last week in PR

Our last week in Puerto Rico was spent working, having quality time with the kids, going out, and of course, taking in as much sun as possible. After giving class we would go to the pool and take in the sunlight while it was there, go home, have dinner and then do any work that needed to be done.
In the last week, the students created a "manifiesto" with us which is like a declaration or promise. We made a declaration against discrimination and towards equality. The students were able to give their opinions and we put them all together into a manifiesto as a class to put on the bulletin board. Also as a class, the students brought in images of equality among other themes to make a collage around our declarations. The bulletin board turned out awesome and everyone was so excited about it. I was glad we were really able to achieve something as a part of the unit of "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" about the Holocaust.
The last day of class we set aside to say goodbyes. Jenn prepared a video using pictures and video we took of the students and we played it with music in the background. As soon as we got to school and everyone started hugging us and telling us not to leave, we started crying. I couldn't even give instructions for a post-test in the first class because I was crying. After the test, we played the video and smiled at some good times we had but also were crying by the end. We thanked the kids for everything and said a few words while we went around the room and allowed the kids to say anything they wanted to. We were showered with cards and drawings and cute notes. One little girl gave us a necklace and ring that she made using some stones; they were so pretty. Some of the students took it really hard and couldn't stop crying. Over lunch, we spent time talking with the kids and exchanging phone numbers and promising to add each other on facebook as soon as Jenn and I graduate. The second class was hard too with showing the video. This class is my teacher's home class, so we passed out popcorn and one of the special education aids made us flan to eat too. They gave us more cards and signed some as a class. Then, the other student teacher working with us gave each us of a necklace and earrings that they picked out for us. Everyone was crying and we basically promised we would try our best to come back for graduation in May, although it'll be a lot of work. It was really hard saying goodbye to Carla, the other student teacher. We gave Rose Marie and chocolate apple and cards with a gift card for Clarks, a shoe store she really likes. She told us how it was so unnecessary, but she really did do so much for us and bought us so much stuff.
Friday night, we were to go out to dinner with her and also spend the night at her house so she could take us to the airport. She took us out to Aurorita, a mexican restaurant which she thinks is the best. We had queso fundido, pico de gallo and some margaritas, her favorite, to start. Their pico de gallo was awesome! It didn't just have onions, tomatoes and cilantro but it included cheese cubes and chunks of avocado. Their queso fundido is a lot different than ours because they use a thicker cheese that you actually have to cut through to put it on the chip. Later, I had tacos al pastor and Jenn had enchiladas de mole poblano and we each shared our dishes with each other. Everything was really good, but I had to ask for cilantro, onion, limes and spicy salsa for my taco on the side because it wasn't prepared that way. For dessert we had some sopapillas that you could dip in some dulce de leche. I had never had anything like that before, but I loved it. Afterwards, we went back to her house to weigh our suitcases and get ready for bed. I was so glad that we could spend our last night in Viejo San Juan, a barrio that Jenn and I absolutely fell in love with. Our suitcases were just about 50lbs when we weighed them so we were able to unpack a few things to be more sure that we would be under the weight. We got to sleep on her futon that night. I slept so good because I ate well and we had all the doors open to the patio to let the air in. We had the fans going and we just slept with a sheet on and it was the perfect temperature. In the middle of the night, it started raining on the patio and I loved the way it sounded, but in my dream I dreamt that someone was showering because of the sound of the water.
We woke up around 6 and got ready and had some toast and cheese. I got a goodbye text while we were taking our suitcases out and started to cry again. My teacher kept talking about how change is good and that we're going to love our new students. Anybody who knows me knows that goodbyes are really hard for me and that I usually cry saying goodbye. I don't think I'm really that sad, it's just part of my process to cry and then when I get to my new place, I'm just fine. She probably thought I was nuts though. She dropped us at the airport and gave us a small wood chip with the 3 kings on it made by an artisan to be with us.
Before getting your tickets going back to the States, you have to have the USDA check your bags to make sure you're not carrying animals or anything from nature. Then, we got our tickets and waited about an hour to leave.
I'm on the plane right now writing this and watching "My Week with Marilyn," something my mom and I saw a little before I left.
I couldn't have made a better decision to do half of my student-teaching abroad. I have such a different perspective to bring now and got to feel like I was on vacation everyday, which is something I think I deserve for as hard as I've worked these past 4 years. It's hard to think that it's almost over though and it's even harder to decide what to do next. All I know is that I want to spend my first year after graduation abroad somewhere and then come back to be a teaching assistant while I do my masters in Spanish. I think after all of that I will finally be grown up and ready to get a job, but right now, I'm still a kid and there's a lot more to do before I settle down somewhere.