Transitioning to Summer part 2 of 2

Today, the seventh floor was abuzz with activity as all the first- and second-year teachers are moving off campus into their own apartments and simultaneously prepping to scatter to the four corners of the earth for the summer.

Both at the banquet and on the seventh floor this afternoon, we have had to start saying goodbyes. Our eyes tend to glass over at the drop of a hat these days. These last few days, it feels like the last hour of summer camp with people’s possessions piled everywhere and all the goodbyes. And just like summer camp, there are promises to stay in touch and invitations to come and visit.

With just a few more suitcases left to fill, our apartment is essentially all packed up. The rugs have been rolled up and the pictures have been taken off the wall. We had a massive moving sale last week and were able to get rid of everything except for a bunch of small items. We have the advantage of living on campus, so fellow staff members could just come up and browse during their free period. We sold our crock pot, desk lamps, bike helmets, the three-foot Christmas tree, Julie’s hair dryer, the fish tank, our plastic porch furniture, and our clothes drying rack. The few things that didn’t sell went onto the freecycle table in the teachers’ lounge. I kind of feel like I just hit “control/z” on our life. Two years ago, we arrived with our eight suitcases and built a life for ourselves here and accumulate all the necessary material goods to make that possible. Now we have just liquidated everything. We’re back down to eight suitcases.

Tuesday I will formally check out of my classroom and hand over my classroom keys. Wednesday, the four of us head to the mainland for a final whirlwind tour of China. Our first stop will be in Yunnan province near the border of Myanmar (Burma). Then we head up Xi’an for several days to see the terra cotta warriors. From Xi’an, we will take an overnight sleeper train to Beijing.

On July 1, we will fly back to Hong Kong. A week later we will put the girls on a plane to fly back to the States. Julie and I will be staying in Hong Kong for the month of July to teach summer school. She and I will fly out for Chicago the first of August just in time for me to start teaching in Lake Zurich. After teaching sixth grade math for the last fifteen years, I will be moving up to seventh grade in the fall. I will also be teaching one section of world cultures.