To the boys at Taesung

It's been so easy for me to think of all the reasons I have to be happy about leaving Korea lately: the fact that I'm incredibly pumped about getting to Germany (a certain person probably has a lot to do with that...), that three years has been plenty for me here in Asia, and that sometimes -- sometimes -- I need a break from teaching.  And then I'm reminded why I do it when I tear up in class saying goodbye to my students, when they wait for me in the halls to tell me how much they've enjoyed our English classes, when they email me and tell me that they'll miss hearing my "bright voice" every week.  I'm not good with goodbyes, and yet I choose to put myself in a position to constantly have to say goodbye to students who have no idea how often I'll think of them in the years to come. 

This was my last week of classes at my high school in Korea, and it was incredibly bittersweet.  I was happy to be nearly finished with my year here, but saying goodbye to my students, as always, proved to be incredibly difficult.  This week I also received exciting news that several of my students from the Korean international school in China have been accepted to top universities in Korea and that one is brave enough to be applying in America.  And I realize that I'll probably never see these students again, that I'll never run into them at the grocery store.  I'll never get to teach their kids when I'm older or see them at a high school reunion.  And though this hurts my heart, it also makes me smile to know that during an age where we lack so much of the interpersonal these students have truly affected my life.  I can only hope that I've had as much of a positive influence on them.

tags: teaching  korea