A Week of Goodbyes: Wednesday

Today was the big goodbye.  It was when I finally said goodbye to my co-workers and all of my students.  I came in earlier to say goodbye to the kindergarteners one last time and finished up my student evaluations.

Then, I had to run around applying for my pension refund and then close my bank account.  Luckily the won had partially rebounded from its lows last week.  I didn’t get hit as bad when I sent my last paycheck and my severance pay home.

Back at school, I said goodbyes to each of my classes, giving them some candy, and getting some notes and things.  My highest elementary class threw me a party.  They had been asking me over the past week questions like what kind of food I like and what I like to drink and things like that.

So, while it was no surprise that they had planned a party, I was surprised at how expensive it was.  When I came into the room, they had put balloons all over the white board, and on the walls.  They had laid out all the food: ddeokbokki, grapes, cookies, kimchi, and mandarin oranges.

I had probably gotten the closest with this class since since there were only 4-5 of them in class at any given time and they were in the highest ability level.  They gave me some fun gifts.  Below is a picture of my bounty: 20 dried squid, a Mickey Mouse notebook,  2 semi-dried squid, and small cell-phone doodad.  Unfortunately, I had to leave the squid behind because I didn’t want an issue with customs (and they have a very pungent aroma.)

I got a round of applause from my adult class and then a hurried goodbye from my last class.  When I returned to the teacher’s office for the last time, I realized I hadn’t really packed my desk.  I rushed everything into my backpack or the trash and left with my bosses.  It wasn’t until the elevator ride down when my boss was telling me that she couldn’t believe I was going that I got choked up and teary.

I really had been a great year at the school.

I closed the night with packing and a visit from my chicken feet friend.  We have had some really good conversations from different ends of the political spectrum.  He’s the first person to hold his own in a political debate with me in a long time.  that sounds arrogant I know, but I am pretty stubborn in my views (too much so probably) and most people shrink away.  But he called me out when I was wrong and full of it, and he let me do the same to him.  We left knowing that we probably will keep in contact, and that we really might just see each other again, and that made this bye really good.