Start saying goodbye

Wednesday was the beginning of the end. I had my first "last lesson" with one of my private classes.

Saying goodbye to my private students will be hard. I have quite a few of them, all of which I know very well.

First there's Henry and Andy, my boys. I have been teaching them for about as long as I have been in Taiwan. They were my first private lesson. They're high school aged boys, terribly smart, and speak great English. It is definitely one of the classes I look forward to the most. Their parents also speak perfect English, and are so welcoming and kind. I will miss that family a lot.

Then there is Heather. She is the mother of two of my students in the buxiban, and I have been teaching her for about 2 years. She also speaks English well, and we have developed a close friendship. She is so sweet and thoughtful, always bringing me gifts from her vacations, and little snacks or fruit. She even gave me some of her old maternity clothes! I know her kids well too, I taught them both for long periods. Again, another family I will miss.

Yen and Dee are the two girls who I had my last class with on Wednesday. While I haven't been teaching them for as long as I have the others, we are very close in age and have developed a good relationship. Since our class ended so early, I hope I will get to see them again before I go.

It's hard to not get personal with the private students. After all, sometimes you are going into their home. They are curious about you, and you want to know more about them too. Not to mention, one-on-one or one-on-two conversations would get dry pretty fast if you didn't open up a bit about yourself. I don't know how personal other English teachers get with their private students, perhaps many of them don't...

Either way, it worked well for me. I have developed many good relationships with these people, and I am sure we will stay in touch long after I have left Taiwan.