It's been a long, emotional and fun past 24 hours filled with lots of love.
Last night, both the academic and customer relations staffs were invited out for a dinner to welcome the new teachers and CRs and to say good-bye to Joyce, Marie, Cindy and I (and Nick in spirit since he's already off collecting data about water and plants in Tibet). We had a lovely dinner. We took up the entire second floor of a restaurant! The customer relations staff sang the "Good-Bye" song to us four girls and the "Hello" song to the new teachers and CRs which was really fun. Then, Laura made a sweet presentation to wish the four of us good-bye. The school gave me a picture frame, a small star certificate that they wrote on, and a luggage tag with Vic, the small star character that is most like me... She's a cuddly hedgehop that carries around a basket of flowers. It was really sweet.
Then, a few of us continued the night at a fun little imported microbrew bar in the nearby Hutong neighborhood. It was a rather warm night so we sat outside until the early hours of the morning. We laughed and giggled and cried at times and it was just perfect.
Today at work, James and Ryan helped me move all of my documents from my Word folder to the shared school drive so everyone will have access to my lesson plans. Then, I was able to place them on my own computer. I spent the rest of the afternoon finishing some last minute grading. I had an exit interview phone call to Shanghai. They were more interested in how I thought my hotel stay was then anything else!
I taught just one small star class this evening. it was with my hardest small star class that I've had all year, the violent one was there and all! I told the students that this was my very last EF class and that I wanted it to be happy. The happiness turned into a bit of craziness which turned into a bit of chaos, but it seemed like a fitting way to go out! The last good-bye song was extra sweet.
I spend the next hour while everyone was in class taking care of last minute things. I cleaned out my teaching supply box to get it ready for the new foreign teacher to use, cleaned out my cubby for Aminata and made a special cubby sign for her. I cleaned up my mug and dressed it up with stickers to bequeath it to James. Finally, at the last few minutes of class, I sat in the middle of the school where I could hear most of my friends singing their good-bye songs with the kids and dismissing the classes. I sat and watched as students were picked up, students screaming and running around, and the CRs and teachers talking to families and finishing up for the day. It is a moment I don't think I am going to forget anytime soon. Sometimes I just got so caught up in getting from one class to the next, from one task to the next, that I often forgot to just enjoy the madness a bit. I thought about my first afternoon and evening at the school observing Claire's class and worried that I would never find what I was searching for in China.
I went back to the office and chatted with the teachers about their last classes like normal, but it wasn't normal. We were all a bit stalling about saying our good-byes. I was able to give the few last letters I hadn't gotten out to my friends and made some tearful good-byes. I know my friendships will never be the same, but I like to think we're moving from one stage of our friendship to the next. One that can just be of friendship and the shared experience of working in the Enchanted Forest.
I helped Cindy clean out her cubby and she, Marie, King and I went to the Korean BBQ place for a late night snack. It was really nice to just decompress with them for a bit before I went home.
I feel really good about how I ended my time with EF. I didn't leave any of my unfinished business for anyone to have to work on. I am proud to hand over my classes to Aminata, save for the violent one's, and I know she will work hard for them to provide them with the English education that they deserve.
Most of all, I am so happy that I got to meet so many wonderful people who have taught me so much about being a good teacher, a more worldly citizen and a compassionate friend. I never imagined that I would be a part of such a community.
I am going to bed tonight sad that I am leaving my job, but my heart feels very very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very happy.
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