The hardest part of living overseas…
… Is saying good-bye to so many people so often.
Such is the nature of this work and this country that most people stay a year or so, and move on (although that time period has increased a bit since the GFC).
And so it is with a mate who worked at the after school centre attached to the main school.
A year an a half ago we were saying hello. Today it was time to say good-bye.
It’s similtaneously the best and worst part about this vocation.
You have the opportunity to meet and hang out with so many interesting people, personalities you probably wouldn’t experience if you lived a “regular” life back home.
But sometimes it’s so fleeting.
I dunno. Feels kinda weird now.
Goodbyes are not good
One thing i learnt from my time in the RAN was that the friendships you make last a lifetime.
It’s a bit different in this case because people go back home to America, England, Canada, South Africa, Ireland…
Thank goodness for the Internet and sites such as Facebook.
Kind of like being an army brat. 2 years and you were gone – to another place. Friends long left behind.
I think the positives definitely weigh out the negatives, but it’s still a bit tough at times.
IN the case of the kids, it brings you closer to your family as those are the only people you have known since childhood.
My graduating class in High school spread to the 4 corners of the globe. The last one I saw (after graduation) was about 10 years after graduation, and she stopped by for a visit. She was living in Winnipeg Manitoba.
True. But we each must walk our own path.