Week 15 (THE END)

"Sa'w pa konnen pi gran pase'w."

- What you don't know is greater than you.

It was a whirlwind last week, if me writing this two weeks late is any indication, but I want to make sure to sum it all up so not a second is forgotten, and every moment is appreciated! The last week was parties, parties, parties! First we had a party and ceremony for the teachers of SOPUDEP and CESAH. It was an awesome evening of food, speeches, and a slideshow by yours truly. It was so fun to have the opportunity to relax and hang out with everyone I have become so close to over these months at CESAH.

Wrapping up the English class we had a huge final exam on Monday. It was about 10 pages long and my students were not too pleased with me, but I did remind them we haven’t had a single exam all course so I was making up for lost time. On Wednesday we had a final going away party for our class. Everyone got certificates, their exams (which they CRUSHED by the way), and we had a little food, music, and drinks. A few of my students even got me going away gifts, which definitely released all the tears I had been holding in. They even got a cake for the party: “You miss we already Kim!” (don’t worry, it’s supposed to be misspelled as a joke — my teaching skills aren’t that bad). You can read an update on the event here.

Then came Friday and Saturday: the cultural fair! You can read more in depth about the fair and what it was raising money for here. It was such a beautiful way to get to see everyone and spend my final days with so many of the incredible friends I have made throughout my time here. On my last day we all just spent time hanging out and appreciating each other - everyone surprised me by going to a nice little going away dinner in Delmas!

There aren’t enough words in the world to describe what an experience these four months were, so I won’t even try. I came into this trip thinking it would change me greatly, but what I really found was a greater love and appreciation for what was already there. Love those around you, fiercely, and they will return in kind. To everyone at home who worried endlessly: thank you for accepting that to let me follow my dreams. And to my incredible Haitian family: mwen pa ka imajine lavi san nou.