Saying Goodbye

This is the time of the school year I dread. As the last week winds down, the rooms are cleaned, piles of papers accumulated over the last ten months find their way into files or recycling bins, and people become restless as they prepare to fly to various places on the globe. For the past three days, we have had several parties with good food and drink, all to celebrate another year's success. In reality, they are to say goodbye to colleagues who have decided to move on. I dislike these social events but attend just the same.

Bidding farewell to colleagues is not unique to this school, but international schools are different than others. Teachers and administrators come and go everywhere, but in an international school, one knows that there is a good chance that it is the last time these friends will share a good story or beer with you. They don't just move to the next town, or even the next state. They head to all corners of the globe. Once in a while we get lucky, and our meandering path brings us back in touch with a former colleague, whether years down the road at another international school, or by chance we discover to our amazement that our summers will find us within mere miles of one another. The worst feeling is hearing "Come visit us" when we know it will never happen, as distance and circumstances will conspire to prevent it.

Colleagues I have come to call friends are leaving for such places as Canada, Wales, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, China, Vietnam, Japan, Nepal and various U.S. states. Although my heart is heavy as I say goodbye, I realize how fortunate I am to have known them, even if for a short while. Such is the nature of teaching internationally. Amazing people with remarkable talents assemble in a spot somewhere in the world, work together educating children and learning about each other's cultures, a process that gradually creates global citizens. Despite the regret at seeing friends come and go, I will be ready to do it all again in two months, greeting new colleagues, preparing for a new page in our overseas adventure and finding ways--at least for a while--to stay connected with friends who have left.