6 days...

Departure

How to leave a place

before you leave, in limbo,

half packed, still attached?

So here I am on the brink. It is odd that now the real goodbyes have begun. Many people know I am leaving, think I've left, are surprised to see me still here. It is a strange space to live in.

To set the record straight: I depart on January 21st (Saturday) bright and early in the morning. After Joe says "Tuck and roll, Toots!" at the airport, I go to Chicago, then Hong Kong, Bangkok, and finally Paro. From Paro, all the teachers go to Thimphu for a two-week orientation. After that: our school sites. I will be in Rukubji (elevation of 3000 m) which is a 10 min walk from the main road of Bhutan and not far from a larger city, Trongsa. I have my own apartment, which is a 3 minute walk from school. I'll be teaching primary school English to 4,5, & 6 graders. There are only 150 students in my whole school. Quite a dramatic change from Anwatin where I was responsible for that many ESL students, in a school of over 550.

Speaking of school, in the weeks leading up to departing, I have been taking a few substitute teaching jobs for friends. It has been really great to get back in the classroom, even as a sub, and it has made me re-excited for teaching in Bhutan and perhaps when I return.

Thank you to everyone who has been supporting me this far. I feel like this has been and will be a collective experience in many ways. If I don't see you before I leave, I'll see you when I see you next (likely in 11 months)!

photo from :www.friendlyplanet.com/beautiful-bhutan.html