"Finals Week" prep & El Taller Ultimo

Hola gente...Obviously this has been the most unique term that I have had while I have been in college. Nonetheless, yet another finals week is upon me and I am in preparation mode to be ready for my big exam and to finish all of my crazy research papers. AHHH I have done so much while I have been here. It gets to a point where it is so hard to even put it down in writing. There has just been so much work done by me during these five months...work for school, mental work in learning everything from scratch--language, directions, people's names and personalities, the street smarts of Chile, etc x 100--emotional work in figuring out who I am. I mean...I have gotten to the point in my time here where every place that I go I am filled with memories of the days that I have passed in Chile before the present moment in which I am strolling through the very spot that I once stood as another Rose...a different Rose in a sense. Experiences like the one that I am about to wrap up in a month are things that stick with you for the rest of your life. This was a crazy, exciting, unforgettable, incredibly challenging, emotionally-tiring, emotionally-rewarding experience that has filled me with so much knowledge! I am such a better person for deciding to take on this challenge of living in another country. And what luck I have had in this experience. I think when you realize that you have 2 more weeks left in the place that you have stayed for the last half year of your life, you enter yet another phase in which you appreciate everything around you so much more. Even though I had been appreciating my surroundings before, now I am really trying to drink in every sight, memory, and experience because I realize that the time is soon that I will be back in the states and missing Chile. Amidst all this drinking (of the sights...that is) I am writing some craaaazy ass research papers for my final papers for both of the classes that I am taking. And then I have a FINAL in bioarch. in addition to the paper and this is next Thursday. For now, what I know is that I have the day completely open tomorrow and I will be running in the morning with Hannah and then spending the day at Starbucks to type away like a fool like I have been doing for the past three weeks. haha Oh Rose. Why are you so crazy? 2 final papers in Spanish about distinct research topics that are each like 15-18 pages. haha Yeah. That's all I can say.

This weekend was very productive for me in terms of school. I spent the whole weekend at Meg's apartment and we have some good study time in between going out with our friends Annette and Casey, cooking yummy meals, watching Year 1 and Frost/Nixon, and having an official hangover day. Oh that is an inside joke that will always be remembered. I can't wait to be traveling around South America with Meg in THREE WEEKS...for THREE WEEKS!! Oh how awesome. That is what is keeping me going with all of these papers. It's like...I have been under this much stress before and I know that in two weeks despite the pain and stress, I will have my papers done perfectly and professionally with copies printed for my teachers and my research subjects in pretty bradded folders. This is simply what will occur. Mark my words that in two weeks, this will be the reality. And then I can just CHILL for a week while I prepare for my presentation for Med. Anth. but that will be about my research that I am really attached to anyways so bring it on. School is such a personal journey. You can work soooo hard on something but people never really understand how hard you work. It's not like they are gonna ask to read your paper or something. Besides, would YOU ask to read someone's research paper that they worked like 100 hours on?! haha It just amazes me what a personal journey our effort in school is.

My students in the English conversation class at Hermanos Matte

OK last thing that I would like to note is that today was the final after-school English taller that I teach at Hermanos Matte. It was a day of presents, food, fiesta, pictures, hugs, and tears. What a great group of students I have been blessed with while running the taller for the past five months. They ate their cheese puffs, drank their chocolate milk, and we played "Best, Worst, or Funniest" so that every could talk for a little bit about their week. One girl confessed that her mother has a complicated disease and started to cry so we connected our hands and prayed for her mother to recooperate. These kids are experiencing things that I would never have been able to experience when I was their age. They are truly inspirational and I would ask you all to pray for a mother in Chile with a complicated disorder who's daughter "needs her" as she expressed. After our taller, we all hung out and laughed and ate good food. Nobody wanted to leave but as all good things tend to do, our time together came to an end. Hugs. Goodbyes. And so much appreciation for the opportunity that I had been given. Now I will always have the memories, the learning experience, the self-confidence in my ability as a Spanish-speaker/English-teacher, and the pics and videos from that day and days past. Here's the videos for your viewing pleasure:

Our little English fiesta with my students :)

Two gringas and one of the many talented students!

The Power of Prayer

And the Power of Hugs, too.

My final farewell/life-advice talk to the students.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Francisca and Juan with their teacher
as well as my dear friend Mary Cruz

"Miss Rose...will you dance for us?"

Rose: "Bailar esta en la sangre de ustedes.
Para la gente blanca, no es tan facil."

hehe oh the memories.

We just can't resist.

Cleaning up my lesson plan just like every
other Monday. Only this was the last time :(
But I can't focus on the sadness of leaving
because the awesomeness of this experience
makes it worth it. Why dwell on the fact that
all journeys come to an end one day?
That's a reason to enjoy it!

Sweet Carlos was brave enough at his young
age to join us "big kids" for a couple tallers.

He is such a loving kid and I know that
he is gonna do great things in the future!