La Despedida

Today the school said goodbye to me. I'm flying home on Thursday, but tomorrow will be my last day of classes. The teachers held a breakfast in the teachers' lounge durning the first morning recess. A couple people said a few words, and then everyone sat around singing songs about Chile. Then they asked me to speak and I cried. I couldn't help it--it's been a really amazing experience being in Chile, getting to know the country and teaching English. But more than that, they've made me feel invited and welcome, and have shared their language and culture with me. They have given me much more than I could ever give them.

At 11:00 the director put together a school-wide assembly in my honor. They raised the flag (which they do every Monday--I don't think I had anything to do with that part), some courses recited poetry by Pablo Neruda and Gabriela Mistral, and the school's Grupo Folklorico danced two dances: the first was a Pre-Columbian dance, then the Cueca. The director gave a speech, I said a few words, and everything ended with a song played and sung by the Grupo Folklórico again. I was presented with three gifts and a rose: a small jewelry box with a necklace inside with a lapizlázuli charm, a box full of chocolates, and a book of poetry by Neruda. When they gave me the wrapped gifts all the students started to chant: "¡Que abra! ¡Que abra!"--they lke to chant, but it's usually something like "¡Injusticia! ¡Injusticia!"

It was a really, really touching day, and one that I will never forget. It's been hard here sometimes, especially physically, but it has been worth every minute, and absolutely unforgettable.