"goodbye teacher! see you... again!"

and so the countdown finally begins...

how wednesday could find its way to me so quickly is beyond me, but sadly enough it did. my last day of teaching at the high school was rather an emotional one, but i mustered enough energy to refrain from making niagara falls look like a wet napkin; even after all the goodbye notes, presents, and surprisingly even through the unexpected grade 11 male-student chorus of "nothing's going to change my love for you" at the end of my last class. in all my life i never imagined that i would be here in vietnam teaching conversational english to these students, nevertheless being well-wished by over 300 students and acknowledged for having such a huge impact in their lives - quite an overwhelming feeling for this ordinary suburbian-raised girl from the cold depths of canada... but it's a feeling that definitely leaves warm tinglies and yet at the same time an un-helped feeling of saddness realizing the harsh reality that it's finally all over.

one more evening class to go, and that about ends my 4-month teaching term. i've retired all my class material ready to pass the torch onto the next teacher. for the rest of this week: thursday i plan on spending the day packing and probably re-packing up a storm, and a final round-about the city at night with my dear friend jenny. friday at 9am i'll be heading out to the airport and start the long journey back home to canada. everyone here's been asking me if i would consider coming back to vietnam to teach, and i think at this point it's a strong possibility. God has placed such a burden in my heart for this country and its people, and it's just amazing how i've seen Him working - not only in me, but just in everyone and everything that i've been so blessed to encounter.

no worries, no regrets... well, maybe just a little smidgen of stress thinking about how i'm going to fit everything into my suitcases without causing too much of a ruckus ;o)

on tangent: if you're ever in the city, the ho chi minh city museum in district 1 is definitely a place worth going to. not only is it a famous wedding photo-spot, but it's got a lot of interesting geeky-history stuff to feast your eyes on too ;oP also, the cyclo drivers that hang around there are some of the nicest ones in town, so if you want a nice, relatively cheap, slow, scenic ride around downtown saigon, then this would be a good place to check out :oD