Adieu

Finally, a really "good" bye.
I've been working for a company where things often end abruptly. I'm accustomed to endings, but these have been harsh, fraught with conflict and unease. "Sometimes you have to take it as it comes," the boss of the company says. And she's right. I get too cushy in my expectation of a predictable life.

Today I ended three classes I've had for over a year. I could probably train them indefinitely. But it wouldn't be right. I have given my best, done what I needed to do. It wasn't just English training. It's about experiencing other people, their stories, their dreams, becoming a thread in their lives for a while. These groups have been a rewarding part of mine. They've made every Monday morning for the past year worthwhile.

Thanks to: Simon, Alide, Jan, Krischan, Nicole, Anja, Mirco, Fabian, Marcel, Niklas, Juliane, Irina, Janine, Jana, Janne, Anika, Nicole, Oliver, Julian, Janina, Julian, Lina, Alex, Frederike, Sandra, Sebastian and Svea, as well as anyone whose name I've forgotten.

Heute unterrichte ich an einer bestimmten Firma zum vorerst letzten Mal. Ich verlasse den Job nicht weil er schlecht ist. Im Gegenteil, alles läuft gerade ganz gut. Eine gute Zeit, die Sache zu beenden. Ich habe das erreicht, wozu ich dort hingegangen bin. Ich liebe die Schweizer Art, Adieu zu sagen. Natürlich ist es Französicher Herkunft, aber die Schweizer sprechen es viel süsser aus: "Addi" sowie sie "Salli" am Anfang einer Begegnung sagen. Auf jeden Fall sicherer als Auf Wiedersehen. Wer weiß, ob wir uns jemals wiedersehen? Aber die anderen in die Hände Gottes übergeben (a Dieu), das finde ich schön.

Ending/Aus

Thanks to the two Spanish ladies who hugged me and each other after witnessing the kindness of the stranger who helped me with my luggage at Victoria Station in 2003.

I love good endings. We had one yesterday. A lot of people finished the language course. We watched a fun video where some Australian asks people on the street about their purpose in life. One of my purposes--I have many--is to bring things to good ends. And the way I achieve that is by making them good all the way. That doesn't mean this course didn't go through tough times; we had our crises and problems, too, but we sought and found resolution as we moved along. Now it's over with no regrets. We did our best.

We can move on happily to whatever's coming next. Yay!

Gestern ging ein Kurs für einige Teilnehmende zu Ende. Wir haben vom Morgen bis abend gefeiert mit Blumen, Kuchen und ein Haufen von Schokolade. Vielleicht waren wir nicht besonders strebsam im Unterricht, dafür hatten wir viel Spaß. Und das ist doch auch was wert.