Monday, December 12, 2011

The End of One Chapter, The Beginning of Another.

I just finished my last, and only, final of fall semester. Which means that my next step is spring semester and my student teaching in Brazil. To say that I'm not nervous would be a complete lie. To say that I'm not sad would be an even bigger lie. This is an incredible opportunity and cannot wait to be there and be living this whole experience, as opposesd to sitting in Ohio and talking about it, but I'm also quite sad. Sad that I'm going to miss my last semester in Ashland, sad that I'm not going to be with my friends for our last half of senior year. But I've also been realizing how blessed I am to have had these four years here at Ashland. I've met incredible people, experienced amazing things, been given opportunites that I never could have dreamed of, and learned more than I had ever thought possible. I'm sad to go, but happy that I'm at a place that is so hard to leave.

Sappy stuff aside, I received my plane ticket yesterday! Actually having it makes everything seem so much more real. I sent in for my passport the week before Thanksgiving and then received an email from Dr. Ellis the week after Thanksgiving saying that he needed my information by noon that day so that Our Lady of Mercy could get our plane tickets. Guess who didn't have that information. I called the passport agency and they were pretty helpful, but I didn't get my information. I finally received my passport on December 10, sent it to Dr. Ellis who sent it to OLM, and I received my ticket on December 12. Despite the mishaps with my passport, I'm still flying with the other girl from Ashland and the two girls from BG-- thank goodness!

We'll be flying out of Detroit the evening of January 27 and making a short stop in Washington DC before continuing on to Rio de Janiero. Then three months later, we'll hop on the plane late April 29, fly into Houston, TX, and then fly home to Detroit. We'll get in before noon on April 30 and I'll have to come right back to campus for class. I'm so glad that I'll be back here for a week before graduation-- just enough time to squeeze in some more memories and laughs before walking across that stage on May 5.

It's. Really. Happening.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

How 24 Hours Can Change Your Life.

For the last year or two, I had been thinking about doing my student teaching down south. The program that is offerered in Brazil is free which appealed to me as did the opportunity to study and live in Brazil. I was also interested in completing my student teaching in Charleston, South Carolina or Celebration, Florida because it would be something new and different yet close enough to my comfort zone to still feel safe. One thing I was set on was only going for six weeks. I knew that it would be spring semester of my senior year and I didn't want to miss things like roast, retreat, and formal.

I had my initial interview for my student teaching opportunity on October 27. It was led by Dr. Hendershott, Rebecca Parillo, Dr. Ellis, and Mr. Lake. We discussed why I thought I would be a good fit for the Brazil program, my teaching styles and how I would mesh those with many different children and professionals, and whether or not I would be willing to go to Brazil for twelve weeks.

I made the impromptu decision during my interview that I would be willing to do for the full twelve weeks. I didn't want this opportunity to pass me by. Friday afternoon, I received this email from Mr. Lake: "Congratulations, you have been selected to do your spring internship in Brazil for twelve weeks."

So that's it. I'm going to Brazil for twelve weeks to do my student teaching. I've gone through so many different emotions in the past 48 hours. I'm so excited to be going down there for twelve weeks, I'm so nervous to be going down there for twelve weeks, I'm sad that I'm going to be missing my last semester here at Ashland University. But mostly, I'm so stinkin' excited.