Coming Home

Today I embark on a visit back to Texas, a journey that will last for a blissful twelve days. This week-long trip has been on my heart since I left the States five months ago: It was a deal-breaker for signing my first hagwon contract and was a condition upon signing the second. If neither employer would let me take the trip, I wasn't going to work for them. My brother is getting married a week from today and, even though I had moved halfway around the globe, wasn't about to miss the celebration.

The trip itself has been eagerly awaited and anticipated for many months. It's been greatly publicized by word-of-mouth at my new school, ILS, and throuh a letter to the parents of my students. I feel as though my brother is now quasi-famous for his wedding. One of my co-workers bought him a wedding present out of courtesy and a deep sense of respect, even though he had never met my brother. A near-stranger saw me in the ILS stairwell and asked me, "Your brother's getting married?" He might as well have said, "So you're the one!"

My students have been equally well-informed of my travel plans, though at times armed with a bit of mis-information. Annie, one my my EX 2 students, asked on Wednesday, "Teacher, your brother 'dun-dun-d-dun'?" It was so cute! It reminded me of my Learning Well students who hummed the same song months ago about another couple they thought might marry. Then David, the other student in the class, excitedly spun this story: "Teacher," he said, "Friday you last day and you go to Texas and you marry." I think he forgot a couple of important details, ones which I made a point to quickly clarify. I reminded him that I would indeed be back in just under two weeks and that, sadly, I wouldn't be bringing a husband along for the ride.

I guess all this hoopla about my brother makes me a bit famous, too. I felt quite the popular woman yesterday as, amid preparations for my substitutes, people continued to search me out until well after the close of the day. I stayed until after 7, an hour after the end of classes, to finish up my final preps. I asked my fellow teachers what they wanted as presents from the States and one of them, Daniel, told me, something like, "The only present we want from Texas is for you to come back." I suppose I'll have to make that my top priority.