Despedida

On time for class in the morning and afternoon

Daily homework completion!

We knew the participants were planning something—because—well, we were observing behavior.  :-)  They were collecting money, keeping lists and asking both Ulises and Maria what I like to eat.  We figured it was some pastries and drinks, but we were surprised with much more.  It was for the "despedida" or the going away party.

Kris and Ulises

We began the day with Kris finishing up the math portion of DIBELS (or IDEL in Spanish) and then reviewing a case study to bring all components of the week together.  Then, the fun began!  Maia and Anna explained the review boards they had created incorporating Nicaraguan themes. One game board was designed around the Nicaraguan flag and the other was a volcano.  The volcano game board was a version of Chutes and Ladders but it had individual pictures of us from the previous Sunday volcano boarding.

We wanted to have a group picture taken with the UNO flag but the participants took over the agenda.  Each person stood up and expressed his/her gratitude for the training.  They looked so sincere and the comments were authentic.  Several individuals mentioned that they knew we were sharing our knowledge with passion and love.  Oh my goodness—I definitely had the tears flowing!! (I am very passionate about teacher training and I love the people of Nicaragua).  Furthermore, they recognized that all of us (and our families) had made sacrifices to be there— both financially and in time.

With the confusion in taking the picture, we didn’t even realize the flag was upside down!

        

Then, we were presented with four colorful ceramic butterflies for each family.  Butterflies are symbolic of transformation, new life and hope which is perfect for empowering teachers with special education information. 

People began to scatter, moved tables and began serving plates of food.  Johanna had prepared a native Nicaraguan meal and gave us way too much of it!!  Luckily, Ulises and Omar were there to clean up after us.  ;-)  The chicken was so tender and the yucca was flavorful with the parsley and the pico de gallo.  Absolutely delicious!  

The Nicaraguan culture is very relational with lots of hugs being shared—much like the Deaf culture of the United States.  Love it!