Final Day of GIE

Saturday was our last day of GIE. Everything we had learned and prepared for the whole semester was finished – we submitted our final papers and websites. We went to the classroom for most of the day but we didn’t have any outside speakers; it was mainly just a wrap-up day. In the morning we were separated by tracks so we just talked about our main takeaways and things we learned from the trip within the China group. I went to another sandwich place near the school for lunch then the afternoon was spent wrapping up the program in a larger group setting. Then to end out last session together we had a slideshow with pictures of both the trips and then a “commencement” ceremony. Both the teachers gave little speeches and called up our names one-by-one. They gave us tiny Jefferson cups instead of diplomas since we have to wait a bit for that. But now I have officially graduated with my Masters!

The evening that followed was definitely one of the greatest nights of the trip and it was a fantastic way to end. We took a bus to the pier and then all boarded a ferry that took us to Lamma Island. The boat ride over was great and I sat on the top deck with the wind blowing and incredible views of the city lights at night. From what we saw of the island, it barely looked inhabited and there was a row of outdoor restaurants right by a tiny pier where we docked our boat. We ate outside at smaller round tables and of course, we had the lazy susan! What kind of final dinner would it be without the lazy susan! A very welcome change this time was that we had a bunch of really delicious seafood! I think my favorite dish was scallops with an awesome garlic buttery spread on top (reminded me of the sauce on the rolls at Bob Chinns). We were all drinking and having a great time and then we went back on the same boat to Central Pier. From there we had the bus drop us off in the LKF district which is full of open air bars and people walking around. We went to a bar called Stormies for the night and had a great time drinking and dancing the night away. Everyone was so fun and in such good spirits that it made for a pretty awesome night. There would have been no better way to end GIE and I’m so happy that I had so much fun and learned so much!

Now it’s off to London to meet up with the family – can’t wait for adventures to continue!