Making the Most of It
I haven't posted anything lately because I was too busy trying to make the most of my last few days in Saipan. We were determined to "milk it" for as much as it was worth, and I think we did that! It was the best last few days that anyone could have asked for. Here's a quick look at what we did.....
Monday (June 2) was Kindergarten graduation. They were adorable in their little caps and gowns!
Tuesday (June 3) was a fun day at the Wave Jungle water park. Everyone had a great time and we were totally exhausted at the end of the day!
On the evening of Wednesday (June 4) we celebrated the 8th Grade graduation. Their theme was very eclectic which reflected them as a class. As you can see, their banner was done in graffiti - they did an awesome job of it......just don't ask how they became so good at it! They are such a great bunch of kids and I'll really miss them.
Thursday (June 5) was the last day of school. After cleaning up the classroom and moving the desks out of the way, we had a little party. As you can see, my students are sprawled out eating, snacking and watching a movie.
A parting shot with one of my challenging students.....
After my students left, I worked on my report cards and finished cleaning up. When I was done, my classroom looked pretty much the same way it did when I first arrived 2 years ago (but cleaner and more organized). Other than that, there is no evidence that I had ever even been there.
Later that evening......we had our final book club meeting to discuss "The Time Traveller's Wife." Amy made dinner and we all hung out. I'm glad that Derek and Myla brought their adorable baby son. I enjoyed playing with him..... and if you didn't know, I probably could pass him off as mine! ;)
Friday (June 6) was mostly a work day. Although school was over, there was still lots to be done. It was a sad moment when I walked out of my classroom and locked it for the last time. That evening, a big group of us got together for haystacks over at the Pierson's place. It was a nice way to spend out last Friday night together. And it was yummy, too!
Sabbath after church, we took one final staff photo:
After lunch, we headed out for one final Sabbath afternoon adventure.....led by me! I'm not sure if that was a good idea because we found ourselves in a few sticky situations, but I did get us to where were were going after a few misadventures, but over all it was great!
The original plan was to go to Naftan Point. I was the only one who had been there and I was very confident that I knew where we were going. When we finally arrived, I realized that I had the directions correct......for a different place: Grant's Grotto, a place that you're not supposed to drive down to. We enjoyed the scenery and the view and then had quite the adventure to try to get back up the trail. I won't go into details, but I will tell you that I was quite terrified most of the time! Thank goodness that Sean was willing to drive!
Since I led them to the wrong place, we decided to try and find the actual Naftan Point. Now that I had taken them to the wrong place, I thought I knew where the right place was so we headed in that direction, and my memory did serve me correctly this time and we finally arrived. We enjoyed the view and then had prayer together to close the Sabbath.
After sundown, we had a farewell party at the church. It was fun to hang out with the students and the church family one last time. There were games and then we ended with the traditional slide show with pictures and tributes from the year. Some of the young children were confused because one moment we were all playing and having fun and then the next moment we were crying as we looked at the pictures and said our goodbyes. They couldn't figure out what happened!
Sunday (June 8) was supposed to be a fun day, but since some of my roommates were still working on report cards and stuff, I just had a chill day at home.
But Monday.......Monday was no such day! It started off early - 2 A.M. We took Veronyka to the airport to see her off, but rather than going back home and back to bed like normal people would do, we decided to head north to Bonzai cliff to watch the sunrise. But since it was only 3:30, we slept in the back of the truck until the sun was ready to come up.
And when it did come up, it was beautiful!
While we were watching the sunrise, we ate our well-rounded and healthy breakfast of Red Bull and FriChik!
It wasn't the most delicious breakfast I've ever eaten, but it was just the boost we needed for the rest of the day. While the breakfast set in, we hiked down to a little ledge over looking the ocean. There was nothing between us and the steep drop off - it was cool! And we even saw a sea turtle who came up for air.
By the time we hiked back up the trail we were ready to run up Suicide Cliff one last time. (You can see the Cliff in the back ground.)
