Yesterday was my final day with my students who are studying in their second (and final) year. They will all begin internships on Monday, the last part of their course before graduation. This date snuck up on me all too quickly, leaving me unprepared to say goodbye. Addressing my class for the last time, I was determined not to cry. However, looking at all of the faces of these young women who I’ve grown so close too, knowing our lives are now headed in very different directions, I couldn’t hold back a few tears.
Later, as I said an individual goodbye to a student, she told me there is a word in Khmer that means “someone, once we greet, we can never say goodbye to”. As she hurled herself around me tightly in a hug goodbye, crying, I wondered how I could let my students go. Needless to say, I will miss them tremendously.
At the same time, I’m so excited for them. Over the past few weeks I helped find them internship placements at various companies and NGOs around Phnom Penh. It is really wonderful to see them transition into the next phase of their lives. I think (and hope!) that they are prepared and ready to support themselves!
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