our final clasura was beautiful….and i can’t believe it’s already over. our group chose the butterfly as a theme since it develops slowly and throughout a process….sort of like we did over the last 6 months. cheesy i realize, but true. i made this giant butterfly puzzle before hand-each student got a piece that they put on the board after they finished their final speeches to contribute to the puzzle. we all took turns standing up in front of everyone and giving our final speeches to the whole group. they were short-only around 3-4 minutes each, but people did a really good job on them. each one was very thoughtful and filled with gratitude for the opportunity and experience. when all 17 of us had finished, the administration presented us with our certificates and a group picture we had taken a few months before and read each of us some things that people at the institute had written about us. truly, it was a lovely ceremony. when it was all said and done, we all had coffee in the main sala-there were lots of congratulatory hugs and encouraging words. next on the agenda was the talent show-which proved to be extremely entertaining. we made origami butterflies, watched a picture slide show, had lots of people sing songs, saw quite a few traditional dances, and even had a few comic sketches thrown in. it was a wonderful time just to enjoy each other and laugh together. we continued the celebration by having a huge bbq outside with everyone (teachers, administration, students, family and friends who had decided to come, staff etc.) eating together on our beautiful school grounds. soon after we finished eating the dancing started….and didn’t end until 4 hours later. we had an absolute blast, and it was the perfect way to end our semester together. it only confirmed the profound and unique community that i have been part during my time here and the authentic friendships that have been formed.
