Goodbye is not a Farewell
Tomorrow will be Thanksgiving Day. I’d like to take advantage of this occasion to express my thankfulness. I’d like to say thank you to the students, to the colleagues and to our
It’s three months since you came tour school. You inspire the students to speak and write English. You have created such a comfortable English environment that every student feels confident in using English in your class.
You set a good example to us. Every week you give lessons to three different levels of students. Before class, you prepare the corresponding materials for each level. Then, after class, you correct around 400 exercise books containing students’ original journals. While correcting, you will communicate students’ performance to us. You’re really serious about your work.
You are extremely devoted to your work. One afternoon in September, you went to Yi Fu Theater to enjoy a ballet dancing. After the show, you didn’t go straight home. Instead, you came back to the office, just to correct student’s homework. In October, Mrs. Brown came down with the kidney disease. But you two insisted on giving students lessons as usual.
Besides, you take your responsibility for the office routine work. Every evening, before you leave the office, you will make sure the public computer has been turned off and all the windows have been closed.
We regard you as members of our foreign language department. And I think you have the same feeling, too. That’s why you took such an active part in the school recitation and felt so proud of standing on the stage with us.
In our life we are meant to meet someone. Someone came into our life and then left. But someone will always remain in our hearts. You are that someone.
Maybe tomorrow we will be living far apart in the world. But I’m sure somewhere in this lonely planet, someone is looking at us, praying for us. You are that someone.
再见，并非永别
明天是感恩节，希望能借此机会表达我的谢意。我想要感谢我们的学生、教职工和光明中学。并且我要把自己特别的谢意献给布朗夫妇。
自从你们来到我们学校已经有三个月。你们激发学生讲英语、写英语。你们创造了一个轻松的英语环境，让学生们都能在你们的课堂上自信地使用英语。
你给我们树立了榜样。每星期你们要给三个不同年级的学生上课。课前，你们为每一年级准备相应的材料。课后，你们批改大约400本学生作业，作业绝不雷同，都是学生原创的英语杂记。你们一边批改，一边与我们交流学生的作业表现。你们对工作如此负责。
你们全身心投入于工作中。九月的一个下午，你们去逸夫舞台观看芭蕾舞表演。演出结束后，他们并没有直接回家。而是返回学校，只是为了批改作业。十月，布朗太太肾病复发，你们坚持同往常一样给学生上课。
此外，你们也把公室里的常规工作当作自己的责任。每天下班，你们都会检查办公室里的公用电脑是否关闭，窗户是否关好。
我们把你们看作外语组的成员，我想你们也有同样的感觉。因为你们积极地参与学校的朗诵比赛，自豪地与我们一同站在舞台上表演。
在我们的生命中我们注定会遇到一些人，有些人来了又走了，而有些人将永远留在我们心中。你们就是那些人。
也许明天我们将生活在世界的不同角落。但是我确信在这个孤独星球的某个角落，有些人在守望着我们，在为我们祈祷，你们就是那些人。
------written and translated by Iris Yao
