I'm in the midst of wedding preparation. In fact, I'm getting married in less than 2 weeks! Yes! I'm going to move out of this place, this town, this country after I get married, following my husband (it's still weird using the word 'husband', oh how time flies) who's working abroad. That also means that I have to resign from my current job, which I just did because today was my very last day working (Just to remind you, I'm working at an English course.. well, used to..) That also means that I'm on a hiatus in teaching stuff and thingy till I don't know when.
I said goodbye to my classes, including ones I've been teaching for a year; right from the very beginning. In EF (yup, English First, finally mentioned the name), I rarely teach the same class for a long period of time. After one term, things can happen. Either the students don't continue studying because of this and that or they move to another class because the schedule doesn't fit them anymore... or because there are new classes and the course consultants should arrange the schedule which can fit the teachers' schedule (like solving puzzles) and so on so on. Among all of the classes I teach (yes, let's just use a present tense), there are two classes that I've been teaching forever (as long as I teach there). One is a class of ten junior high students and the other is a class of four elementary kids (we call them the little rascals, because, well, you guess. But they're one of my favorite. Smart and wonderful little rascals.)
Yesterday was the last time teaching the junior high kids and today was the last time teaching the elementary kids. These past two days, I'm constantly reminded that, well, I will no longer teach them :( yesterday, my junior high kids gave me a little farewell surprise involving a sweet note, flower, pictures of us, chocolates, cake, and candles. As their teacher, I've never even expected it. I know we had good times together; me being a *cough* cool *cough* teacher yet (kinda) strict sometimes when they're out of boundaries, and them being energic-sometimes-annoying-but-mostly-fun-and-motivated teenagers. Still, I've never expected the togetherness has grown in us. I'm proud of them; I'm proud of myself. (At least, you've been a good teacher, Sekar *pat in the back*)
As for today, I had some photo sessions with the little rascals, which was fun. I did ask one of the students who (sort of) had the most fight with me during our learning sessions over the past year because of this and that (a 9-year-old boy, I won't be surprised :p) whether he would be happy due to my leaving. He said, "I'm not happy, Miss. Other teachers cannot play ukulele." I laughed. This one boy loves singing and music so much. Yes, I once did a lets-sing-along-song session. I gave them the lyric of Sound of Music's Do-Re-Mi and brought my ukelele to the class. I played the ukulele, they sang the song.. It was the most relaxing learning session for me as the teacher and for them too. I'm gonna miss the moment. I'm gonna miss the kids, too *ah this stupid little thing in my eyes :'(
There are also some classes I'm just about to get close to. Today I had a great time with my last class of the day, sharing things with them. They are three senior high students with lots of story about school life, friendship, and love. Wish I could stay longer to know them better.
And EF in general.. sure I'm gonna miss everything. The teaching job there isn't a 9-to-5 job, but it feels like it. No, I'm not talking about the loads and stuff. I'm talking about the experienced shared, the good times had, the friendship made, and the bonds created. I'm gonna miss the random chit-chat in the teacher room, gonna miss the light to heavy convos with the ccs at the front desk, gonna miss rushing to the 2nd floor because I'm almost late, gonna miss grading and filling in the endless progress reports... there's just a lot to be missed. It's not about leaving a workplace and co-workers. It even didn't feel like working, I guess. It felt like playing with the kids, sharing things with friends, having good times.
I remember a year ago, I walked to that place for the sake of new experience and killing times while finishing my last semester of college. Today I walked out of that place proudly because I've learned a lot, I've done many things I thought I'd never do, I've discovered my passion, and I've found a new family.
Hope to see them again
*p.s and I miss teaching already. But yeah, let's focus on the wedding and moving out thingy first..so excited! Gonna share it on the next post, sooner or later.
grt
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