Lisa, Hannah and I went to school this morning. Hannah gave her final while Lisa and I proctored classes. We stayed after and helped grade, finishing around 2pm. Hannah and I came back to the apartment and packed up the last of the boxes. At 4:30, Andy and Lisa came over and helped us move the bigger pieces of furniture over to John and Mary's. Afterwards we went to dinner at Big Chef, then back to Andy and Lisa's for ice cream bars. The skies started to look a little stormy, so Andy drove us home ... and just in time too. No sooner than we were home and it started pouring rain.
Hannah and I decided to spend our last night bonding ... the electricity flickered as we sat on the cold tile floor and created a playlist for our roadtrip tomorrow. I've very much enjoyed having Hannah as a roommate and will miss her terribly.
Sunday, May 26th:
Went to school again. Mary gave her final today and John brought Henry to say goodbye to everyone. Before their final started, I gave my fifth graders certificates for completing every homework assignment in phase 3 and 4. I also told those who had reached their goals to see me after their final so I could give them a prize. As they met me below, I let them select a prize from a box of things that Mom brought with her from America. The 2nd and 3rd graders kept peering into the box and asking if they could take a prize ... it was a good opportunity to explain what it meant to make a goal and meet it. My students were thrilled to be rewarded for their hard work this year. One student's face in particular will stay in my memory. At the beginning of the year, we had a lot of problems mostly because his English comprehension wasn't very good. He is a bright student, but would talk in class and when I would write his name on the board, he would get up and argue with me. We have worked together throughout the year, which sometimes meant explaining what he had done wrong after class and other times enforcing the consequences even if it meant losing both breaks. Things were getting better, but a couple weeks ago he really started acting up again. For a few days I tried different things, then finally took him aside after class and asked him what I needed to do to help him improve his behavior. He wasn't sure how to answer, but his behavior improved significantly after that. I was pleased to reward him for reaching his goal of a 80% for the year. He couldn't believe he was getting a prize and after taking it, was very grateful, even coming back a few times to say "thank you," and "hi, Miss" and probably check to see if I really meant to give it to him. :)
Around 1pm, the Bishop's picked all of us up and we left for Erbil. It was a fun roadtrip that ended too quickly! After dropping off luggage, we went out to dinner at the mall. Perhaps not a big deal in America, but here, it is the place where we can choose from Chinese, Indian, and real burgers. A mini food paradise! We ate, then went to the kids' play area to celebrate Zander's birthday (#4). Henry and I rode on the little train, which he thought was a blast!
Zander-man drinking pop for his birthday!
One last team pic...
When we got back to our teammates' house, the girls went to Majesty Market where you can buy cake mix and candy bars from America, chips and cookies from the U.K. and all kinds of things we hardly ever see in Duhok. Hannah and I stayed up with John until it was time for them to go to the airport at 2am. We chatted, snacked, and played 4 Pics - 1 Word on the iPad. I was bleary-eyed, but glad I could say goodbye one last time. We will see each other at the end of June for our company's orientation, so it was goodbye for just a little while. (I will actually see them again before I see my family!)
Glad to stumble into bed...
