Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow, it's only a day away!

The program ends tomorrow and it's so sad to say goodbye to people as they get ready to leave. These past few days have been full of free time to use as we please. Amidst the hustle and bustle of packing and shopping for presents and thank you gifts for the leaders here at the American School, my close group of friends have managed to take some time today to do a little secret gift exchange. About a week ago we chose names by lot and spent a week picking out little silly gifts for that specific person that reminded us of him/her. We opened our presents this afternoon and it was a fun time of reminiscing and joking about the things we remembered most about one another. It was so funny and a nice way to spend our time together.

We also had a garden party this evening with all of the SSII students, the administration, and many of the guest speakers and scholars we encountered throughout our trip. We dressed up all fancy and had nice food and drinks. Because our professor specializes in military history, as our group's thank you gift to Professor Lee, we all signed individual chess pieces of hoplite soldiers and presented our pieces to him. We arranged the warriors into a military formation and said that he had been our leader and we his soldiers throughout this entire trip. It was cheesy, yet sentimental and sweet and I think he appreciated the gift as much as we appreciated his guidance. It was nice to say our goodbyes and have time to talk with each other one last time.

Our time together and with the program has drawn to a close, but I start the second leg of my journey tomorrow when I pick up Jason from the airport. It will be nice to show him the city I have called home these past few weeks. I hope he loves it as much as I do. We'll soon find out! :)