And So It Goes

I'm finished. I cut my cake, cleaned out my desk, and said my goodbyes. Gloria and Ellis latched onto me, Alice gave me an iced latte with a note claiming I was the best teacher she ever had, Rachel gave me a card telling me she'd never forget me, Monica said she would go to the airport and stop my plane, and Mary gave me her lucky marble and cried. Not to pat myself on the back too much, but those are some great terms to leave on. And knowing that I was not simply the fun, always had a good time teacher, but that I actually did my job at the same time makes me all the more proud. I was professional, reliable, and trustworthy and knowing that I was respected by my peers and left on good terms is a great feeling, and a real confidence booster....despite the fact that they took advantage at times.
I was talking to my fellow American teachers the other day as well as a couple of the Korean teachers and they were all filling me in on how worried they were for me at the beginning. Now I remember having a difficult time adjusting because no one told me what the hey was going on and I could not get myself in line with the drastic change in my sleeping schedule. I was delirously tired and overwhelmed, but apparently I was rather aloof as well and had a number of them wondering how long I was going to last. One of my Korean co-teachers, Jay, decided to let me find my own rhythm and help when she could, and said all of a sudden I seemed like I had it figured out. Shannon ran into me at the drinking fountain where I said something I don't remember but had her cracking up all the way back to the teachers' lounge where she announced that I was "all right". But Nick was the first one to tell them I'd be fine because I was great at coming up with things to do with or without other people. And that's how the last couple of my days here went down. We had a going away dinner for me on Thursday night, BBQ, which ended with us sitting at table outside chatting about music and books and politics after over 5 hours. Friday night, when it was all said and done, Nick and I hit up a little Irish bar and took one of the dart championships. Somehow after that we ended up atclub blaring house music and chilling with some moshpit of Koreans who are the most entertaining group of dancers around. My "night " didn't end until they kicked us out and I got back to my apartment at 7am. Today was my last day though, so I got right back on the subway without on any sleep and headed to the countryside about 2 hours outside of Seoul. I was granted a gorgeous day in the peace and solitude of a little farming village with rice and bareley fields, massive sunflowers and marigolds and little thatched roof houses surrounded by stone walls.
This past year was stressful and wonderful, the most rewarding and the most challanging, and I can look back and honestly say that spending a year here was one of the best decisions I've ever made.