phew

The academic year has come to a close, with much pomp and circumstance.  While the past weeks have left me exhausted, I find myself feeling full.  We successfully pulled off a graduation dinner, a full day of photos and uniforming, a graduation ceremony that would have left even the Ivy league wilting,  and an end of the  year trip. 
This year we were going to go to the amusement park in San Jose, but at the last minute they decided to close due to heavy rains and low tourism.  I'm just glad we called ahead before showing up at the locked iron gate, feeling as so many children in Willy Wonka's London.  After much scramble and several rounds of phone calls, we arranged a trip to the pools in Guacimal.  it turns out that the owner of La Presa restaurant is one of my favorite Santa Elena residents, Obaldo from the Vargas market.  He went down in the morning and opened up the restaurant and pools just for us.  It was very sweet and the students all rewarded him by purchasing mountains of candy, gum and chips.  When said items are contraband, as they are at the CEC, their value on a school outing becomes grossly inflated, as do all abdomens involved, for a day of pre-teen sugar debauchery.   
     We swam, we splashed, we returned to school for pizza and movies, and then most of the class stayed the night in the classroom.  We hiked up to the new kiosk late in the evening in the rain and shared scary stories.  I told one of my favorites, a true ghost story that dates back to my time at the Putney school, and promptly learned that the one partent who was helping me chaperone this adventure, a gringo dad from Colorado, met his wife and graduated from Putney in the '70's.  Truly small world.  Needless to say we met up for a beer after the students left the following day and exchanged memories that neither of us could have imagined we'd be able to share here on the mountain.  The uncanny link between Monteverde and Vermont continues to mature the more time I spend here. 
    It was a terrific year, and I feel proud and satisfied with all that has transpired in our community.  My students are well prepared for high school, and it heartens me to know that the majority of them will be back in five short weeks to take on a new year.  I'm already looking ahead to the entering class, and will be there to welcome them with open arms when we return in July.  for the time being, I have a couple of weeks of massage work and rest ahead of me, and a trip to the states to visit Connecticut, New York and Tennessee planned.  I sincerely hope I can see as many readers of this blog as possible during this trip, and look forward to all the adventures yet to come.  My one regret is that the new Batman movie is scheduled to be released right on the day that I have to return to Central America.  Bummer.  I'll have to rent the fuzzy Spanish version, complete with silhouettes of fellow theater goers, and in theater commentary...

   

Comments

[eric:p]

Yay for the end of school. I look forward to enjoying that soon. =) We also get to see Jesse. Woo!

[Ryan]

Congratulations on another successful year. We're proud of you back here in the (sometimes) frozen white north.

[Aaron]

PARA QUE?! Yo Soy Batman.

[Chagrin]

No regrets about the batman movie - you can still see it here. That's what midnight showings are all about!