school's out for summer..... school's out forever

In about 1 hour, I will be finished with school... completely. Well, in Cape Verde, at any rate. English Unlimited, under it's current ownership, has closed. The school will be moved to a new locale, one which is off the beaten path, but cheaper. We paid the higher price for visibility this year and now that a reputation has been built, the new owners will be able to move to a side street. Things have been absolutely insane this week. We were contracted to translate over 200 pages of .pdf files for a company website, which we promptly translated in a miraculously short amount of time. I assumed that my life would be less hectic after our graduation ceremony two Saturdays ago, but I was WRONG. In fact, I continued to teach a couple of summer classes and translated my brains out. I'm totally fried and have been battling a stomach problem for over a month. I NEED A VACATION. So, luckily today is it. I will be on vacation for my last week in Cape Verde. I'll be flying out on Sunday the 10th and I'll arrive in Mississippi on the morning of the 11th. Jackson, my adorable cat, will be with me. He's been a trooper this year and will be SOOO happy to back to the land of birds, squirrels, and rodents. His hunting instincts will surely need some sharpening.

As time draws near, I am thrilled to have had this experience. Cape Verde has been a blessing and a much needed change. I can't wait to return to the familiarity of America. Life here has been so different from my experiences at home. I'll always appreciate what I've learned and the growth and personal development I've made here. I'll also appreciate the people I've worked with and the things I leave behind as my gifts to this country. Volunteering and teaching both have the bonus of making the person doing the service or the job a better person, which is far more than you actually give or do for others.

Signing off for now... the electric company is here to shut off our lights at the school. I'll teach my one last class without lights, but the sun is shining brightly here at English Unlimited... NO WORRIES.