oh the rumor mill...

To add insult to injury, this week was also the week that we announced to the other staff that we were leaving at the end of this school year. It was hard to tell them, even though a few already knew. I cried through it and thankfully Alan did most of the talking.

Anyway some of the other teachers told there students they were leaving and said there were a lot others. So the witch hunt began. Students tried to figure out who will stay and who will go. I didn't intend on telling the students this early but I guess my hand was forced. I'm not going to lie especially when others are hinting at our departure.

So today I told my 2 AP classes. I cried through the first announcement but kept my cool in the second. In the first, many the students hadn't heard yet so they were shocked and kept asking why I was abandoning them, thanks. I explained our reasons and that we want to work back in the city. They understood more, but it was still tough.

My favorite thing that came out in this exchange was what they said or asked about Alan. Some asked if he would leave too, and others shared a most interesting rumor that I never heard before. They said they thought the US government sent Alan here to be a scientist and that was what he did in all of his spare time. I don't know what kind of scientific research he was supposedly doing, but one student was really sad that the rumor was a lie. He said "I thought he was cool."

So we haven't been on a secret mission here in China and we aren't leaving to go back to be spies in America. We just feel like now is the right time to leave and will really miss all the wonderful students we will leave behind. It will not be easy, but we really feel like teaching in Chicago is where we need to be.

-rachel