Home stretch!

I'm down to three days of work at the institute, which is AWESOME. Today, we had the first oral exams. Some students were incredible and some were horrible. But among them was my bad class and I am SO HAPPY that I never have to see those guys again. I'm really going to miss some people, but they aren't them. I have to give exams tomorrow and Wednesday night and Thursday day and night, but then I just have to wrap things up, enter grades, clear out my locker, etc. Wow.

On Friday, I'm getting together with a former co-worker, who will have just arrived to Chile for a vacation with her husband. It will be so great to see a familiar face. It will also be nice to speak English that wasn't prompted by a "talk about ..." card. Plus, she's my travel hero because she's visited more countries than anyone else I know. What a way to kiss the school year goodbye, eh! Then, after a few days of relaxation, packing, and saying goodbye to my favorite Chileans, I'm starting the longest vacation of my adult life!

The one potential snag is that half of my classes took a standardized test in lieu of the final written exam. The scores are supposed to take one week, but it's unclear if that's gringo time (7 days) or Chilean time (ehhhh, who knows). Either way, I'm heading out on the 11th and not turning back. I have a few people who will still be around and can enter the grades for me, but that doesn't mean that the mierda won't hit the fan. Is it bad that I'm not so worried?