Hissing Prairie Rattlesnakes - Last day - July 23/24, 2016

Saturday morning started off untypical to Wynchemna standards, as the students and teachers got to sleep in. Unlike most days where teachers and students prepared breakfast, today was a free for all.The first activity on the agenda was lesson 1. Students reluctantly brought their notebooks and pens to their classrooms, though they quickly learned that today's lessons would be different.The teachers gathered the students and brought them over to the SAIT library. They were supplied with beautiful decorated paper, glue sticks, scissors, and all the colours in the world. The next three hours the students and teachers alike wrote airplane letters to each other. The first tears were shed.At 1 o'clock students boarded the bus and headed toward Maurya for some Indian cuisine. Students loved the exquisite buffet for the final lunch.When they returned from lunch the students and teachers cleaned up their apartments and packed their bags. Once they finished they had more time to write their airplane letters and make the most of what little time they had left. At this point many tears had already been shed.At 6 o'clock the students gathered on the fourth floor to watch a beautiful slideshow that summed up the entire camp. More tears were shed.At 730 the students hopped back on their bus and headed toward their final dinner destination: Nick's steak house. Students mowed down on steak sandwiches, mashed potatoes and vegetables. At dinner few tears were shed.Once they returned from dinner the certificates were presented. Each student received a certificate stating how many hours of English they completed, a yearbook with all the names and faces of their peers and a stack of photos that they could trade with each other. The waterworks recommenced.After the certificate ceremony, the party began. All three camps headed over to the SAIT disco to enjoy music from a live DJ, dancing, foosball, and beverages. Their were some really talented dancers and each culture added their own flare on the dance floor. Once the party ended students returned their floors and had their passports and remaining money return to them.The rest of the night was filled with laughter, tears and bittersweet excitement. Though most students may have been looking forward to going home, not one of them wanted to leave the amazing friends they had made in the last few weeks.Some students slept, but many stayed up all night to enjoy every last moment with each other. Ask night turned into morning, group by group the students packed their bags into the truck and headed to the airport. If it weren't for the teacher repeatedly reminding the students they had to go now, they may have never left their embraces. As the final students stared out the window on the bus, saying goodbye to Wynchemna, so another chapter in the Wynchemna book comes to and end. Who knew how much 3 - 4 weeks can change someone's life.[AFG_gallery id='480']https://www.flickr.com/photos/78673003@N07/27906206504/in/album-72157670747417391/