It is finished

Written Saturday August 4th at 4:15pm

And done.
Phew. 

This has been a whirlwind week. 
School. Homework. Studying. Tests. Final Exam/Competition.
Dinners out. Hangouts. Laughter. Friends. Graduation. 
Packing. Organizing. Sorting.

And now I'm on the couch with the car packed, the house emptied and Erin Brockovich on the TV. 

I can't believe it is all over!

This week we had classes as normal. 9-4 each day, with an hour for lunch. We had sessions, also as normal. And though it was the last week it felt like every other week. So weird to think after this week it would all be over. There were so many great friendships built in this class and it was strange to think we'd be apart after Friday. 

Graduation Day

Dressed to celebrate

The day started with an all you can eat southern breakfast at Shoney's

Andi, Kait and Sherwine

Evan, Christopher, Kika, Constance and Virginia

Toya, Victoria, Alex, Essence, Heather T and Heather H.

And Paul B in the background

Mayo, Nick, Paul, Ernie, Will, Rachel and Brian

My second plate - sooo tasty

And then it was on to the classroom. We had a day of evaluations, thank you cards and last minute details. We listened to rap while we worked. And every 7 minutes a new student went to meet with Nick and Paul who would then go over a personal evaluation with them. Nervous, but thankfully Paul and Nick are very gracious and this was a very valuable experience. 

And then it was on to graduation! I didn't have my camera during the ceremony but here Paul and I are with our teacher Paul - this picture amused my Paul to no end. 

Paul and Christopher enjoying their beards

Beardy

Rachel, me and Paul

Sherwine, me and Paul

Heather Heck, me and Paul.

I like her name.

It's hard to call her just Heather.

Me, Paul and Andi

Essence and myself

Paul, me and Karylanne

Me and Kait

Me, Kait and Victoria

TJ, Kait and Abigail

Abigail, TJ and Victoria

Friday we went out with our classmates to Opry Mills again - we ate at TGI Fridays and had an amazing time and final farewell. We were out until midnight though and felt like Zombies by the time we got home - being busy every night after a day of classes and studying made us sooo sleepy. We felt we'd taken enough photos lately so we didn't capture any for the evening. But rest assured, it was awesome.

Saturday we packed up all of our stuff, loaded up the car for the morning and then made our way to Steve and Cindy Hollander's for dinner. It was a great time of good food, great conversation and wonderful bonding with people that we hope to spend more time with in the future. Steve and Cindy are people we don't know very well yet but have felt very connected to them each time we've ran into them placed. After dinner and an evening with them, I can see we definitely do connect with them on many levels! Especially on ministry, family and leisure - Cindy and I could agree that beach holidays with a book are lovely, and Paul and Steve both love to fish and hunt. 

When we got home we said good bye to the Minguses and were ready to spend one last night in Nashville before heading out for our big trip. Our plan was to leave at 6am the next morning - and we kept to it. More on that tomorrow.