Two sleeps until I return to the United States and I cannot believe it. Even though I miss my family and friends in there , I am not ready to say goodbye to my family and friends here in Peru.
Since this week is only for the teachers to come to school, I already had to say goodbye to my kiddos on Friday and boy oh boy did the tears flow. Here's my last two days with my kiddos:
Thursday:
I walked into the school and the secretary of the school made me wait outside my classroom for a little bit. I put together that my students were doing something for me, but I figured it would be something cute and small.
Boy was I wrong.
I walked into the room and the kids sang to me, had a picnic laid out with food they all brought, wrote on the board "Goodbye Lauren," and had a cake. I was so taken aback!
The kids finished singing and I just cried. I had to tell one of them "Son lagrimas de alegría" or "They're tears of happiness" because she was so concerned.
Here's some photos of the event:
HUGE *shoutout to my co-op for putting this together. I do not have the words to say thank you enough, you really made this feel like home.
Afterwards, the students took another exam and we practiced singing "Joy to the World" again for....
Friday:
All of the students got to wear a red t-shirt and jeans to school, so Maeve and I did too!
While the teachers were setting up for the christmas celebration, I was playing games with the kids. I got to play simon says, silent ball, and some other ones they like. My favorite moment of entertainment was when I taught them my mom's singing game "stepping out on the town." I changed ALL the words to Spanish and they understood me and LOVED it. I was so incredibly happy and it was a great lasting memory to make on my last day with them.
The christmas celebration was great! The kids sang Joy to the World and I choked back tears as they all happily did the hand motions and sang their hearts out. I was so proud to clap for them in the end and take a photo together!
All of the kids then got snacks and received a goody bag from the principal. I also thought it was funny because they made one of the 6th graders dress up as a dog? Don't ask me why, I never found out.
At the end of the day, I received gifts from the parents, got to talk to many of them, and gave each of the kids their gift from me. I hugged them all goodbye and cried as I hoped they would remember me. I will NEVER forget them.
After all the mixed emotions, Maeve and I spent our weekend out of town! We took a bus on Friday after school to Huacachina, Peru which is like a dream! This place is a natural Oasis in the middle of a desert and it absolutely amazing. WE LOVED IT.
We got to go sand-boarding on our stomachs and ride a sand buggy around. Let me tell you, both the sandboarding and the buggy were more amazing than even some rollercoasters I have ridden. We would go up to the top of a dune and look around a bit, then all of a sudden it would drop off and we would ride the sandbuggy down the dune. We were front and center and I loved it. *Shoutout to Gino, the best buggy driver out there!
I definitely gained like 5 pounds of sand in my shoes during this adventure and had sand all over my body for days. WELL WORTH IT!!
Sunday we went to Paracas where we got to ride out to the Islas Ballestas (or as I heard the Galapagos Islands for those on a budget). The animals were amazing and my favorites were the penguins!
We also had a tour of the National Reserve of Paracas which was beautiful.
^One of the only volcanic rock beaches in the world. *Shoutout to Jake - you're probably seeing similar things in Chile!
Maeve and I got to eat fresh Ceviche and it was probably my last ceviche here :(. Guess I will have to return to this beautiful port to eat it again!
After that, we also got to go paddleboarding and it was my first time! I did not fall and instead fell in love with it. *Shoutout to the Adams fam - guess we need to get one for our lake!
I DIDN'T GET SUPER BURNT. SUCCESS!!
I also want to give a shoutout to all the wonderful people I met this weekend from around the world. You have all inspired me to travel and have shown me what really matters in life, so for all of this - Thank You.
For the last few days, Maeve and I are helping our co-ops finish grades and clean up the rooms. It is very calm and will be a relaxing way to say goodbye..even though I don't want to.
See you soon United States,
Lauren