My First Lasts

I’m starting to experience my first “lasts.” Last week I started teaching my last semester here. It’s my last school dance this weekend. It was my last visit to the visa office in Bielsko last Friday (well, keep your fingers crossed). The “lasts” are starting.

My last day in Poland is Wednesday, June 1. I’m ending the school year early to fly home to attend my sisters’ high school/college graduations, milestones that I wouldn’t miss for the world. (Thanks to my school directors for understanding how important it was to me to get to attend these events and letting me finish the school year early. And thanks to all the teachers who are covering my classes during the crazy last days of school when teenagers have “it’s-almost-summer-vacation-why-should-we-have-to-learn-anything” syndrome.)

This morning I finished writing my master semester calendar and the winter/spring syllabi for all of my classes. And, wow, June 1 is approaching fast.

If you know me well, you know that I’m a “research reader.” I like to read to prepare myself for change, and on the plane back to Cieszyn from Christmas I started my “re-entry” reading.

I loved Craig Storti’s works on living abroad (I read them before arriving in August 2009) and so I bought his book about re-entry – “The Art of Coming Home” – over Christmas break.

Here’s his advice that I’m trying to follow when planning my last months here:

“Try to orchestrate a smooth departure. ‘Goodbyes are important,’ Victor Hunter has written. ‘Without a meaningful good-bye, an effective closure, there cannot be a creative hello, a hopeful commencement’ (1986, 179). Start planning your leave-taking many months ahead. Make a list of the people you want to be sure to say good-bye to and arrange for that to happen in due course. Decide what places you want to visit before you leave and make those arrangements, and buy those items you’ve always wanted but put off getting. In general identify personal and professional loose ends and tie them up. Coming home is burdensome enough; don’t make it worse by leaving badly” (37).

Now I know “orchestrate” is a bit of an unrealistic goal. Will my departure feel “smooth?” Probably not. I can’t plan a “perfect exit,” but I can think about what’s important to me before I leave. I’ve rushed (or had to rush) transitions in the past, and I don’t want to do that this year.

Most importantly, I need adequate time to thank everyone in my life here and everyone who helped me get here. You don’t stay for a second year because of anything except the people – because you have people who support you here (Poland) and people who support you at home (Chicago).

One of my friends asked me last week if I’d thought about my “exit strategy” yet and that conversation started me thinking. Perhaps it's a little premature to think about the end of my service here - I know it's only mid-January. But time flies here and I don't want June to sneak up on me. Here are my initial thoughts:

(Thanks for listening, readers. It’s helpful for me to begin to process this information and the reality that it’s my last semester here.)

Proposed Exit Strategy:

Here are the facts:

I teach all of my students, in Cieszyn and Český Těšín, from preschoolers to teenagers to grandmothers, once a week. With all the spring holidays in April and May (and a winter break at the end of January too), I have only 14 lessons left with my students before June 1. Only 14!

Every week I teach 14 groups of students at the high school/junior high, 3 extra Matura preparation classes, 2 preschool/kindergarten classes, 1 elementary school student, 1 German teacher, 2 business English classes, and 5 adult conversation classes.

It’s a lot of students to say goodbye to and I’ve decided to start saying goodbye at the end of April to give myself 3 weeks to say goodbye (the 1^st week of May is a holiday). I’ll teach all of my school classes (preschool – high school) until June 1, of course, and say goodbye to those students last, but I’m planning to start saying goodbye to my extra, outside of school lessons at the end of April. I know that saying goodbye to everyone my last week (or even my last two weeks) would feel incredibly overwhelming and I want to have time to thank every one of my students. I’ve decided that 3 weeks is the magic number and when I need to start saying goodbye to my students.

And I don’t only want to thank my students. I want to thank all the people who have supported me over the past two years...

1. The directors at my 3 schools and all of the amazing school office assistants

2. The other teachers at my schools (especially the other English teachers)

3. My friends here in Poland and the Czech Republic

4. Members of the ELCA’s Global Mission staff

5. My congregation, St. Luke’s

6. My family and friends in Chicago / the U.S.

I also want to / need to...

1. Submit my second semester grades for my students and submit end of the year paperwork.

2. Organize the teaching materials and resources I’ve gathered together over the past two years for the next teacher, including a packet of practice Matura exams for the person who teaches the seniors next year.

3. Write a “Cieszyn Guidebook” for the next person to teach here. It’ll include maps of the town, a list of stores, important telephone numbers, how to get to and from the nearest airports, useful websites, and a mini-guide that explains all the quirks of my apartment and its appliances.

4. Leave my apartment sparkling clean for the next volunteer.

5. Either close or transfer (to another American teacher) my bank/cell phone/Internet accounts and contracts.

And items on my personal “To Do” list:

1. Say goodbye to my Cieszyn favorites. My favorite hikes/trails, favorite tea spots, people at my favorite vegetable and fruit stands, etc.

2. Act like a tourist (ignore everyone’s stares) and photograph all of the images that were my “life landscapes” for two years. The Market Square, the Post Office, the bakery. The walk to my schools, the bus station, etc.

3. And do a few other “silly” items including...finally learning how to tie a scarf the way they do here, learn how to make Polish Easter eggs, eat one more slice of my favorite Polish cheesecake, go to the market the minute it opens on my last Saturday morning here (my favorite time to go), etc.

Of course, there’s also the “re-entry” part I need to think about. What happens after I depart when I get back to Chicago? What am I “re-entering” in June? But for right now - at least today - I’m happy to focus on first and foremost working toward a meaningful goodbye.

Thanks for listening, readers!