Time to say ….

To the students of MANOS,

I hope you all are doing well and that these couple of weeks away from school are not too difficult for you all, especially the 12th graders who are still busy preparing for the Abitur. I debated also trying to write this out in German, but, in the end, I figured as an *English* Teaching Assistant, that I would give you all one last bit of English practice as my parting gift.

I’m sure that most of you have heard already that I had to return to the United States, as the US Government recalled all English teachers who work for them in Europe. I’m not happy about my time in Dresden being cut short, but such is life. I want us to part on a happy note, however, so I won’t dwell on that. I wish I would have had the opportunity to say goodbye in person to all of the different classes that I worked with, but unfortunately the Coronavirus had other plans.

What I really wanted to write you all to say was not just goodbye, but also thank you. I had a wonderful time in Dresden and working at MANOS, and a large part of the reason why is because of you all, the students. Your English abilities impressed me from my first day to my last and I enjoyed every day that I was able to come into the classroom and work with you. I learned a lot from you guys about German culture, the language, and about Dresden and I am very thankful for that. You guys were (almost) always willing to participate in anything that I had planned and were incredibly welcoming to me and I want you all to know that I appreciate it. I appreciate everyone who was able to show up to the English Coffee Hour, I appreciate everyone who was able to make it to our Thanksgiving celebration and learn about America’s most food-and-football-centric holiday, and I appreciate all of you who were simply willing to learn something new about America and the English language in class.

So this is me officially saying goodbye to all of you.I hope that everyone gained something from me being in your class and that I was able to contribute to your understanding of English or America in some way. I really valued our time together and I wish you all the very best for the future. And once again, a sincere thank you,

Adam Roderick