My time in Fiji is quickly coming to an end... and that's a sad realization. Although I still have a little over a week left here, I hate that I can now actually SEE the end. It bums me out that the Ministry already asked if I was having a farewell party or that Brittany (one of my country directors) said, "I can't believe that you're leaving so soon!" I think this realization is hitting me primarily because so many volunteers left this past weekend. I mean, I was living in a house with 18 people and half of them have now left! Although I'm an introverted person, the house now seems eerily quiet and I'm definitely missing the presence of some of those that left (yes, that includes you, Ben!). With that being said, I'd like to say goodbye to a few things where the door is now, sadly, officially shut...
As for volunteer work, today marked my last day of doing remedial reading tutoring at a local primary school. I had been going there twice a week to teach letter names, sounds, and sight words to several adorable children. In addition, I've formed a great working relationship with Mary, the remedial reading teacher there. I've been able to teach her about phonics instruction, how to conduct running records, and provide her with some ideas and resources to make her instruction a bit easier. In return, she's given me valuable knowledge about the Fijian education system as she has earned her teaching certificate, taught for 10 years, and is now in the minority of Fijian teachers as she is going to college ("university" as they say here) to get a teaching degree. I'll miss working with Mary and these students, but I know that I have a lot of other things to do as far as projects go... Especially because another "goodbye" should be given to what I now call "my baby" -- the teacher workshops. In case you were wondering, I've worked with 57 teachers in 33 schools so far which are numbers that even I find impressive. 25 of these teachers have attended a workshop that I conducted and are now (hopefully) sharing ideas with their staff and motivating students to strive for success in both Reading and in Math. For the remainder of my work days here, I'll be helping the teachers that I've worked with to implement these motivational strategies into their classrooms. I'm excited to see how they put these ideas that they were so clearly on fire about into practice!
Now that the depressing part is over, let's get on to the more upbeat section of this post. Really, I can sum it up in a nutshell... Hello to: a quiet house which means a more productive Meghan, more quality time with volunteers which includes secrets, pranks, and good conversation (this may or may not involve building a fort in the living area and removing mattresses from beds...), and my upcoming birthday. This past weekend, several of us went to Nadi for some beach time. On Saturday night, we went out to eat when Ben decided to share that my birthday was coming up. Not only did the staff make me stand on a barstool in the middle of the restaurant, but they sang Happy Birthday to me. The best part was that they wished "Maggot" a "Happy Sweet Sixteen"! Lucy is convinced that they didn't say this, but I heard it and thought it was hilarious... And this is my blog, so I'm sticking to it. #sorryboutit HAPPY (ALMOST) SWEET SIXTEEN TO MAGGOT!
I should also say "hello" to the many other hilarious things that occurred on Saturday night -- many of which were new experiences for me -- which include karaoke, cab drivers, dancing, and golfers. These stories are ones that you'll have to e-mail me about or wait for me to tell you in person if you're interested though. I mean, I can't give away EVERYTHING that I do this summer on my blog, can I?!
... I guess a hello is also necessary for a Meghan that is too bored and tired to elaborate further. You're welcome.
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