End of the Year

Sadly, yesterday was the last day we all had with our students at school. As you can see by the photo, I'm pretty sure that the adults had just as much fun as the kids. We had a dancing corner which featured dancing and the limbo, headed by all the awesome teachers.

After giving my last exam, (yes, our primary students have exams) I walked outside to see how the first and second grade party was going. I didn't actually have to be there until it was time for the third and fourth graders to have their party, but who can resist all of this good natured fun? So I got some ice cream and joined in on the dancing and limbo. Having always liked dancing, it was great to finally get to to be an instructor. Ok, ok, maybe it was only telling the students to jump up and down six times, or stomp their right foot once, but this could be the start of something huge!

During all the festivities, I wanted to see if Hala, who was way too busy to enjoy the fun, wanted some ice cream. In an attempt to put a smile on her face, I decided to write 'do you want ice cream' in Arabic. I was pretty sure I had written it correctly so I was surprised when she looked at me with an amused expression and a 'what?' Turns out, instead of asking her if she wanted ice cream, I asked her if she wanted a breast. Yep, buza and bza are quite close in spelling. Not so close in meaning. I just thought my handwriting would be enough to make her laugh but I exceeded my goal. Now I have to look up how to spell 'ice cream.'

As I told my kids that I wouldn't be teaching at the school next year, a lot of them were genuinely disappointed and proceeded to give me big hugs and say that I couldn't leave and I must come visit them next year, etc. This of course, put a big smile on my face. What made the kids smile was when I told them that since I'm not their teacher anymore, I can become their 'Facebook friend.' I've already received some messages saying that I'll be missed accompanied by hearts. I hope they all know that even though they could frustrate me sometimes, I will miss them too!