) 

[breathtakingdestinations]

Almudena Cathedral - Madrid - Spain (by Fernando García) 

[breathtakingdestinations]

Cagliari - Sardinia - Italy (by 8#V) 

[touringteacher]

There are leaders & then there are life changers.The best bosses I’ve had didn’t just make me a better worker, they made me a better person.

Amy Fast, Ed.D

[kushandwizdom]

[breathtakingdestinations]

Madrid - Spain (by Fernando García) 

[touringteacher]

I miss Madrid. I have to get back. Soon.

[touringteacher]

Posted this to IG earlier this week...

[breathtakingdestinations]

Biarritz - France (by Tommie Hansen) 

[touringteacher]

No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow. - Lin Yutang

Home. I have and will always call Pittsburgh home. I was raised there. Much of my family is there. My earliest memories are there. But over the years DC has etched its way into my heart and is a place I call home also. I went to college here. I became a woman here. Learned many lessons here. Chose my family and support system here. And now that I’m back I feel at peace. Isn’t that what home truly is? Where is the place that you feel at peace?

Coming back meant finding a job. It also meant having the faith to leave the classroom. The classroom became a safety net for my last school year. It was easy for me. I was in an environment where other teachers looked up to me. My administration admired the work I was doing. My students and I had a strong bond. That sounds like the ideal environment, right? For a lot of people, it would be, but I need to feel challenged in my work. I also need to feel like I am in a place where people can grow from my guidance but that I can also grow from their guidance. One of the greatest compliments from my principal last year was “You make everyone else want to do better”. I needed to hear that. I needed that recognition. I also needed that realization that there wasn’t anyone making me want to do better. All of that is so different now. I am working for an organization that I have admired for YEARS doing work that I am truly passionate about. Working with first and second-year teachers with my organization specifically is a dream come true. The epitome of #blessed

Coming back has also meant getting reacclimated to the area. Things change all of the time around here and quickly. There’s some discomfort in new buildings being on blocks you thought you knew so well. There’s disappointment in restaurants that you once loved now being closed. There’s some discouragement in having to look up directions for places you used to be able to navigate to without any thought. There’s also a tremendous amount of opportunity to grow. One of the greatest lessons I learned from living abroad (and in Houston) was to just do it. I’ve learned to say yes to things that I would’ve normally said no to. More importantly, I’ve learned to say no and let that be a complete sentence. Letting go of the need to explain myself has been powerful. I’ve recently said yes more than I have said no which has given me the chance to try some new things.

One new thing that I tried was Japanese food. I had the opportunity to hang out with @savorytravels (check him out on Instagram. He’s super dope!) recently and he took me to this really cute restaurant called Izakaya Seki. Check out his blog for his review. It will be much better than anything I can write about the restaurant and food.

I will say that I was really excited to try uni after watching so many episodes of Chopped. Unfortunately, I didn’t like it. It’s really pretty though. I did like the whole grilled squid and (surprisingly) the beef tongue. Here are some pictures he took.

Overall I am really happy to be home. Looking forward to the work I’ll be doing throughout the school year. Excited to meet new people (potential bae out there?) and have great experiences. Just like I’m back home, I’m back here too so look out for more posts.

[breathtakingdestinations]

Amsterdam - Netherlands (by Alfonso Pierantonio)