The End to an Incredible Experience
Two months sounds like an exorbitant amount of time. Two months sounds like an eternity, especially when you consider those two months will be spent in a foreign country away from your family and friends. However, as you experience them, two months feel like minutes passing by. By the end of two months, you realize that you wish you had more time, with the city you have called home for this time and for the people you have met here as well.
As I am starting to pack my bags and realize that my luggage is definitely going to be overweight, I know that I am going to miss my time here. Our last day at school was bittersweet. I am so glad that I had time to get to know so many of my students and have fun with them in my brief time with them. Hearing my first period perform the script I wrote for them was amazing. They learned so much and exceeded my expectations. Each of them was excited to perform their role, and they did such a good job that their teacher wants them to perform it in a festival they go to every year. Though my students were not happy to hear they might have to do it in front of 300 people, I was proud of them for having the skill to do it anyway.
Touching Words
Wrapping up, I received letters from some of my students to take back with me. I have never been more touched. Each one was a beautiful surprise, and each contained a small inside joke or funny instance from class. I am glad they had as much fun as I did. One specifically rang deeply. In it, one of my students talked about how she was wary of me at first. She thought, “Oh, this will be fine. I will not be able to talk with my teacher or get to know her deeply because we cannot speak the same language, but it will be an okay experience.” What she told me she realized was that despite not being able to fully understand each other, we were able to understand and accept each other. She even said she wanted to study harder and learn English so that when she saw me again, she could talk to me perfectly.
This alone, without the addition of all my students in all of my classes in each of the schools, made this entire experience worth it. I will miss each of my students so much and I am so proud of each of them. All of them accomplished something during this time, and even helped me accomplish some things as well. I will always be grateful of my time here.
To My Students:
Thank you. Thank you for your patience and acceptance. Thank you for motivation and thank you for your passion. Thank you for this experience. I will miss and cherish it forever.
