Relaxing, Recouping, Recharging

I wish I could bottle these moments. You know, the ones where there is an overwhelming sense of peace and perfectness.  There ain't nothing better than being surrounded by nature, life, the beauty and perfectness of the natural world. I've yet to see anything man-made that rivals a flower. Why aren't we, as a community, more concerned with preservation? Why are we so eager to rip up the earth to build a strip mall? We know the benefits of "stopping to smell the roses", so why don't we? I know ya'll are busy, but I have the summer off, well a few weeks anyway, and I'm going to take advantage of enjoying nature, for both of us :)

Graduation Party - June 4, 2011

I just realized that I forgot to tell ya'll how the big graduation party was. This year around 35 students graduated and threw a party this is rumored to have cost $120,000, yes, you read that right, one hundred twenty THOUSAND dollars. Whew. Before I left I tried planting some seeds about maybe throwing a bit less extravagant party and donating the rest of the money, but I'm not sure how those seeds will grow without constant encouragement.

I was told that people would dress up - fancy, like prom fancy, like full length gown fancy. A gown? I didn't even wear a gown at my own wedding, well, I eloped on the continental divide, but still, a gown? After a week of stressing about the "gown", I decided to give it up and just borrow a dress from a coworker and not worry about looking out of place. I mean have you seen the way I dress? I pretty much look out of place anyway...

Laura was my date. That girl can make an empty room fun, so I told my principal that I would go as long as she could come as well. Here we are all dressed up and ready to impress :)

Laura has success borrowing a "gown" complete with sparklies. I had some sparkles too, but the knee length nature of my dress made it a bit less formal.

The party was scheduled to get underway at 10 pm or so with plans of serving dinner at 1 am, so we met my principal and his wife at a bar across the street from the party and made our entrance. The decorations were beautiful, I don't know about thousands of dollars beautiful, but the rooms were exquisitely decorated. Each student had 24 tickets and there was a teacher table for the few teachers that decided to attend. Many of the lower classmen were there, so I was able to see my girls all dressed up in their gowns. 

Here are four of "my" girls, you know the homeroom group of all girls that I had this year. They will graduate in 2013.

After some mingling it was time for the graduates to make their entrance. Since it is such a small class each senior got to choose a parent to walk them down the "aisle". It was super cute. I felt overly motherly and thought that I MUST return in two years when my girls graduate. 

The theme of the night was something like "we had the time of our lives". There was a live band and a huge dance area. It was nice to see the kids all dressed up and have time outside of school to say goodbye. It was a good way to close out my two years teaching at SCCS.

These four gorgeous girls graduated last year. I had them in a study hall class so we got close my first year at SCCS.

Nothing like 16 year olds to make you feel and look old :) Who needs children when I have my school family?

Back in America, well, North America, well, the United States of America!

I've learned to specify where I'm from. You can't live in South America and say you're American, because people respond with "so am I", and then you can't really say North American, because the Mexicans and Canadians will be lumped in there with you, so you end up having to say "yo soy de los estados unidos" which just says that I am from the United States, but if you really get picky, then you might get asked, well isn't Mexico really the United States of Mexico and technically they'd be correct, so it all gets a bit tricky, until... you get HOME and then no one asks you where you are from and you can just go about your business!

It doesn't take much time when you are away from the US of North America to realize how awesome this place is. Yeah, yeah, taxes, politics, etc. can take its toll, but seriously, this place is awesome. Clean roads, well hell, there are actual roads! Clean water, organized cities, customer service, did I mention clean roads? Being a tourist here is so easy! Well, I suppose you need a car, because transportation, in general, is not easy, especially in North Carolina, but renting a car is quite easy, so get in your car and start exploring!

My aunt is here visiting and we decided to be tourists for a few days. First stop was Fort Fisher, which is very close to my parents' house. This fort was used during the Civil War and is slowly joining the other forts and eroding into the ocean. One of the unique features of this fort were the blockade runners that would bring supplies from Bermuda into the hands of the confederates.

If you haven't been to the south you might be surprised to hear that the confederacy is alive and well here. Thriving actually. Yehaw. Got me some camo pants, my rifle, some moonshine and my rebel flag. My parents have lived in North Carolina for 26 years and will be considered Yankees til the day they leave. 

Next to Ft. Fisher is the Underwater Archeology Center which just pulled up Blackbeard's anchor from Queen Anne's Revenge. They've been working on the wreckage for over 10 years now and have waited to publicize to make sure it really was the pirate ship.

Next stop on the tour... another fort. We searched for some touristy things close to Wilmington and came up with lots of forts, lighthouses and old farm plantations. There is a battleship here, but I've been there a few times and it's already getting hot, so we decided to hop in the car and drive two hours towards Beaufort. Here, another Civil War fort, Fort Macon, is located. This fort was actually built by the US Federal Government in the 1850's and was guarded by one man when the confederate soldiers overtook the fort and used it during the Civil War. The fort was used in a few subsequent wars and is now a historic site. 

On our way out of Beaufort I spotted an old cemetery and yelled "Let's stop, Dad!" So we spent a few peaceful moments wandering around the historic cemetery.

Hasta luego

I'm leaving tomorrow. Two years, well, 22 months really, but we can call it two years, have passed in another blink of an eye. Have you moved around at all? The goodbye thing is always a struggle and seems to last just a few too many days. So much to wrap up, so many people to say goodbye to. Teachers are used to wrapping up each school year, saying temporary goodbyes and starting fresh every year, but international teachers are in a unique situation. I'm leaving a country that I have no plans to return to. I know, never say never, and I'm not saying that, but chances are slim that I'll be back in Bolivia. I do have to return to South America and explore Patagonia, both the Argentina and Chilean side but that is after I finish up exploring the caribbean.

Living and working in Santa Cruz has changed me in many ways. One of the hard things about returning to friends and family back home is that often times you are not really the same person anymore. Little things have changed, things that don't seem to big, until you are around people that knew you before. Before what? I'm not sure how to answer that. Each and every experience has left its mark on me, good and bad. It is hard not to become hardened when you've seen starving children and animals. I must have gone past 20 street dogs just today during a 10 minute taxi drive. Then there is the mark that my girls have left. Their kindness, compassion, honesty; they are a part of me and my family and yet won't probably ever know my other family. It is hard to go home and try to have conversations with people you haven't talked to. One plus for you is that I've kept a blog, so you can keep up with my travels, sarcasm, sadness and joys, but what do I have from you? Nothing. There is always facebook and that source has become my only link to some of you. I look forward to reading about your adventures, even if they are not far from home.

I know some of you think that I have crazy adventures, but believe me, those of you with kids and permanent homes are MUCH crazier than me. I like reading about your family, not so much the baby stage, I don't care that much until your kids start talking, but then, bring it on.

In my last few hours here in Santa Cruz I am going to the graduation party. The $120,000 party that kids have been saving for since pre-K. Parties in Bolivia don't get rollin' until about 10:30 pm. The dinner is planned for 1:00 am, so it'll be just enough time to say more goodbyes before jumping on the plane to Miami. See you all Stateside.