Done

I have officially finished teaching here in Chile, and my final week sure ended on a high note. Here's a quick recap.

Class Despedidas - Last week I had one last class with every course and threw the kids a little despedida (goodbye party). We ate, danced, and took lots of pictures, and here are a couple group photos we took:

Some of my 5th graders

Some of my 7th grade boys

Surprise Parties - A couple classes got wind of the fact that I was throwing parties for everyone and decided to turn things around and throw me a surprise party. The picture below shows me with a 6th grade class after I had walked into their room to 45 students screaming "surprise Miss Kelly!!" and tossing confetti in my face. They had printed out pictures of me and taped them up all over the classroom and put together the whole surprise on their own. I of course immediately started crying when I walked in.

End of Year Class Photo - Below is a class photo with one of the graduating 8th grade classes. This is the 8th grade that I've written about before and that most of the teachers can't stand because they're so "unruly." I loved this group and will definitely miss their personalities. Normally the students only take a class photo with their head teacher, but this group asked if they could take one with me as well. This was one of the "loco" photos we took after the official one.

Goodbye Acto - On my final day of teaching the school had a going away assembly for me. Picture recap:

A 5th grader started off the Acto with some amazingly kind words. This is when the tears started flowing.

A group of 6th and 7th graders sang me a song about kindness and friendship.

These very popular 8th graders sang a song in Spanish, but I couldn't tell you what it was about because every girl was screaming at the top of their lungs the whole time.

The Cueca, of course!

This 3rd grader sang a song entirely in English with some killer backup dancers (note the shirts)

These two 8th graders ended the Acto by reading me a letter in English as the translation was projected for everyone. The waterworks really started at this point, in part because I was so touched by what they said but also because I was so darn proud of these two. When I arrived they didn't even know how to ask or answer "What's your name?" in English, and to see them up on stage reciting a letter that I understood completely really struck a chord.

Still sobbing, I was then invited up on stage to receive flowers from the Director.

I then gave the kids a little speech about the importance of hard work and all that good, teacherly advice. Then I told every student that we were going to say the very first word I taught them ("Awesome!") one last time. When I originally taught them this "slang" word I used the motion of putting your fist above your head and pulling it down to demonstrate some of its meaning. I stood up on stage and counted down "3, 2, 1..." and in unison all 400+ students put their fists in the air, pulled them down, and screamed "Awesome!" It was really amazing, and I don't think that explanation does it justice.

The Acto and all the hugs and tearful goodbyes after were extremely emotional. I have never felt so much love from so many people in one place at one time. It was incredible having a room full of hundreds of people applauding and cheering for only me, but I don’t know that I deserved all the love and gifts that I received this past week. I really just came here and did my job, and thanks to certain advantages only afforded to me, the volunteer, I was able to give the students more love and attention than they're used to. Nonetheless, I appreciated everything and was touched so deeply by every single gift or little note or hug or kiss. I will keep and guard those memories forever.

I was talking with a couple Chilean friends the other day about differences between Chile and the U.S., and one difference that really stands out to me is the way foreigners are treated here in Chile. Whenever I had trouble expressing myself or made a fool of myself due to my far from perfect Spanish or my cultural ignorance, Chileans were patient and kind and did their best to help me figure things out and make sure I accomplished what I needed to. Plain and simple, foreigners are just not treated that way in the U.S. My friends told me they thought the difference stemmed from the fact that Americans are still a pretty rare find in Chile, so it's exciting to meet and speak with one. I understand that point and fully embraced that idea in my school (for example, the other day I signed autographs for every 4th grader because, well, they wanted my autograph before I left), but I think the difference also stems from the fact that Chileans really are as kind as everyone says they are. They're warm and helpful and often seem very unaffected by all the challenges they face.

I now begin traveling until February 5th and hope that I can take a bit of that Chilean kindness along with me. This has definitely been a once in a lifetime experience full of unforgettable memories, and I plan on returning to the U.S. more aware of and thankful for all that I have been blessed with and more willing to share my blessings and abilities with those who need them. Plus, thanks to these past 9 months I'll also be returning to the U.S. with some much improved Spanish! THANK YOU to everyone who made this experience a possibility for me. I couldn't have done it without your support, be it financial, emotional, or spiritual. See you soon!!

Nearing the End

If you can believe it, tomorrow begins my last week of school. I have been insanely busy finishing things up at school and in our community groups, going to many a despedida (goodbye party), spending time with my Chilean friends and family, and applying to grad schools on top of it all. Here are some pictures for recap:

Adult English Class - Here some of the guys are watching videos of skits they wrote and acted out in our previous class. Considering the amount of English they knew when we started the class (almost none), their skits were awesome. Tomorrow's our last class... we'll be having a fiesta, of course.

Spanglish Speakers - We had our final meeting this past Saturday. Due to strikes in all our schools as well as at the local university, we had some frustrating meeting cancellations during this past month. Our final meeting, though smaller than normal, was still a lot of fun. We got some secret pen pals started and tried to keep the ball rolling so that this program can continue without our guidance. Hopefully it does!

English Club - This past school year I've had an English Club for my 7th and 8th graders that met every Friday. We played games, did some fun English activities online in the computer lab, and wrote to pen pals in the U.S. We had our last meeting this past Friday and did a review of all we'd learned, and they seriously impressed me with everything they remembered. I'm definitely going to miss this group.

English Poster Competition - Throughout the year my wonderful parents and sister sent me all kinds of fun gifts for my students, ranging from Spanish/English dictionaries to Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus folders and crayons. While I've given a few of them away, I held on to most knowing I wanted to do something big at the end of the year. I decided to have an English Competition in which the students were to make a poster answering the question, "Why is English important to you?" I got 36 submissions of amazing work and couldn't be happier or prouder of my students, and tomorrow I'll announce the winners during the morning assembly. Every single kid wins something, of course. The poster above is the overall winner, and the two below are second and third place.

This upcoming week is going to be bittersweet. I'm very excited to begin traveling and seeing more of South America, but boy am I going to miss my students and Chilean family. My school and host family both welcomed me with open arms into their communities and lives, and their kindness is something I'll keep with me for the rest of my life. After next week I'll write much more about that as well as the rest of my experience... until then I have many a despedida to attend!