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Time to Say Goodbye...

Romaine Smith
Jul 18, 2017
10 min read

I am sitting here at Incheon Airport, getting ready to fly out of here, possibly for the last time. It was four and a half years ago that I came here for an experience that I originally anticipated would last two or three years. Before I came here, I had never flown on an airplane, climbed a mountain, or run in a long-distance race. Now, I have done all of those multiple times. As I sit here reflecting on my experience, I wanted to take the time to thank people who made my life here enjoyable, and are directly responsible for my staying here longer than originally planned.

Kirk Haley - Thank you for giving me a job, and for hiring me several months before I had even graduated from college. It has always been a blessing that you were willing to go the extra mile to help the staff with whatever problems that they were encountering. I hope that you have a peaceful stay in Oregon.

Ryno Kim - As the KAPA chaplain, you always went the extra mile to interact with the students, and everyone adored you for it. I hope that your family continues to grow, and that you have much happiness in your life.

David Chai - You were the first KAPA student that I met, and as your father stated, it was providential that we met 1 month before the school year started, on a different continent simply because we happened to be attending the same church that weekend. I hope that the rest of your military service flies by quickly!

Grace Lee - You have such a large missionary heart Grace, and I hope that you never change that aspect of yours. You always pay attention to those around you, and are able to touch lives that other people cannot.I pray that the rest of your studies go well, and maybe 2 years from now you will be the KAPA history teacher.

Esther Jin - Out of all the students leaders that I have sponsored over the last 4 years, you have shown the most dedication towards improving your leadership abilities. I have enjoyed working with you after your graduation from high school, and I really hope that the internship that you have proposed to your college is approved for credit.

Jenny Kim - I have several times cracked the joke that you were the person who really ran KAPA, and not the principal. However, there is a bit of truth in that statement, as you have been the person who time and again has been able to make programs at our school happen, even with all of the problems and red tape that often occur. Thank you for all of your hard work.

Topher Jeong - You have gone from being one of my students in the dorm, to being the Boys Dean yourself. I find it amusing that you still address me as 'Mr. Smith', even though we are now coworkers at the school. I pray that you continue to mature and become an even more responsible adult than you already are.

Mr. Kim - You know, I never did learn what your first name was. I only remember you as 'Mr. Kim'. Thank you for running your mountain climbing group. I went through the CIK website, and you have been my guide on 24 different climbs during the last 3 years and 6 months. Although I did get injured a few times (having a few rocks fall on me will be an experience I will never forget), every time I went I had fun.

Laura Mass - We came to KAPA together, and we are leaving together. We have seen so many people come and go together, and it seems like it was just a few weeks ago that we met. I hope that you are able to spend a lot of quality time with your family this coming school year, and I hope that Clarence did not become air sick on the flight back to the States.

Mia Lee - Thank you a lot for the invite to the biking tour in Tsushima. That trip was one of the most memorable ones for me, and I especially have fond memories at trying to navigate my way across the island when all the signs are only in Japanese and Korean.

Alex Kim - Your first semester at KAPA was a doozie, as you seemed so shell-shocked everywhere you went. I was so glad to see you grow up and become a leader in the school, and I hope that you continue to mature and become a respectable person to make your parents proud.

Daniel Park - You were the most introverted boy in the entire school, yet you were always happy to be around me. I do hope that our paths cross again someday, it was great that you came to visit me during my last week in Korea.

Greg Park - You always had a positive mindset in everything that you do. Even though that was annoying to me at times, that is a trait that you should endeavor to maintain throughout your life.

Luke Gonzalez - It was funny how we encountered each other almost completely at random in South Korea two years after we last saw each other at college. You always claimed that it was providential, and maybe it was. I hope that your continued career at KAPA continues well.

Theron Calkins - I wish you well in your endeavors to start a new career, and I will definitely be looking you up next summer when I return to visit Michigan.

Janelle Sundin - You are the hardest working teacher I have seen. Your students have greatly benefited from not only the teaching that you do in class, but also from the personal one-on-one tutoring that you seem to give almost each student. I hope that you are able to find quality time to read every interesting book in the school library as well.

Seoyeong Lee - You were the absolute best tutor I ever had at the Yongmun library. I do not know if I had ever expressed that to you, so here it is. Thank you so much for your dedication.

Emily Jin - Thank you for your help this last semester. Stepping in and helping me out with tutoring at the Yongmun Library really helped me in developing that program well. I hope that you do well at your university this coming fall.

