Yesterday was our last day of school. They held a big assembly for SP and me where they gave us each a Karen shirt and bag. Two of the sixth graders read a speech in English, and each class came up to take pictures with us. At the end they requested we sing an American song. We made a deal that we'd sing only if we could have a giant group hug at the end. We put on our best purple dinosaur voices and sang the Barney "I Love You" song. When we finished, the boy standing next to me in the picture was the first to come hug us. He's a first grader named Boo, and it's very possible I love him more than any other person in the world. I've never exchanged more than the few English words we taught with him, but it doesn't matter. He sat on my lap each class, secretly knowing that he was my favorite. The moment he ran up to hug me was the moment I lost it; the tears came before I could stop them. The rest of the day was full of hugs from everyone...our favorites, the trouble makers, the kids whose names we still didn't know. Teaching at that school was truly such an amazing experience. I wish there was a way to continue their English education, because no teachers there know any English. Those kids have such potential. Hopefully I can go back in a few years, see Boo all grown up, and refresh what they learned in the two month English crash course we game them.
Tomorrow morning we're off to Chiang Mai! We have everything planned out (well, mostly just what we want to eat). Mexican, Italian, more Mexican, and one last Thai meal for good measure. We just have to get through the five hour bus ride. Weeeee!
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