two coop shifts this week. At Monday’s, was packaging spices and nuts with women who made me feel even more freaked out about the state of public schools here – mostly because we were discussing the Times article about NYC’s segregated schools. 

Also, there was a French girl who now lives here and who commented about how lucky she was to go to a much more normal school in France, where they teach physics, and chemistry, and calculus as it should be taught, and how her college was only about €1000/year, and how, unlike everyone else she knows, she gets to enjoy her life not being burdened with debt. 

There are many wonderful things about this country, but public education is not one of them ( or, rather, good options exist, but they are crazy-competitive).