Having this week come to an end has truly made me sad because I hate goodbyes. As I have told many of my friends and family, these kids and this experience has brought so much joy into my everyday life. My co-workers have also contributed to some great memories because of their kind and humorous personalities. They have allowed me to feel welcomed and safe in a new environment that I was unsure and unprepared to encounter.
Many of the activities that we did this week included just finishing up a lot of the pieces of art that the kids created throughout the six-week camp. They finished up with their mini shadow play which they created with different figures and backgrounds seen through an overhead. This week was also used to finish up practicing their baile folklórico.
On Thursday of this week, the parents were invited to the museum in which all of the kids art was displayed for the parents to enjoy. The kids had to perform their shadow play and their baile folklórico for their parents. All the girls were dressed in a traditional dress from Jalisco with tocados, handmade by Ashley, the dance instructor. And the boys were dressed in simple black pants and a white shirt with a blue bandana around their collars. After weeks of hard work, I can honestly say that they did an amazing job with their baile and their performances. After seeing them struggle on the steps for weeks, I couldn’t have been any more proud of them. It truly brought so much joy to my heart to see all the smiles on the parents faces and to see the kids do such a great job in their dance.
My last day was suppose to be Thursday but I wanted to come today as well because this internship has honestly found a special place in my heart. After spending four weeks here, I can honestly say that I have grown in so many ways. My love for the kids has showed me so much about myself. For example, this experiences has reassured me that I would like to continue working with kids in the future as a pediatrician. I have found such joy and excitement around these kids because of their endless energy and their playful personalities. I won’t forget a single one of these kids because each of them was unique in their own way.
It’ll really touched my heart when the camp was coming to an end and some of the kids began to show that I had truly made an impact on them. I began to receive a lot of cute pieces of art that they made for me. They created things that were as simple as a cute card or even a Talavera with flowers. What touched my heart the most was that they were told to give the flowers to someone special in their life, and one of them chose me. Little things like these is what made this experience that much better. But most importantly the relationships that I have created with many great people in these five past weeks, near and far.
Not only has this experience taught me a lot about myself, but it has also blessed me with the opportunity of hopefully coming back to the museum to work as a tour guide and to continue learning more about myself and the art within my culture. I don’t know yet what my schedule for the upcoming school year will look like, but if not this year, next year I would love to once again come back and surround myself in such a great environment as the one I experienced these past four weeks and all the wonderful art.
At the end of the day, I feel beyond blessed for the opportunity that I was given here and I would not trade a single minute of it. I also learned once again how much effort it takes for a whole project to come together. As we learned during Washington week, it took many teams to pull together a proposal for a teen charla series. And as I learned at NMMA, it takes many departments to pull together a simple summer camp. Once again, I was taught that teamwork makes the dream work. These are all memories and lessons that I will truly never forget.
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