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Of all the people I was most nervous of telling of my news, the speech team tops the list. Of the people here at Peizheng, they're some of the most important. And some of the most senstive. I was worried about their reactions. I was even worried about hurt feelings. Sometimes, you just never know.
As per my plan, we met for dinner tonight. (The captains agreed that waiting was a good idea.) 28 of us in one room at a restaurant. The case of beer appeared. We were set.
I stood and gave my surprise farewell speech. A few knew ahead of time (current and former captains), but there were a few gasps. Without a doubt, this was the most difficult speech I've given; it was much more emotional than my commencement speech back in 2001. To say I was nervous would be an understatement. Luckily, it went smoothly.
I focused my speech around the idea of, "L'Chaim," or "to life," in Hebrew. (It's my favorite toast.) I talked about the toast, what it means, how special the team was to me, and my future plans. I encouraged them to continue to pursue their dreams, questioning, amazing
themselves, and most importantly, life. I felt like I was trying to hug 28 people and inspire them all at the same time.
With the speech done and the food ordered we set about taking photos. Lots of photos. My face hurt by the end. We didn't get one group photo, sadly, but we got lots of others! They literally lined up to take a photo with me. I was happy to do it, though my cheeks were protesting. These students are some of the most important people in my China years and I don't want to forget them.
We ate a huge dinner and laughed and talked. The table was so large it was difficult to talk to people, but I did my best. Our last class is Tuesday and then there are two weeks of exams and a small party afterwards.
If all going-away parties went this well, life would be so much easier.
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