Right before we started to run, my fellow 4Runners (the name of our running group) whipped out their Ipods as they usually do. When they told me to get out my Ipod, I reminded them that I don't have one. But they insisted, until I caught on that they had gotten me in Ipod! And sure enough, there it was waiting for me in my bag! They had each contributed songs to the playlist so that I would have songs to remember each of them by when I run. I was blown away by their thoughtfulness and generosity! It was my first-ever run with an Ipod, and it gave me such a boost. Even despite the lack of a restful sleep and a nutritious breakfast, I practically flew up the mountain, matching my first time of 37 minutes. It felt good!
The day was still young, so after walking back down Suicide Cliff, we jumped in the truck and drove down to Cow Town, an abandoned part of the island where they now do BMX-ing and such. From there we walked down to the ocean where the waves are crashing and it feels like you're a million miles away from civilization! It was beautiful!
Never having been to San Juan beach before (and wanting to go before I left), that was our next stop. It was a little bit of a drive, but definitely worth it. It was so peaceful there....I wish I could've stayed all day!
Next on the list was to kayak out to the tanks in the lagoon. We borrowed a kayak from the Piersons and some swam while others kayaked. When we reached the second tank, we tied up the kayak and the 4 of us just sat on top of the tank, chatting and reminiscing about all the great times we'd had throughout the year. Those "tank talks" are some of my favorite memories!
Then it was back to real life.....we had to do laundry and some packing. But not for long, because we had planned to get together with a bunch of friends for our "last supper" at the garlic restaurant - Grotto 2298. It was delicious!
After dinner, we went out for ice cream.....and then it was time to finish packing. We were up all night before heading back to the airport at 2 A.M to see Jessica off. Judith and I were all packed up as well, so we went out for breakfast (at 3 A.M.) instead of going back home. It was a full 24+ hours of hanging out - it was great! We went back to the airport around 6:30 to check in and then we were gone. Judith and I traveled together as far as Portland before we parted ways. Even though we slept pretty much the whole time, it was still nice to travel together.
Now I'm back in Canada waiting for the next set of adventures.....
Monday (June 2) was Kindergarten graduation. They were adorable in their little caps and gowns!
Tuesday (June 3) was a fun day at the Wave Jungle water park. Everyone had a great time and we were totally exhausted at the end of the day!
On the evening of Wednesday (June 4) we celebrated the 8th Grade graduation. Their theme was very eclectic which reflected them as a class. As you can see, their banner was done in graffiti - they did an awesome job of it......just don't ask how they became so good at it! They are such a great bunch of kids and I'll really miss them.
Thursday (June 5) was the last day of school. After cleaning up the classroom and moving the desks out of the way, we had a little party. As you can see, my students are sprawled out eating, snacking and watching a movie.
A parting shot with one of my challenging students.....
After my students left, I worked on my report cards and finished cleaning up. When I was done, my classroom looked pretty much the same way it did when I first arrived 2 years ago (but cleaner and more organized). Other than that, there is no evidence that I had ever even been there.
Later that evening......we had our final book club meeting to discuss "The Time Traveller's Wife." Amy made dinner and we all hung out. I'm glad that Derek and Myla brought their adorable baby son. I enjoyed playing with him..... and if you didn't know, I probably could pass him off as mine! ;)
Friday (June 6) was mostly a work day. Although school was over, there was still lots to be done. It was a sad moment when I walked out of my classroom and locked it for the last time. That evening, a big group of us got together for haystacks over at the Pierson's place. It was a nice way to spend out last Friday night together. And it was yummy, too!
Sabbath after church, we took one final staff photo:
After lunch, we headed out for one final Sabbath afternoon adventure.....led by me! I'm not sure if that was a good idea because we found ourselves in a few sticky situations, but I did get us to where were were going after a few misadventures, but over all it was great!The original plan was to go to Naftan Point. I was the only one who had been there and I was very confident that I knew where we were going. When we finally arrived, I realized that I had the directions correct......for a different place: Grant's Grotto, a place that you're not supposed to drive down to. We enjoyed the scenery and the view and then had quite the adventure to try to get back up the trail. I won't go into details, but I will tell you that I was quite terrified most of the time! Thank goodness that Sean was willing to drive!
