Oddly enough, it still feels new to me, and strange when I talk about it to other people. I guess because I never expected to spend even a small part of my life in a city colder than NYC. But aside from the weather, Chicago is a pretty great city, with blue water, clean streets, affordable rent and space to move around on the streets (four things that I'll be honest and admit NYC does not have...) I'm stuck in that awkward time when I go to New York and the people I know in Chicago tell me to have a safe trip "home." And then I leave New York and my family and friends tell me the same exact thing. It's hard for me to consider Chicago "home," but that's probably because I know I won't be here forever. In fact, I probably won't be anywhere forever. (The travel bug is a sickness that never seems to go away...) And you know what? I'm alright with that...
I am still teaching ESL. Yes, I know, it's hard to believe that I have stuck with the same job for a year and a half now. Quite the accomplishment.
The past seven months I have spent teaching at Education First, an international language school in downtown Chicago. My classes consist of students from all over the world. I spend three hours a day with each class, teaching them English (sometimes teaching myself before class), and in exchange learning about the customs and traditions from all around the world. That's more time than I spend with my family, my friends, and even Dan, who I live with.
Yesterday, my students graduated.
My speech to my students went something like this, "I am going to make this short and sweet, because I am trying not to cry. This was my first group of students...(first teardrop begins formation), and I'm going (trying so hard to contain myself)...to miss (oh no, I can't stop it)...you all (full on tears)." Due to an inability to call each student up by their name I gestured for the entire class to come up to the front of the room to receive their certificates. I have to admit that this was my first time crying in front of a group of 100 or so people. Embarrassing? I'd say so.
It might be because it's that time of the month, or because in saying "goodbye" to this group of students, I was also saying "goodbye" to a part of myself. Over the last seven months I have seen these students grow from timid foreigners with only a beginner's knowledge of English, into confident English speakers that I now consider to be friends. At first, they could barely understand a word I said. But by the end, we had shared stories about our lives, our passions, and our opinions on almost every topic imaginable. They know almost everything about me, and I know a darn lot about them too.
Some of my students live up to their stereotypes (some of the South American students are affectionate, the Asian students are studious, and the Russian students seem a bit cold), but what is amazing is that fact that so many don't.
Tomorrow I start again with a new class. A new group of students, who I'm sure will be much different than the first...
My speech to my students went something like this, "I am going to make this short and sweet, because I am trying not to cry. This was my first group of students...(first teardrop begins formation), and I'm going (trying so hard to contain myself)...to miss (oh no, I can't stop it)...you all (full on tears)." Due to an inability to call each student up by their name I gestured for the entire class to come up to the front of the room to receive their certificates. I have to admit that this was my first time crying in front of a group of 100 or so people. Embarrassing? I'd say so.
It might be because it's that time of the month, or because in saying "goodbye" to this group of students, I was also saying "goodbye" to a part of myself. Over the last seven months I have seen these students grow from timid foreigners with only a beginner's knowledge of English, into confident English speakers that I now consider to be friends. At first, they could barely understand a word I said. But by the end, we had shared stories about our lives, our passions, and our opinions on almost every topic imaginable. They know almost everything about me, and I know a darn lot about them too.
Some of my students live up to their stereotypes (some of the South American students are affectionate, the Asian students are studious, and the Russian students seem a bit cold), but what is amazing is that fact that so many don't.
Tomorrow I start again with a new class. A new group of students, who I'm sure will be much different than the first...
