Highlights of the week: One last beach night with the loves. It’s been record low temperatures here in Rio – like high 50s F, which makes us FREAK OUT. I legitimately don’t have enough clothes for this situation. But we wanted one last night dancing on the sand, one last night watching the sun fade away.
*The sun sets early these days – like 5:15, so we hustled over, with some friendly kinder captains, and we ran into the waves, wrestled wild crabs, tracked constellations, shared our highs and lows, listened to music, hugged and giggled out under the stars.
*The adventure continued when Anysia and I got an uber and decided we NEEDED McDonalds. We got stuck in crazy traffic, I tried to order the entire menu, chicken nuggets and Coke Zero went flying all over the car as Nickelback played on his stereo . . . I’m sure it was the longest hour of that driver’s life. We had a good time though.
*Graduation happened! It’s always cool to see kids graduate high school. Our senior class this year was five strong, lol. But they looked beautiful and nervous and I learned that girls wearing heels too high for their own good is apparently an international trend. I had been volunteered to sing during the ceremony. I did “It’s Time” by imagine dragons and I’m not sure if it was nerves or what by my left leg started to give out during and I sang about 80% of the song standing on one leg like a flamingo. It was weird.
*The yearbook was delivered! It’s beauuuutiful and everyone loves it so much and all the stress seems mostly worth it. I think in teaching, so often we don’t get to see really direct products of our efforts – you pour all your time and energy into a student or a project and you just hope a difference was made. But with the yearbook, I can hold a thing in my hand and be like YEAAAAAAHHHHHH I made this! So very exciting.
*People keep tagging me in or sending me links to the girl who was a hotdog on princess day at her school. I can’t imagine why. But I’m enjoying it.
*We had an epic roomie Sunday Funday. The situation was this – if we woke up and it was sunny, we would go hiking. If it was cloudy, we would go eat brunch at the Sheraton on the beach. By the time I woke up, my roomies had decided it was quite gray outside. We shut down the brunch at the Sheraton, Anysia convinced them to sell us some mimosas, we laughed on the deck for a few hours, and then rambled over to an obliging kiosk with a lovely view of some 20-something males playing futevolleyball. A lucky vendor stumbled upon us, we bought some dresses, some french fries, came home and listened to all our favorite songs while playing card games. We ended the night watching carpool karaoke, which is THE best thing to do EVER.
*Today some teachers and I chaperoned a high schoolers to the nearby mall for our “final.” We let them eat lunch where ever, and then we made a mad dash to a magical place called HotZone. It’s like Chuckie Cheese and Discovery Zone and arcades smashed into one expensive thing. I freaked out. There was a Hello Kitty air hockey table and a mini roller coaster, and Dance Dance Revolution, and a smashup of air hockey and Pacman. The pinball machine freaking ate my money and David and I almost flipped it over, but we had a great great time.
Lowlights of the week: It’s starting to get really.real. that my roomies and friends are leaving. We had a hodgepodge goodbye lunch on Saturday with the rest of foreign staff, full of awkward moments and too much food. We kind of went around saying nice things about the people leaving, which I just don’t like to do. I’m one big Irish exit – I like to walk out and never admit that we’re saying goodbye. Maybe text you later that I got home. At least I know I can keep in touch with my friends who are leaving – there are many students I have to say goodbye to, as well. It’s tough being at an international school with a constantly changing climate of people.
Fav song at the moment: “The Only One Who Gets Me” – Charles Kelley.
This week I watched: myself struggle to complete an online educator course via the Harvard Graduate School of Education I had forgotten I’d signed up for. Who signs up for a two week online course the last two weeks of school, while emceeing and performing and making slideshows and leading worship and chaperoning and entering comments and portfolios and saying goodbyes and cleaning and packing their world up?! Me. Moron alert. But I’m learning about the brain and literacy and stuff. So that’s cool.
This week I read: a lot of things with titles like “The Opportunities of Bilinguilism in School Districts in Urban America: A Look at Studies and Suggestions Towards Solutions in Community-Based Gardens on top of Idea Rainbows.”
All the feels are from: the looks on some student faces, who had thought I was leaving this year, finding out I was staying another year. That was priceless.
I’m looking forward to: KIZZZZZYYYYYYYYY I cannot WAIT to see my dog and cuddle her until she is uncomfortable.
If you haven’t heard it yet, and you need to today: I’d switch laundry days with you if you needed it, go halfsies on that next order of fries if you really wanted it, and let you pick the next song on the playlist.
And also, if you’re into poetry, if you’ve been through heartache, if you’re wondering if you are ‘too much’ then also read this:
Frida Kahlo to Marty McConnell
by Marty McConnell
leaving is not enough; you must
stay gone. train your heart
like a dog. change the locks
even on the house he’s never
visited. you lucky, lucky girl.
you have an apartment
just your size. a bathtub
full of tea. a heart the size
of Arizona, but not nearly
so arid. don’t wish away
your cracked past, your
crooked toes, your problems
are papier mache puppets
you made or bought because the vendor
at the market was so compelling you just
had to have them. you had to have him.
and you did. and now you pull down
the bridge between your houses.
you make him call before
he visits. you take a lover
for granted, you take
a lover who looks at you
like maybe you are magic. make
the first bottle you consume
in this place a relic. place it
on whatever altar you fashion
with a knife and five cranberries.
don’t lose too much weight.
stupid girls are always trying
to disappear as revenge. and you
are not stupid. you loved a man
with more hands than a parade
of beggars, and here you stand. heart
like a four-poster bed. heart like a canvas.
heart leaking something so strong
they can smell it in the street.
Sunglasses Always Fit 
tell me what you think bout this!