The time has come...

...to say goodbye. I can´t believe how fast time has gone by. Part of me feels like just yesterday I was standing at the counter of the Bilbao airport filling out a report for my lost luggage, and the other part of me feels like I´ve been here forever and that my blood is truly Spanish. What a great experience it has been.

Kate, my collaborating teacher, invited me to her home to relax and enjoy supper together. Yesterday was finally the day that this worked out... better late than never. It was so peaceful riding home in a car where there was civilized conversation instead of yelling! It was great to get to spend time with Kate outside of the academic setting. It was also wonderful to have a normal, homecooked meal... delicious! I have been blessed with a great mentor, support, teacher, and friend. I really learned a lot from her and am grateful for all that she has done.

I need to say goodbye to my students today, and as the day goes on I´m realizing that it will be more difficult than I anticipated. Currently, I think they are preparing something for me because Kate asked me to leave the room for awhile. They have been difficult, but at the same time they taught me a lot. They taught me a lot about themselves, children in general, and they taught me a lot about myself. We are having a picnic this afternoon, and on our schedule on the board it says, "Surprise for Miss Jessie!" I´m excited to see what it is!

I leave this afternoon to go to Picos de Europa, a mountainous national park in Asturias. From the pictures I´ve seen, it looks beautiful, and the cabin we´re going to stay in looks incredible. Stay tuned for pictures... Igor is picking me up this afternoon, and I asked him to come a little later than normal just so I couldhave some time gto finalize packing all of my bags and get everything ready. Well, I´m not so sure that that is necessary. This morning I was asked to be sure that everything was out of the room before I left for school so that the nanny could prepare the room for the daughter. So, I wasn´t kicked-out, kicked-out, but in a way I was kicked-out. Goodness! Good thing all of my bags were already basically prepared and ready to go. Looks like we´re going to get an earlier start today than I had anticipated! No pasa nada!