Girls just wanna have fun...

So when we got back to the apartment after lunch we had to rush and get ready to go and of course take a few pictures in the process. We still had a lot of packing to do and the house was still a bit of a mess but that was what we had left Friday for. I took the opportunity to borrow Ashley's clothes for the last time before I went home.

This is our sweet bathroom... and at least one of us straightened our hair every single day. I guess we just had to get a picture of it

We usually got ready at the same time and so a lot of bonding went on during that time. Ash and I would talk about our issues while we were fighting for space in the mirror. What an amazing roommate... she is the bomb!

Yes very flattering!

I got taller because I stood on my tiptoes

This is the place... a bit messy because I have so much packing left to do but this is it!!

After we finally got everything in order and got everything together we walked to Heslington. I tried the entire time to prepare myself to say goodbye to my girls. This was the night I was dreading the most. These girls are so wonderful. I couldn't have asked for a better class or for better friends. I'm going to miss all of the cute and fun things about them. Maryfer's little eyebrow look she gives me when she is being cheeky. Katya's sweet smile and how she would get embarrassed when we would play "Little Sally Walker." Marity and how she would say "What?" Whenever you said her name because she hadn't been paying attention and was worried she was in trouble. Andy's Hello to the Moon, yoga pose, Noelia's laugh, Zaloa's stories about Diego, Zaira and how cute she was when she would take care of her little sister Sophia. Idalia and the sweet notes she would leave on the board after class. They are all so thoughtful and they are all so unique. When I think about the semester and how much class changed from the beginning to the end it puts a smile on my face. I had to work very hard to win the hearts of these girls. The first few weeks were really difficult but once I figured out how I could become their friend it was easy from that point on. They were patient with me if class was really boring that day and they enjoyed every moment of a fun class. We spent most of class laughing and smiling and usually it ended up with them making fun of me. The age difference in my class was almost 4 years between the oldest and the youngest student. At the beginning of the semester the younger students were very reserved and shy. By the end of the semester I saw these girls becoming better friends than I could have ever hoped. Every single day they became more confident and more comfortable with who they were. We laughed and preformed for one another, we were sad when someone was sick and had to miss class. We just became best friends. My biggest fear is that throughout the course of the next few semesters that the teachers do not continue to develop the talents these girls have and boost their confidence. They are all so amazing!! I learned so much from them every single day and every single day at the end of class I had a smile on my face. It really is contagious!

Katya, my Russian Mexican

Maryfer, I love her smirk!

Ya she thinks I'm crazy, she told me that every day!

Idalia and Katya

Zaloa and Me

Here we are doing our program... I was sitting on the end and I did the dance moves to all the of the songs that we learned. Instead of dancing with me the girls and everyone in Kami and Kelsey's class just laughed at me the entire time. I was so disappointed. Finally at the very end a couple of the girls busted out a few of their moves and the parents loved it. Too bad they didn't do that the whole time, the rents would have been on their feet. Zaloa and Noelia's mom sat in the audience and danced the whole time too. It was awesome!

All of my girls with their Diplomas!

They were being a little bit silly

Like I said... silly

Zaloa leaned back hoping they would all catch her and not one of them even put their arms out. She fell right onto her butt! Soooo funny!

Marity and Me

This is def one of my favorites from my trip!

I wish all of my girls had been in this picture but that's okay I love it anyway!

We're missing Marity because she had to leave and Andy because she was sick for the entire last week. We are just all best friends. We usually ended up like this in class too, we just all wanted to sit close to each other!

Sofia, Me and Zaira

Zaira and her sisters are just so cute!

Idalia

Zaloa is crying, I look like I'm in pain because I'm trying not to cry

Everyone is so sad we're leaving.... I love Maryfer's face in this picture!

Adios Edwin, we always saw you in the office so we had to take the picture there!

Hermino, our dance teacher came to say goodbye too!

As it got closer and closer to the end of the night Zaloa and Noelia kept checking if I was crying. I was doing a pretty good job I think. It still hadn't sunk in that I was leaving. As the night progressed it got harder to keep it together.

Weirdo.... I know!

But that's so awesome that you got a diploma!

Richard came running up to me to give me a hug, then he turned to me and said. "What about Monkey on the Back?" I just about burst into tears typing that, I miss that boy! I missed him when he didn't come to class now I have to leave and may not ever see him again. Oh sad!

So we took a picture of us doing Monkey on the Back

Sandy is so beautiful and just so amazing! Oh and such a cute pregnant lady!

This perfectly sums up my relationship with Ryan. Sometimes I want to kill him and sometimes he is great to talk t.o We keep our distance and enjoy the short amount of time we spend together.

Elementary Teachers Rock! Love ya Kathy!

Everyone minus Brooke

Such an amazing group of people! (that isn't excluding Brooke)

Alfredo... my soccer bud and the guy who always helped us fix problems around the apartment!

Pepe and Dani showed up at Heslington to drop off some treats that their mother had mad for us. The treats she had given us for lunch that we loved so much.

Tears started freely flowing when their mom came back to pick them up. It was so hard to say goodbye for all of us. Zaloa knew that she would go home and cry even harder when there weren't people around. I knew that I would cry the hardest leading up to them driving away. Change is so hard, its too bad it is so necessary in our lives!

Zaloa trying to pose like Tyson... what a weirdo!

Our very last hug.... until we meet again someday

Fernanda and Martin are Kami and Kelsey's host siblings. I ate lunch at their family's kitchen most days. Their family is wonderful. They have one more younger brother who's name is Joan Pablo and he is absolutely adorable.

Atzi, Vanilka, Me and Arad... doesn't he look so happy to be there

This is how we usually saw Edwin, working hard!

This is Martin Sr. Kami and Kelsey's host dad

He called me Barbie the entire semester and he laughed everytime he saw me. It think it is ironic that he called me Barbie because I was the only teacher that he met that would get even close to the pig and goats they would slaughter out back of their kitchen. I guess growing up on a farm it just didn't bother me as much. I didn't love it but it didn't make me not want to eat meat, or sick to my stomach. Haha oh well, at least the fact that he called me Barbie made him remember who I was, he forgot a lot of the other teachers.

After the ILP program Adri, Ashley and I took at taxi to go to Ana Esperanza's ice cream shop. I don't think I have ever been down to that end of town before, or maybe it was just because it was later at night but it was an adventure. When we got there their mother served us up some delicious ice cream. They own a shop called Doan Sebastian's.... I think that is right. Well here Grandfather opened that chain and now they are all over the city and all over the state. Everyone says that they have the best ice cream in town... I tried so many different kinds before I decided which one I wanted. The best kind is 'queso' or cheese ice cream. Mmmmmm so good!

So many samples!!

Oh so good, maybe a little bit spoiled!

Me and Ana Esperanza

She is an angel, she is the sweetest girl ever and is so quick to obey and so patient with everyone around her. She is so loving and so good at sharing. I loved having her in my class!

After we ate our ice cream Ana Esperanza showed us all of her pets and then her mom gave us a ride home. It was a very nice evening and I was glad to be able to see her one last time before we left. We gave lots of hugs and made sure we exchanged emails. It was just wonderful! I'm going to miss that girl and her hugs and her sweet comments everyday we had class.

Adri with one of their turtles

We had our final day of ripping a link off of our count down chain. There was a big ceremony and it was a very happy and yet very sad day.