A Chapter ends: Ubon
I have a few hours left in
what has truly become my home: the small, quiet city of Ubon Ratchathani. Last
Thursday was the last day of school, and it was just as difficult as I though it
would be to say goodbye to my students, particularly my 11th-graders
who I’ve been teaching for the past two years and have gotten to know very
well. At the end of the day, after the last final exam, I was standing in their
classroom, listening to their homeroom teacher give a goodbye speech. After she
finished, the students turned their already-teary eyes towards me expectantly,
and ushered me to the front of the room to say my own goodbyes. The homeroom
teacher was a hard act to follow, as she had already been tearing up throughout
her speech, and as soon as I was standing in front of my students, I couldn’t
help but do the same. It was a heartfelt goodbye. These students have helped me
grow both as a teacher and as a person, and I do not lie when I say I’ll
remember them forever.
Not only was it
difficult to say goodbye to my students, but it will also be difficult to say
goodbye to my friends, my home, and my life here. I know Ubon; the people, the places, the pace, the
paths. And now I will say goodbye, maybe forever, to this place that has
watched over me and has witnessed me grow over the past two years. It is a
bittersweet departure, for I will never have this again. Each experience we have is specific to
a place, a time, a mindset and the company we’re with, and once we’ve moved on
from an experience, we’ll never be able to go back to it, as it was, again. Of
course, this is the way of life, and is one of the many beautiful amalgamations
of pleasure and pain that there is in this world. I embrace the ending of my
Ubon chapter with a little heartache and a lot of contentment, as well as
excited anticipation of the future.
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| My 11th graders. I'll miss you guys!! |
A Chapter begins:
Costa Rica.
In July, I’ll be
moving to the outskirts of San Jose, Costa Rica, to teach chemistry at an international
school, which I’m very excited about. First of all, I’m very much looking
forward to teaching chemistry. This has been my goal since I graduated with my
masters two years ago, and it’ll be great to get back into the subject that I
love so much. Second of all, I’m excited to move into a new culture, learn
Spanish, and have the opportunity to travel to new places, both in and around
Costa Rica. Let the adventure continue!
In the meantime: SCUBA
and sailing.
Beginning tonight, two overnight trains and a ferry will
bring me from Ubon, through Bangkok, to Koh Tao, an island on the eastern side
of the Malay Peninsula in southern Thailand. There, I’ll get my SCUBA
certification and spend a few days relaxing on the beach. After that, I’ll take
another train south, across the boarder into Malaysia, ending up in Penang,
where I’ll climb aboard the Historic Vessel Vega. The Vega is a sailing ship
whose owners are on a non-stop humanitarian mission to collect and deliver
donated medical and educational supplies to poor and isolated communities in
Indonesia and East Timor. I’ll be a volunteer on the ship, and will be helping
with the sailing, daily chores, and deliveries. I’m pretty damn excited :)
