#8-9 More shopping & goodbyes

I am finally home in Vancouver!

#8 I spent the whole day with my colleague in Guangzhou. She works as an educational assistant at my school and she has subbed for my class for the past 2 years whenever I got sick or during my prep times. At work, teachers and EA's have breaks and lunch at different times, so there's almost never an opportunity to sit down and get to know each other on a more personal level..everyone's always on the go, putting the kids first, that it's challenging to reach out to your colleagues and ask them how they're surviving!
The hour long train ride there and back allowed us time to talk and get to know each other better. It was so nice to listen to her talk about her university days in China, the Chinese people in Shenzhen, and how she met and married her husband within a few days in Nigeria, about motherhood. When we met up with her husband later in Shenzhen, she introduced me to him as "Ms. Li," which made me want to laugh because I was dressed like a kid, in sneakers, jeans and a t-shirt. Before we said goodbye, I got a chance to let her know how much I appreciated all her hard work & dedication... she really serves with a humble heart and all my kids tell me how funny she is when she subs.

#9 I met up with a student I taught this year at McDonald's. She had emailed me before asking if she could see me one last time. You might be thinking, awwww that's sweet. And yes it is, but in my mind, I was thinking... uhhhh-I have to get packing and move my stuff out! What a selfish teacher I am right? Then I thought about how on the last day of school, she couldn't stop hugging me and crying...I've never had a student this clingly before and I had to make a rule called the "3 second hug" in the middle of the year cause it was getting out of hand with her not letting me go! I had to explain to her as nicely as possible, "Teachers need their recess too, sweetie." So we spent some time at McDonald's eating our ice cream and talking.
And yes, one very last hug.