Coming to a Close
I only have 8 more days at Gifu Kita High School. Of those 8 days, I will only be teaching for 6 of them. During those 6 teaching days, I only have 14 more lessons. That’s it.
In some ways, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel is a blessing. I have been having a rougher time keeping up the pace that I used to and I have been finding myself dragging through more classes than is usual for me. I am looking forward to having my leave, so that I can start prepping and preparing for the next step, the next adventure.
On the other hand, I am quite sad. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Gifu Kita. I have learned and grown so much since the moment I stepped through those front gates a year and a half ago. I am so thankful for the time that I have had here, where I have been able to focus on teaching, developing a new curriculum, and trying my hardest to reach students who have limited English abilities. This job has challenged me in more ways than I ever imagined it would and, as a result, I have gained so much. The skills that I have learned will help me in my future, I’m sure of it.
Each class I teach, from now until February 24th, is the last one. I will only see each group of students one more time over the next 8 days, and at the end of each lesson, I have to say goodbye to them.
So far, I have said goodbye to 4 classes. The first one was heartbreaking, and the next three haven’t gotten any easier. I have had a great year with these kids and have built a remarkable relationship with many of them. It is hard to walk away from that, from them.
I have 14 more classes to say goodbye to, countless teachers to thank, a desk to clean out, and a farewell speech to give. I am not sure how I will get through it all, but I think it is virtually guaranteed that there will be many tears shed. That’s just the way I am.