Wednesday, August 04, 2004
Oh my goodness. I can't believe that I'm leaving in just a few days. Today was my going away party. My teacher actually made a sulu and chamba for me LAST NIGHT. I can't believe she got any sleep. (She told me she was up until 2am. I believe it.) It fits PERFECTLY, which is amazing since she never took any measurements. She used her daughter as a mannequin. It is red and has a turtle print. I wore it today. My class also bought me a hair barrette, a sulu (I know own about a hundred, Una also gave me one this week),a fan, and a cute necklace. I love my class so much. They have so little, and they all gave me so much. Three little girls came up and gave me some gold earrings. I think they came straight from one of the little girl's ears. It makes me want to cry, because I know that these girls have little to nothing and they probably gave me the only earrings they had.
Today was our last devotional at the school. It was Brittany's class's turn. Her class did a wonderful job. After the devotional on the Good Samaritan, Sis. R. had us all come up and they gave us leis and allowed us each to say a word. Then, they sang "Isa Lei," a Fijian farewell song. We were all crying at the end. I do not want to leave this place.
Today was also our class party. A fact which the class almost managed to keep secret from me. (The Whiteheads told me about it yesterday, when I mentioned that I didn't know if or when I was having a party.) It was so fun to see the boys and girls have fun and dance. I love each of them so much!!!
This whole week has been really hard. We've been eating at a different family's house everyday. Last night, we said farewell to the bishop and his family along with other young men and women. It was a lot of fun, and the food is always delicious, but the sight of the family waving us off as we drove off in the taxi was heart-wrenching.
Yesterday, when I was finishing the book Phantom Tollbooth, and Milo was going back to the real world and leaving his friends behind, I almost started crying. I felt so much like Milo who didn't want to leave his new-found friends.
It's also been hard giving up control of the class again to Sis. R. I often don't know how to answer the students when they ask me what's next or if they can do this or that. I miss having my own class. I talked to the Whiteheads today. I signed their evaluation for me. They gave me 3-4 on everything. I felt that I really could be a teacher. It means a lot that they have confidence in me. I was a little disappointed because my teacher gave me some lower marks, mostly because they told the teachers to lower the marks.
Somewhere along this adventure, I've truly developed a love for this country. I can also feel a little bit more confidence welling up under my skin. I really miss everyone at home, but now I'm going to miss everyone here. I told my class that I would write them. I wish I could translate all of my feelings right now into words, but there aren't any. All of my students were asking me not to go, and I almost wish I didn't have to.
Today was our last devotional at the school. It was Brittany's class's turn. Her class did a wonderful job. After the devotional on the Good Samaritan, Sis. R. had us all come up and they gave us leis and allowed us each to say a word. Then, they sang "Isa Lei," a Fijian farewell song. We were all crying at the end. I do not want to leave this place.
Today was also our class party. A fact which the class almost managed to keep secret from me. (The Whiteheads told me about it yesterday, when I mentioned that I didn't know if or when I was having a party.) It was so fun to see the boys and girls have fun and dance. I love each of them so much!!!
This whole week has been really hard. We've been eating at a different family's house everyday. Last night, we said farewell to the bishop and his family along with other young men and women. It was a lot of fun, and the food is always delicious, but the sight of the family waving us off as we drove off in the taxi was heart-wrenching.
Yesterday, when I was finishing the book Phantom Tollbooth, and Milo was going back to the real world and leaving his friends behind, I almost started crying. I felt so much like Milo who didn't want to leave his new-found friends.
It's also been hard giving up control of the class again to Sis. R. I often don't know how to answer the students when they ask me what's next or if they can do this or that. I miss having my own class. I talked to the Whiteheads today. I signed their evaluation for me. They gave me 3-4 on everything. I felt that I really could be a teacher. It means a lot that they have confidence in me. I was a little disappointed because my teacher gave me some lower marks, mostly because they told the teachers to lower the marks.
Somewhere along this adventure, I've truly developed a love for this country. I can also feel a little bit more confidence welling up under my skin. I really miss everyone at home, but now I'm going to miss everyone here. I told my class that I would write them. I wish I could translate all of my feelings right now into words, but there aren't any. All of my students were asking me not to go, and I almost wish I didn't have to.
