We wrapped up our job teaching at Kang Chiao International School by July 1. The end came very quickly and when it was over, it was just over. It was a little anticlimactic. There are some things they don’t tell you about finishing a job as an expat.

1.You feel like you are leaving your home. – This was a huge surprise for me because it took me so long to fall in love with China. We made some very close friends and leaving them was like leaving family. With complete honesty, I can affirm that home is where the heart is. Maria, Jeff, Nancy, Albert, Marilia, Mike: You guys are awesome and I hope we get to meet again this side of Eternity.

2. If you really don’t like your job, its easy to leave… but if you like the children, its not so easy. I still feel sad knowing that I won’t see those kiddos again. Thank goodness for WeChat and photos. They helped me grow as a person and as a teacher and I am so thankful to receive an bigger picture of God’s role as our teacher. Teachers have the power to heal or to harm; to guide and to grow.

3.They don’t tell you how to close your bills, apartment or sell stuff. Thank God we only had to sell our mattress and couch and cart. We felt like we left like thieves in the night because we just packed everything up and left early one morning. We had left our keys and some odds and ends in the apartment. We just didn’t want the hassle of dealing with the apartment complex who has (typically) been very difficult to deal with. We didn’t pay August rent but gave them our deposit and called it good.

After its all said and done, even though our school was not ideal to work at, I feel that all that we learned and all the struggle we went through was worth it. We feel really blessed now that we have moved to Hanoi because everything seems so much easier. Maybe we have changed and become more flexible, maybe its just being outside of China. Please enjoy the pictures of my students. I miss them!!! More pics to come about our journey to Taiwan, Xi’an, and Chengdu.