Last week was my final week of teaching here in Suzhou. It marked the end of my first year of teaching and the end of my time at Weiting Experimental Primary School. The end, like all endings, was bittersweet. Over the course of the past year I have ridden a rollercoaster of emotions as I have navigated the English teaching industry in China and worked to be an effective teacher. I faced many frustrating challenges but was always able to gain some perspective and enjoy my time because of my incredible students. Their endless love and devotion – even if their behavior was questionable – never ceased to amaze me.
On my last day of school I wandered around snapping photos and saying goodbye to some of my favorite classes. I didn’t expect that I would become so attached to the school and the kids. Leaving Weiting marks the beginning of the end for me. I will soon also leave China. I may return for another year, but I may not. The future remains undetermined, and for now, I’m ok with that.
Throughout our lives, we are given opportunities to make an impact and to be a part of others communities. Living in China, teaching my students has been this opportunity. I sometimes watch the 1st and 2nd graders playing outside in the courtyard and admire their unrestrained energy. I look out into the 48 eager faces in any one of my classes and am reminded to see life as they do – exciting, mysterious, and an adventure. My students have pushed me to be better, just as I have pushed them to use English in ways that are not emphasized in their regular curriculum. We have struggled together, having great days and not so great days. But even the days when I dragged my feet going to school, all I had to do was walk into any of my 3rd grade classes and cheers would erupt. When else in life can you expect this sort of reaction to your mere presence? This unbridled love, excitement, and enthusiasm. Granted, the cheers didn’t always translate into well-run classes, but hey, I appreciated the sentiment.
My time here will be with me forever. It has been extraordinary. Despite all the ups and downs, I am truly grateful for being able to join this community, if only for a short time.
Endings in life happen all the time. We move, we graduate from high school, college, we move again, we switch jobs, we say goodbye to friends…beginning and endings are just a part of life. Saying goodbye is acknowledging the amazing times but also letting go. New experiences, places, and people beckon us. We are thrust forward into time whether we like it or not. I have had amazing experiences in every phase of my life; I know that just because this one is coming to an end, that it doesn’t mean the next won’t be just as incredible.
As my student recently wrote to me: “After a storm comes calm, there will always be a rainbow.”