Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Today is the last day of camp and to be honest I am quite ready to be on my way - not because I havnt enjoyed camp but because I am ready to continue my journey. After breakfast I made my way to the office for our morning meeting too which our coordinator arrived very late too, but none the less arrived. Today was about having the students present a play at the closing ceremony so we had to make sure the use of time was maximized today. The students worked really well and by putting the task into there hands they really held themselfs and each other accountable. Seen as we had won the National Lip-dub competition the education department was providing a special lunch for us today of roast chicken and chips. I got my now usual special treatment and ended up with two huge pieces of chicken and a delicious coliflour and tomato salad. The sun was out again so I decided to go for a walk again arriving back with 30 minutes to spare to chat with my new friend Marcela about volunteer teaching opportunities abroad. After lunch we had our presentation of our talent shows, watching of our National Projects and finally the handing out of certificates and group photos. Our group got up and presented our play and I was so incredibly proud of them; far exceeding our expectations and each and every student most importantly using loud, concise and clear English and at the same time having fun doing it. The certificate ceremony came and we had to take photos with students from each of the 30 odd schools - which took well over an hour but was nice as we got to congratulate each student individually. After the ceremony we raced outside and got some nice group photos before racing over to the cafeteria for cake (also put on by education department). The kids were all asking for photos and emails etc which was really nice and all the boys were asking me to shout our a very typical Chilean phrase "japo hombre" after repetitive requests I screamed it out at the top of my lungs in the cafeteria and the whole room broke out in laughter cheering me on - once again making me feel like a rockstar and reminding why I love working with kids. Some of the Chilean teachers had to leave to catch the bus so we all said our goodbyes before the rest of the volunteers lead all the students outside into a huge bombardment of water-bombs and what followed was a huge water fight. Whilst the water fight was taking place I snuck off and started packing all my things and had a shower; a few of the students knocked on my door and had told me I needed to see one of the teachers outside. Walking straight into the trap and worst of all - dressed in my nice clothes the kids grabbed me and dragged me outside; 2 huge water-bombs on the head and then the hose and I was drenched head to toe. I guess I deserved it and couldn't complain just having to laugh about it; luckily the sun was beating down still so I could dry my shoes, socks and clothes out before having to catch bus. I had organized to meet up with some of the Chilean teachers to help them book and plan their Bolivian holiday and after that was told I needed to go to the teachers house. At the teachers house they had organized a really nice leaving party - snacks and drinks and Manuel; the program coordinator had shown up to join the party. After a quick drink and some food it was time to say goodbye to all my new friends and thank them for such a wonderful week. Manuel drove me to the station and dropped me off by 10:30pm just in time for my bus. The bus was not quite full which meant I got two seats to spread out on and my gear I could easily stash.
- comments