Like I mentioned in the Christmas post, my students had their finals early and we had parties. One of the things I did in the classes was paper chains. Each class wrote their wishes and names on the papers and they worked together to make the chains, which they hung up in the classrooms.
The night before I left, I hosted a party for us teachers. It was potluck and we did a white elephant gift exchange. I was the first person and I got an elephant nightlight. No one wanted to trade with me, but we were all happy that the semester had ended and that we all survived. Since the other teachers knew that I was leaving in the morning, they helped to clean up and I quickly packed before getting a few hours of sleep. Granted, I did not sleep much because I was too excited that in the morning I would be travelling to AUSTRALIA!
Overall, the semester went well and I am pleased with the progress the students have made. I am also very proud of myself for what I have done this semester. I learned a great deal of how to cope with a new environment, the challenges of language and culture barriers, and trying to figure out how to be an independent adult. Nevertheless, I will continue to learn more as I go forward into this upcoming semester, 2014, and whatever else is in store.