On the island, the only good way to end something and say goodbye is to have a little party. So these past couple weeks we have had 5 closing parties for different English classes we have taught. They were very different. Some at our house, some in the classrooms, some outside. Some were with young people, some with older, some with men, some with women. One even had a live band. Still there were a few common elements. Most included the presentation of certificates and the eating of food. But only one thing could be found in all of them...speeches. Even if you don’t have food, to properly end a class you need speeches.
Islanders love speeches and seem to have little fear of standing up and making them. You never know how many speeches will be given. The teacher will give a speech and then one after another, people will start standing up to give their own speeches. Even in very formal ceremonies, it seems that anyone can stand up and give a speech if they want to. Sometimes the student will attempt to do it in English (a brave attempt indeed) but others will stick to the island language.
Island speeches are usually flowery and formal. “Greetings, my most distinguished and honored guests....” The same sentiments are repeated again and again with various elaborate turns of phrase. For example, “You have touched our hearts,” or “We will never forget you”, “Thank you for all you have done to [sic] us!” In short, we are told that we are appreciated.
Now we aren’t very formal people. The two of us don’t usually seek lots of ceremony or pomp, but on the islands we have learned to embrace it. Even as the fifth student stands up to say the same thing, we smile and clap our appreciation. The formality is how they honor us and how they express their gratitude. So we in turn are thankful. It has been a good run.
PRAYERS ANSWERED
Things are going well. All our teaching responsibilities have ended well and we are feeling good about the packing process. We successfully moved our short-termers out of their house and they made it safely to the “small” island where they will finish their time.
PRAYERS REQUESTED
One week left... Pray for all the goodbyes we need to say and for all the logistics of leaving. Our email was hacked, pray that we would do all we need to resolve it. The religious month of fasting begins this week, pray especially for islanders during this month-- that they would seek and find truth.
