Robyn:
See you soon is definitely more fitting than goodbye. We are off to the UK for a gazillion reasons (this is where my husband is from, it’s our children’s nationality, an opportunity to step away from the USA, and where I’ll pursue a PhD…). Through the lens of excitement of what is ahead we are also fully aware that we have so much to be grateful for.
Gifts: Having taught where my kids were students was a true blessing (the teacher-parents understand). Literally thousands of miles walked on the bluffs with a multitude of glorious conversations in the most beautiful of settings-“what’s said on the bluffs stays on the bluffs…” Of course my students, their families, and the brilliant colleagues that I was fortunate to have worked with and have learned from. And finally our family- not a single one of you said, “Don’t do this!” Thank you for your support of our next endeavour- so many gifts!
To our friends, families, students, neighbours, and community we are forever appreciative for sharing this time and space with you.
Meggie:
A few years back when my family was first settling into life in Finland, I coined the terms, Gome and Jyome. It was a way of processing my new understanding that in fact we can have more than one home. At the time, Jyvaskyla, our small town in Finland, stopped feeling new and foreign and began to be a place where we were at home or, Jyome. Sometimes however, conversation would be brought up where home also referred to our house and life in Goleta, our Gome. Since then this is how we have referred to both our lives in each place. And yet now, on my family’s last day in Santa Barbara before we depart for Bristol, UK, it’s time to say goodbye to our Gome. My brother and I commemorated this crazy change by doing something completely normal; we went for a drive after his last swim practice yesterday. We picked up burritos from our favorite local restaurant, CalTaco and cruised through the winding streets of Isla Vista. Our perusal of the familiar roads eventually took us down to Goleta Beach where we ritually turned off the car, rolled down the windows, dug into our burritos, and watched the sand meet the surf and the ocean meet the Channel Island of Santa Cruz. The view, the food, even the conversation- all ordinary. But it being our last time doing so, was fairly strange, slightly sad and very exciting.
Stu:
As I look back on my time in America over the past 26 years, I am filled with gratitude for all the people I have met and spent time with/learned from, the experiences I have had, and the opportunities for growth I have enjoyed (and sometimes endured). My time here can also be summed up as a list of “firsts”.
-First time on an airplane; being in the Channel Islands, mountains, deserts, and many different states and regions; being on T.V. (briefly); getting married; becoming a dad; earning a college degree/teaching credential; becoming a teaching professional and many more to mention. Things like the crazy Los Angeles traffic I won’t miss. Some such as incredible BBQ and salsa are likely to bring tears of sadness soon.
Although I did not intend to stay, I have put down roots and enjoyed becoming part of a family. I was struck by the warmth of strangers and their willingness to include a young Brit in activities and get-togethers. I feel fortunate to have made lasting friendships and seen much of how others live.
Yet now it is time to embrace change once again and return to my homeland. It may be of short duration, or maybe long-term. The unknown is nerve-wracking and excitingly stimulating and I look forward to experiencing the familiar and the new-especially through the eyes of my four family who are negotiating the move much as I did all those years ago arriving in California with shorts too small and skin too white. I hope they will be embraced as positively by my countrymen as I was in the U.S.
Liam:
Goodbye SB…
After growing up with Goleta being our home base it’s sort of strange leaving. The reason I use the word strange; not bad or good is because it’s never going to be over. What I mean is that when something is over you can sort of classify it. Living here has honestly been literally a once in a lifetime opportunity. It’s a strange place as you come near the end of something because you see things differently as I’m sure most people come to find out. I think the biggest thing I’m going to miss or rather am going to try and appreciate more is the ocean and being able to live so close to the beach.