Winding Down

It is hard to believe but I have less than two weeks left. You'd think that that would inspire me to do all those things that I've been meaning to do but happily I think that that list is relatively small. And I'll get to those few things next week...
In the meantime, I'm filling my time with lessons and lesson planning-- a morning and evening class give me only an awkward midday break. My three morning students are quite brilliant and we've enjoyed most of the classic language learning games out there. My five regular evening students (adults) act as though they appreciate my rambling attempts to explain English grammar and business writing, even though I lack a bit of expertise in both of those areas. I love to read their compositions and see what funny phrases pop into their writing and I'm glad that I can chat with them in English before and after class.
I've also been saying a lot of good-byes. Most of the MCC volunteers have left the country, either for brief visits to family at home or, in the case of Ben and Alisa, to resettle themselves in Canada. Many other expats have also headed home for the summer, so I've been more than busy with final outings (a lovely weekend visiting caves in Vong Vieng) and farewell meals. Happily, there's a good community at the school where I work now and the dorm where I live now, so I'll not feel too lonely. Plus there's relationships in Thong Pong, where I taught all year. It was a hard year working and living there, but it is a lot of fun visiting at this point.
If I sound happy, it's because I am. I can look back on my year with peace that the hard parts are over, with gratefulness for all the goodnesses, and with joy at what lies ahead.