Sad Day

I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE! Today is our last day in the classrooms and we will leave tomorrow at 6 am for Sactown. It is really sad that I am leaving these kids, who I feel like I am just getting to know and bond with. Ms. Garland made the announcement in class that I was leaving and there was a big "awwwwww" from everyone. I'll admit, I teared up. These kids are so funny, and when they aren't being buttheads in class, they are cracking me up and making me smile.

I'm also sad to be leaving the staff. Ms. Garland is a fabulous teacher and a really great person. The other teachers are phenomenal as well. Last Tuesday some of the teachers invited the over 21ers out to a bar for a pub trivia night. It was such a blast to just hang out with these people. These teachers don't just like working with each other, but they like to hang out outside of work, which is one of the most important things about forming a really cohesive staff/team. Every teacher here is so young and full of energy that it can be infectous.

I don't want to leave San Diego! I feel like I haven't seen half of the cool stuff in this city. There are beaches to lay on, parks to play in, people to meet and just fun in general to be had that I haven't had the time to experience.

I know that I have changed. I couldn't tell you how, but this experience has touched me deeply and I know that the things that I have learned and absorbed here have made me a better person for life. I have seen poverty. I've seen what it is like to live in the so-called "bad part of town." I've seen what it is like for children talking about their parents and family being in jail or not being able to immigrate to the US. But I've also seen the joy and laughter in these same kids. I've seen the light go on in a kids head when they finally understand how to add fractions. I've seen the love that people can have for their neighborhood and community, despite their own circumstances. I've also seen a community of people whose backgrounds and lives could not be more different than mine welcome me and my team with warm, open hearts. I don't know if this can even convey what I feel about this project, but I hope you can get the idea.

Tuesday is the official debriefing meeting that my team has with the staff in Sac. This will be the final chapter in this project where we tell them what we did and how we affected King/Chavez. I may actually shed a tear or two. This weekend will be fun with seeing everybody back at campus, but I'll also be working on the portfolio we have to put together. Give me a call sometime this week if you want to chat. It will be a busy week, but I'll have a good amount of downtime too.

I don't know how any other project is going to be able to compare with this. Everyone is going to be back on campus saying how they had the best project, but I know that I really did have the best project. I am excited to go to Slidell tho. I'll let you all know more of the details about that project next week.

Back to work.