The end is nigh...

The nights are getting hotter and stickier, as are the days, creepy-crawlies are being found more frequently in the house and my ice-cream consumption has quadrupled in recent weeks, which can only mean one thing; summer is coming! (A wee wink to any Game of Thrones fans out there who may have recognised my not-so-veiled reference).

Indeed, as the days get longer and the temperatures reach stiflingly-hot highs of nearly 40 degrees, student numbers in classes tend to dwindle, despite the fact that the academy has powerful air-conditioning. Motivation levels simply melt away. It is at this time that people in Spain abandon academia to spend their days on the beach, and in all honesty, who can blame them? Who needs or wants to know about infinitives, phrasal verbs and prepositions when you have a tan to be topped up!

It does mean though that most of my classes are coming to an end and it is a bittersweet sensation. Though I haven't officially announced it yet, a select few know of my decision not to carry on teaching next year. Most of the reactions I have had have been extremely flattering, with them thanking me and telling me they will miss my classes, which tugs at my heartstrings and makes me want to stay. However, others have been a bit more selfish about the situation, saying things like "What about me? I finally find a teacher I like, and she leaves. Great, what am I going to do now?". While I sympathise with their situation, it feels a bit like they don't see me as a person, just as a teacher who is there to do a job. I am glad I have been able to help them, but there are other things that I want to do with my life - as you well know as a reader of this blog. I have a family I want to be near... I haven't lived in proximity to my relatives in about a decade, and I have a nephew on the way. My boyfriend is moving to the UK and it would be unbearable to be apart from him. I want to get into the BBC or journalism of some form. What's more is that I am excited and ready to move on, I just hope that with time they will be able to appreciate this.

So, I have started the process of saying my goodbyes to the friends, colleagues and students I have made over the past 3 years, which is never easy. Therefore, I let a song do it for me. Something that I always do in my final classes (for those with enough level) is play Baz Luhrmann's "Wear Sunscreen". It is a song that has helped and inspired me through many difficult moments in my life, and I feel that part of my duty as a teacher is to inspire others in return. So, I play the song and say that if they have learned nothing else from me at all during the course, then I at least hope they will take something away from this. I truly think the world would be a better place if we all learned to follow Baz's advice.

This may be the beginning of the end of one chapter, but it is the start of another one, and I'm ready to turn the page and start writing the next installment of my life.