Friday, November 18, 2011

Nova Kakhovka - forever my home

Sometimes, saying goodbye/making a transition is easy, a relief, or exciting. This is definitely not one of those times - I have never been so reluctant about, and have never dreaded so much, a coming departure.

Today my school (some of my classes, the school director, my counterpart, and a lot of co-teachers) gathered in the assembly hall to give me a goodbye concert. As I was walking into the room, I repeatedly told myself, "Don't cry, don't cry - just get through this." As soon as I sat down, before the presentation had even started, I had tears streaming down my face. I'd never cried at school before. :) Cause, you know, I'm tough. I wasn't so tough today.

I've never felt so much a part of a culture as I do now in Ukraine. From now on, I'll always be partly Ukrainian at heart.
Thank you to the amazing people of School 8, and Nova Kakhovka in general, for giving me these two years.

My school director, me, and my new bandura
After my school director gave me a necklace that he made
Some of my amazing 8th-graders... I've had them as students since they were in 6th grade!
Some 5th-graders, who I had last year and this year - they sang a Thanksgiving song for me!
Said 5th-graders, before their song, getting ready
with my amazing counterpart - she and her sister have been the best counterparts I could ever have hoped for
One of my 8th-graders, Dasha - she's going to go very far in life.
With Andrew (my student and my counterpart's son)! I've known him since the first week I was in Nova Kakhovka.
Me and some of the 8th-graders

2 comments:

  1. It is truly impossible not to cry at such a time. How great that they are sending you out in style! But sad that it's time to go and your heart is ripped out!

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  2. Leaving was incredibly hard for me. Bringing my host mom to visit the USA helped a lot, though. She was so funny on the airplane (the guy sitting next to her was sick and she would look at him worryingly and say "ГРИП!" Then when we were in Mississippi, we cried together missing Ukraine.

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