Friday was the last day of school and, like I said before, half of the students showed up. It was kind of a sad last day, not because it was the last day, but just because it didn't seem official or anything. I didn't even get to say goodbye to all of my students which kind of kills me, but it was still a good day. I spent the morning listening to students talk about their plans for the summer and then we played some online educational games, did arts and crafts, made some origami frogs, etc. Then, they had an extra long recess, because they could. :) Then, we did more arts and crafts in the afternoon. Honestly, I can see why many parents decided to start their vacations early and not bring their students to school, but come on..I won't be there next year, but they don't know any different and I am super grateful that I got to say goodbye to the majority of my students.
So, if you know me or have talked to me in the last few months, then you know that I am super excited to come home and have been for several months now. It has definitely made these last few days more sweet than bitter. I will be the first to admit that my excitement has overshadowed any sadness I have of leaving. I have had an extremely successful and awesome year, but I am ready to come home. However, I do know that deep down inside, I am sad to be going..and I knew that this would hit me at some point..I just didn't know when...which brings me to my next story..
After school on Friday, the teachers got together and brought Julia and I together to say goodbye to us. Julia will be returning next year, but I will not. They gave us a gift (a book of poems by Ángel González, a Spanish poet and the name of our school) and said goodbye. I was all good until they asked us if we wanted to say anything. I wasn't really expecting that and hadn't prepared anything, but figured I should say something. As soon as I stood up, I felt the tears coming...I couldn't help it. I accidentally made Julia cry and other teachers were crying as well, but not because of us, but because some of the other teachers aren't returning to that school next year either. It was a sad occasion, but then I was fine again in five minutes and we all smiled for a picture and it was great. :)
Anyway, Esther came over on Friday night to say goodbye one more time and she taught me several card games to play with a Spanish deck of cards. They are special cards and there are only 40 cards as opposed to the 52 card traditional deck. It was really fun. I don't think I will remember all of the games, but if I remember a few, that will be good. :) Once we said our final goodbyes, I headed to the city center to hang out with Julia one last time before I leave. One of her friends is here visiting from the states so we went out to dinner at this bar and with a drink they give you this huge plate of tapas. They were delicious and we couldn't finish everything. I can definitely see why the place is popular. After that, we went to an Irish pub and watched part of the Honduras vs. Ecuador world cup game on a big screen. It was pretty entertaining and there were people there from both teams cheering so it was cool to here the cheers for the two teams. We didn't watch the whole game because I had to catch the metro home, but I will tell you that Ecuador won 2-1. Once I got home, I went straight to bed.
Saturday, June 21st
Two more days in Madrid. You would think that I would do something more exciting with my life, but I haven't. Today, I did some laundry, packed some more, and just relaxed. I went to the park for about an hour and took a nap in the sun and that was awesome. It was so quiet and peaceful and much needed. I talked to my mom on the phone because I'm trying to get all my ducks in a row before I come home. Thanks Mom for the help. And I saw Stephanie briefly to say goodbye to her because she left today, Sunday, to travel more before heading back to the U.S. Overall it was a great Saturday, sorry I don't have much to say. I didn't do much.
Sunday, June 22nd
Well, it's my last day in Spain and I wish I had something exciting to tell you about, but I don't. This morning I went to church with Karin and there was a worship group there from Atlanta, Georgia and a man named Dan Arsenault gave the sermon, he's one of those guys that does Sunday morning services on television. Anyway, the sermon was really good and so was the music as always. I have really enjoyed going to the church, even if it was only a few times. After church, Karin and I walked through the Rastro street market one last time, then I made my way home and ate lunch. I also finished packing and just relaxed. I also met with a girl to sell my cell phone and she was from Peru! She was super nice and offered me a place to stay if I ever go to Peru again. She's been living and studying in Spain for five years and is returning to Peru this summer. It was awesome meeting her. Tonight, Karin came over and we just hung out for a little bit. I finished all of my packing, we weighed my luggage (it's over, of course..we'll see what happens at the airport tomorrow), and I taught her a few of the Spanish card games that I learned the other night. It was a good last night. I really didn't expect anything more. It was awesome. The End. :)
I will talk to you in a little bit--when I'm back in the U.S.!!
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