Friday was my last day of student teaching!! I can't believe it's over... I feel relieved and sad all at once. The kids were pretty sad to see me leave, but I'll actually be back on Friday afternoon to sub for a couple of classes. That made it nice to not have to finish everything up AND say goodbye all at once. I ate lunch with two of the girls as a reward for good behavior. They were so talkative and it was fun to be able to eat with them on my last day. In the afternoon I gathered up all of the materials and cleaned up my area. It was "bittersweet" (overused phrase I know, but quite fitting,) to realize that this is the end of my college career! How crazy! Over the weekend I finished up my portfolio stuff - student profiles, tweaking observation notes, etc.
About two minutes ago, my heart sang as I wrote all these files to a CD. When it ejected from the computer, I could almost hear "Pomp and Circumstance" in the background. :) When I was decididing whether or not to come back to the States for graduation, I asked my oldest brother David about it, because he opted out of coming back, as he finished up everything in December of '05, I believe. He said that he really doesn't regret it much at all, and when he dropped his last paper off at the professor's office, he could almost hear that famous graduation song also. So...I am now looking forward to the approaching summer, and also starting to think of ideas for next year. I have a few decisions to make this week, and would appreciate prayer for that. I am excited to come up with some creative ideas and to have time to really reflect on improvements I can make and all that jazz. Yesterday was a fun day, and was somewhat of a celebration for me. My church had a race in the morning- a 50-meter dash, and an endurance one. It was so fun to fellowship with brothers and sisters in that sort of atmosphere. I enjoyed running with the women, and I won 2nd place in the endurance one and 3rd in the 50-meter. The prize was a box of chocolate. Ironic, I know, but very Brazilian :) The pastor's wife won first place in the endurance one, and she deserved it for sure! She walks about 10 K every day, and is in her mid-40's or 50's. She even was recovering from a cold, and still won! Talk about in shape! AND only 11 days until I get on that plane to Peru! By no means will it be a "perfect summer" (I don't believe in perfection until heaven,) but it will be a really important time for Aulo and I's relationship. Getting to spend that time in person and see how the other person responds in many different situations will confirm either that it's going to go further or it can't. I'm really excited to be able to talk to him without having to look at a screen in front of me. However, I am incredibly thankful for the blessing that Skype has provided us. It is so nice to at least hear his voice every week.
Thank you all so very much for your prayers!!! I could not have made it through without them, and in the really rough patches, I could definitely sense them! I will hopefully have a chance this week to send out my update letter, so be looking for the second edition of "Sarah's Scribblings" :)
