Saying Goodbye

Today was the last day with my students!  I will miss them all so much and almost cried like a baby but I held myself together.  I have gotten many students wishing me well and giving me presents.  I had one give me a handmade pillow with the word "luck" on it with two bears.  I also received many notes.  All of them pretty much saying they loved English class and will miss me dearly next year and that they loved me.  The one that got me most though was one from a second year girl, who came to my school not speaking any English but has studied hard and can now hold some small conversations.  She told me that she studied hard because she liked my class and wanted to learn English, and that was a surprise to her because she had always thought that English was useless for her.

I have had former students come back and tell me how much they miss me and how they loved my class.  It is always wonderful to hear from my students and find out that I have impacted them in a positive way and made them love English when they had once hated it.

I have seen my students grow in my two and half years here, and it pains me to leave them.  My second years keep telling me to stay and that I am the best English teacher they have ever had and that they are happy they had me as their teacher.  These kids have truly become part of me and I will always remember them and the fondness I have for Yeoju Agriculture High!  I will miss them dearly and I will miss my school!  However, I look forward to the next chapter in my life!  It has been a wonderful experience and I would not change it for the world.  This school and the students were the best thing I could have asked for when I first moved half way around the world to start this journey.  I was so lucky to have been a teacher here for such a long time!  It is a bittersweet day for me but in the end I leave with wonderful memories and fondness.