School is Over - I Sang an A-cappella Solo at the Closing Ceremony
Wow. I can't believe this semester is over already! It was a little surreal and emotional leaving the school building for the last time. I don't expect to ever return again. Isn't that so strange? We devote so much time to something, make relationships with people, and then just like that, it's all over. I had come to love my little B2 (my level of Spanish) tribe at the university here in León. I feel a little pang of loss knowing we'll all go our separate ways and never again sit together in the same room trying to understand the same lessons.
Back row: Moeka, Corinne, Emma, Cristina (Grammar Teacher), Enzo, Eli, and Suzhi
It's been an amazing week, however, and we ended the year in style, for sure! We had an awards ceremony / Christmas party to end everything on a positive note. At the closing ceremony, each of the classes did an activity for the whole school. One of the classes did a skit where they acted out each of the professors and everyone had to guess which was which. They were spot on, and the whole school was doubled over laughing. Our class did a guessing game with a Christmas theme. They also had a spokesperson from each class give a little thank-you speech. I was the one who represented our class. My speech was in Spanish, but I talked about how we appreciated our teachers for showing up day after day trying to help us learn the horrible subjunctive mood, a common area of frustration for foreign students of Spanish.
At the end of the ceremony, I sang "La primera Navidad" which is "The First Noel" in Spanish. I sang it a cappella. As I heard the notes of the beautiful song echo through the hall and back into my own critical ears, I was pleasantly surprised by the warmth and clarity of my own voice. People have told me I sing well, but this was my first experience singing a solo for a live audience. Who knows, maybe I have a singing career ahead of me! The hall had amazing sound, and I had practiced it several times the day before, and a couple of times that morning. I had only known I'd be singing for one day beforehand, so I didn't have a lot of time to stress over it. I just had to trust my musical gift and go for it. The results were pleasing, and I came away thanking God for His blessings.
After the ceremony, we gathered for food and did a gift exchange which everyone seemed to really enjoy. I know I did. We had previously drawn names. I drew a classmate's name, Emma. I've always liked her, so it turned out just right. I even surprised her with several little treats leading up to the party. She never guessed it was me and even shared some of her treats with me and the rest of the class. At the gift exchange, I gave her a cute, little, stuffed ice-cream plushy and a handwritten letter. Because she felt so happy having received the little treats leading up to the party, she brought a box of chocolates for me as a thank you. I also received a nice winter hat and a planner notebook from the person who drew my name, a man from another class who wasn't at the party. More than anything, I enjoyed being with all my "amigos" one last time. I stayed until everyone had gone so I could say goodbye to as many people as possible. It was such a beautiful way to wrap up the semester.
Like I said, it was really strange leaving the school for the last time knowing I'll likely never be back. Still, I have all my special memories tucked away in my mind. Anytime I get missing the little clan I had there, I'll be able to slide open my mental file drawer, run my fingers over the index tabs, select "El Centro de Idiomas de la Universidad de León," slip the file out, and sift lovingly through the pages. One by one, I'll be able to close my eyes and watch the scenes replay in the theater of my mind as my heart swells with fondness for all the wonderful times I spent there. In the meantime, I'm happy in knowing that with every goodbye follows a subsequent hello, and I'm looking forward to seeing where this wonderful life of mine takes me next.
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