Life is a Game we Play.

La Conferencia de Clausura

August 22nd, 2008.
The closing ceremony for Cuenta Conmigo, the PBoX (once again, that's AIESEC for Project Based on Exchange) I dedicated the past 15 weeks to. I remember writing about how nervous I was for the opening ceremony back in May. I remember writing about how excited I was to get started and how I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. I look back over the past 15 weeks and can't even believe I was able to give a presentation about my experience...so much happened.
But I did it. I talked about my job: I described the process, the class, the parents I worked with. I talked about the breadmaking workshop: how motivated the parents were, how they've already started working together to start a business, how they invited me to their houses to show me what they learned and how much they're practicing, how they send me emails and call me to see how I'm doing and just say thanks. I talked about what else I did in the school: how I made true friends with the faculty and administration, how I had a group of students come in to talk with me over their summer vacation, how 3 little boys would bring me ice cream because I let them play with my computer, etc. I talked about how I got more than just a professional internship, how I got the multicultural exchange we as AIESECers hope for: how I now have more than 60 friends in more than 10 different countries, how I perfected a foreign language, I felt like a part of the culture, of my local family. I ate "arepas de huevo," I sang "vallenato," I became addicted to the coffee from Juan Valdez. I assured them that I was leaving with a much better image of Colombia, and that I was going to act as an ambassador defending it. I said that I felt 50% "gringa" and 50% "costena." And I meant every word.
And then I started to cry.

posted by Erin @ 9:54 AM