The Final Week of School

The final week of school was so busy!  I remember being a kid and being beyond ready for school to be out.... multiply that by ten and you get how I felt as a teacher.  Don't get me wrong, I will miss my kids and my co-teacher (and my awesome class parents) but I also felt like the week was so jam packed that I just wanted it to be over so I could take a deep breath and exhale properly.

To be honest, I don't remember if there was anything particularly busy about Monday other than I stayed late to start taking things down off our classroom walls and clean.  On Tuesday we were supposed to be taking a fieldtrip to the botanical gardens for a picnic with the kids.  Unfortunately, the weather had other ideas and when I awoke to pouring rain, storms, and 55 degree weather (yes, in late June), I immediately knew we'd need to move on to plan B.  We spread a blanket in the classroom and had a "picnic" on the floor.  Then we played with a giant parachute (I remember doing this when I was a kid, too... especially for field day!)  The kids seemed to love it and have a blast so it all worked out.  After school on Tuesday we had a staff meeting about cleaning our classrooms and to learn the dance for the teacher flash-mob that would happen the next day at the end of the year ceremony.  The dance was pretty silly and I'm not so into that sort of thing, but I was willing to be a good sport about it.

Wednesday was the end of the year ceremony.  It was supposed to be held outside but the rain and cold weather continued.  All of the staff expected it to be moved inside, but much to our dismay, the top few people insisted that the show must go on (outside) despite the flooded garden/field area where it was supposed to be held and the miserable cold.  Thankfully, they administration did recognize that it was too wet and cold to expect my little-bitties to stand outside for so long, so we didn't have to go outside and instead watched from the window.  Of course, none of this was clear until the last minutes so we had to keep the kids up from their naps b/c we thought we'd need time to bundle them all up and walk them outside (at least a 45 minute endeavor with that many 2-3 year olds... especially since we encourage them to try to do things alone).

The ceremony that we saw from inside was good.  I'm a little sad that I missed some of the speeches since last year that was supposedly the funniest part for the english speaking staff.  Apparently last year the owner of the school was trying to describe the homemade gifts for parents and said that they were the result of a "hand-job."  I can see the translation error but still hilarious.  I don't think this year there was anything quite that funny though.  After the ceremony started to wrap up, we bundled up the kids and took them out to do the end of the year giant maple leaf event.  Basically, they had outlined a giant maple leaf (b/c we are a "Canadian" school) and the entire school filled it in and then held red panels above our heads.  The original goal was to make it big enough to make the Guinness book of World Records, but I think we only succeeded in making the Czech record.  While it WAS cool looking (they took arial photos of it from the roof), the Czech record for the largest maple leaf was probably up for grabs...

Thursday was the last day for several of my students (including a few of my favorites... and Tereza... the little girl who absolutely stole my heart.)  It was a sad day filled with too many goodbyes.  I stayed late to do some more cleaning and hang out with Tereza and Lili since they were in after school club and it was their last day.  After cleaning and goodbyes, I headed into town and over to Jena's.  She was flying out on Friday morning, so we had to say goodbyes and celebrate the year.  We all went over to Jena and Will's place to drink the wine parents had given us as goodbye gifts and eat the chocolate (also from class parents) and just enjoy our last night together.  Because of weight restrictions, Jena was leaving tons of her clothes, so we had a blast all trying them on and dressing as Jena... even the guys, who hilariously dressed in her leggings, sparkly sweaters, and crazy hats.

I had morning club the next morning, so I was a party pooper and left quite early.  Tamela came with me.  On our way to the bus stop we were stopped and asked for directions by a very lost young guy.  He was heading somewhere close to where we live so we told him just to come get on the bus with us and he'd get off a few bus stops before us.  He was super friendly and works for Sony doing some sort of fashion/wardrobing and works a lot with celebrities and just seemed really cool.  He's also from London and promised me to send me a list of cool places to check out in exchange for our help.  He's friended us on fb so I think I can make him make good on that promise.

I had morning club on Friday, never fun but was almost totally empty on the last day.  Once that was over, I headed to Blue Bunnies for lots of sad goodbyes and our class party.  Kids were in and out all day (some only came for about an hour to say goodbye, some came late, etc).  It was a bittersweet day and although I am looking forward to my next adventure, and although this year has been less than perfect, particularly with poor school management and being sick constantly, I am none-the-less going to miss my little rugrats so much.  I think the stress, the emotions, and too much chocolate got to me, and I started to feel really ill on the bus ride home.  I was supposed to be going out with friends, but I opted to stay in and get my stomach calmed down and also just.... process the end of the school year and take some quiet reflection time.

Saturday was my first day of summer vacation... but I was still busy.  The first thing I did was go close my Czech bank account.  Neither of the employees there spoke any English (okay, a slight exaggeration... one was able to ask if I wanted to exchange money.)  Through a series of online translators, charades, and patience/good humor on both ends, I closed my account and got money out in Czech Crowns, Euros, and USD for the weeks that were ahead.  From there, a went and bought Andie a present (it's super pretty... hoping it doesnt get smashed on the flight home) and then I went and got a homemade lemonade (with mint and ginger) and a small sandwich at this adorable cafe that just opened about a block away from the apartment.  That night, Tamela and I made homemade falafel, homemade hummus, and had pita bread and veggies along with it for a delicious dinner.  

Sunday (June 30) felt like my final real day in Prauge since I was leaving on vacation for a week and then flying home shortly after my return.  I spent part of it packing, but I also wanted to say goodbye to Will, who would leave while I was on vacation.  After a morning of weighing suitcases down to the final pound, I met up with Will and we headed to see the Kafka statue in Prague.  I'd only seen it once and it's a very touristy place, and it was worth another visit.  After staring at it for a few minutes, we decided we'd had enough and headed to Charles Bridge to shop for gifts for Tamela (from me) and a friend of Will's.  I found a gorgeous copper bracelet and copper earrings with stained glass for Tamela and Will found a breathtaking necklace for Ang. At the same shop, I fell in love with a mini copper bracelet... Will bought it for me without me realizing it which was so nice and appreciated since I'm obsessed with it (which he said he could tell).

From the bridge, we headed to see the Lennon Wall once last time.  What Greg and I wrote last time is already painted over, but some how, what I wrote on Easter is still there. ("Liberty is something far too precious to be buried in books." -- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington).  After admiring the wall and looking for things we'd written in the past, we went to buy Trdelik (pastry things) and then finally parted ways.  I had dinner with Tamela again and crashed early so I could get up and catch the 7AM bus to Munich.