Since I led them to the wrong place, we decided to try and find the actual Naftan Point. Now that I had taken them to the wrong place, I thought I knew where the right place was so we headed in that direction, and my memory did serve me correctly this time and we finally arrived. We enjoyed the view and then had prayer together to close the Sabbath.
After sundown, we had a farewell party at the church. It was fun to hang out with the students and the church family one last time. There were games and then we ended with the traditional slide show with pictures and tributes from the year. Some of the young children were confused because one moment we were all playing and having fun and then the next moment we were crying as we looked at the pictures and said our goodbyes. They couldn't figure out what happened!Sunday (June 8) was supposed to be a fun day, but since some of my roommates were still working on report cards and stuff, I just had a chill day at home.
But Monday.......Monday was no such day! It started off early - 2 A.M. We took Veronyka to the airport to see her off, but rather than going back home and back to bed like normal people would do, we decided to head north to Bonzai cliff to watch the sunrise. But since it was only 3:30, we slept in the back of the truck until the sun was ready to come up.
And when it did come up, it was beautiful!
While we were watching the sunrise, we ate our well-rounded and healthy breakfast of Red Bull and FriChik!
It wasn't the most delicious breakfast I've ever eaten, but it was just the boost we needed for the rest of the day. While the breakfast set in, we hiked down to a little ledge over looking the ocean. There was nothing between us and the steep drop off - it was cool! And we even saw a sea turtle who came up for air.(This picture is for you mom!)
By the time we hiked back up the trail we were ready to run up Suicide Cliff one last time. (You can see the Cliff in the back ground.)
Right before we started to run, my fellow 4Runners (the name of our running group) whipped out their Ipods as they usually do. When they told me to get out my Ipod, I reminded them that I don't have one. But they insisted, until I caught on that they had gotten me in Ipod! And sure enough, there it was waiting for me in my bag! They had each contributed songs to the playlist so that I would have songs to remember each of them by when I run. I was blown away by their thoughtfulness and generosity! It was my first-ever run with an Ipod, and it gave me such a boost. Even despite the lack of a restful sleep and a nutritious breakfast, I practically flew up the mountain, matching my first time of 37 minutes. It felt good!The day was still young, so after walking back down Suicide Cliff, we jumped in the truck and drove down to Cow Town, an abandoned part of the island where they now do BMX-ing and such. From there we walked down to the ocean where the waves are crashing and it feels like you're a million miles away from civilization! It was beautiful!
Never having been to San Juan beach before (and wanting to go before I left), that was our next stop. It was a little bit of a drive, but definitely worth it. It was so peaceful there....I wish I could've stayed all day!
Next on the list was to kayak out to the tanks in the lagoon. We borrowed a kayak from the Piersons and some swam while others kayaked. When we reached the second tank, we tied up the kayak and the 4 of us just sat on top of the tank, chatting and reminiscing about all the great times we'd had throughout the year. Those "tank talks" are some of my favorite memories!Then it was back to real life.....we had to do laundry and some packing. But not for long, because we had planned to get together with a bunch of friends for our "last supper" at the garlic restaurant - Grotto 2298. It was delicious!
After dinner, we went out for ice cream.....and then it was time to finish packing. We were up all night before heading back to the airport at 2 A.M to see Jessica off. Judith and I were all packed up as well, so we went out for breakfast (at 3 A.M.) instead of going back home. It was a full 24+ hours of hanging out - it was great! We went back to the airport around 6:30 to check in and then we were gone. Judith and I traveled together as far as Portland before we parted ways. Even though we slept pretty much the whole time, it was still nice to travel together.Now I'm back in Canada waiting for the next set of adventures.....
Comments
Excellent summary of all we did. I will be linking my readers to your blog. I love that your summaries are so complete--it allows me to go in different directions on the same topics so our blogs "complement" each other. :)
Can't wait to hear how the next adventures unfold!