Lincoln Esbrand - Thank you for allowing me to win each and every game of basketball we ever played together. I say that you let me win, because if you would stop being a show off and hot-dogging every shot, I would probably lose most of our games together. I know you are going to be a great father, and your wife is blessed to have you.

Gideon Rogers - Thank you for selling me your motorcycle 3 years ago. If you had asked me even 5 years ago if I wanted to buy a bike, my answer would have been an emphatic 'NO'. I have had a blast riding around various places in Korea, and I wish you the best in your future endeavors.

Kang Kim - You are not the most gifted or talented student that I have had, and your English still needs improvement, but you are certainly the most organized and hardest working student at KAPA. You will find that with these dispositions, people will be more willing to assist you with whatever you need for your goals.

Paul Park and John Yoon - I really enjoyed the conversations that I would have with the two of you every night in the dorm during your sophomore year of high school. Both of you displayed a high level of maturity for teenagers, and I hope that you do well in your endeavors this coming semester.

Sean Park and Leon Lee - The two of you always made me happy with your participation in class. I am always excited as a teacher when students are asking questions in class and demonstration that you understand the materials that I am trying to teach you.

Elim Choi - I always appreciated how you would come and ask me questions and to get assistance in your work, even though your grades were already a high 'A'. You will be able to go very far in life, and I encourage you to strive your best.

Joshua Lee and James Baik - The way that you two hang out together you may as well be brothers. You two always made me laugh, and I hope that both of you do well in your futures.

Joshua Han - When I took down all of the posters in my classroom, I realized that you had made more of them than any other student in my classes, even more than Cloy! I just want to state that of all of my students, you remind me the most of me when I was a young student. Specifically, the work that you did in my class would either be the best, or the worst, depending on whether you felt it was important or not. One day, I hope that you learn that more things are important than you currently believe.

Viktor Johns - Thank you so much for always being willing to come to my English I classroom and work with the students on interview skills. They may not completely appreciate it now, but they will when they are ready to graduate from college and are applying for jobs in their career of choice.

Jessie Im - I always appreciated your ambitions in life, and while you seem to be setting more realistic goals for your future, I would like to encourage you to always try to exceed your abilities.

Jenny Koh - I have not seen you in such a long time, and I hope that Germany has been good for you. You improved your demeanor so much in the time that you spent at our school, and I was sad to see you go.

The Fruit Vendor in Yongmun who speaks English - I do not know your name, and I doubt that you will ever read this, but I appreciate how you always ensured that the fruit that you sold me was always the best that you had to offer. This may be wrong of me, but I found it hilarious when you refused to sell me certain fruits because they were not any good, but then you would turn around and sell that same fruit to the next Korean to come to your stall.

Jessica Ramirez - Back in January, I left on a trip for Thailand, and while I was on the plane, I realized that you would not be in Korea when I returned, and I failed to properly say goodbye to you. I have felt bad about that for the last six months, and apologize profusely for that...

Jung Hyeok and Lyn Park - You two have a special gift. When you are happy, everyone else in the room cannot help but to be happy too. When you are upset or angry, everyone else is upset or angry as well. I was fortunate that you were both happy on most of the days that you came to class. I wish the both of you all of the happiness that you can contain so that you may share it with others.

Kang Sa La - I remember you always coming to my classroom after school to receive tutoring in all of the classes that you were not taking from me (lol). I always will remember your bright and cheerful demeanor, and the fact that you took the time to insist that I learn how to pronounce your Korean name correctly.

John Lim - I remember your last day of school. You walked into my classroom, and announced to me that you were transferring to a school in the States. Then you walked up and gave me the biggest bear hug you could. That is a huge violation of Korean culture, but it is perfectly acceptable in American culture, so I feel that you would fit right in at your new school.

Arum and Hannah Hwang - When I first came to Korea, you two were the sweetest young elementary students. Now Arum is in high school, while Hannah will be there before too long. Both of you have grown so much during the past few years, and before you know it, you will be in college. I know that you two do not like to study much (especially Hannah), but always try to excel at everything you do.

Katie Rowe - When I first came to Korea, you took both me and Laura under your wing, showing us how to navigate the subways and where the foreign districts in Seoul were. That helped me a lot as I was starting to explore that country on my own.

Alice Park - Alice, this last semester you stepped up and were trying so hard at everything; your studies, your your relationships with other students, and your athletic abilities. The last thing that I would like to remind you of is that everyone will fail at sometime at one point or another, no matter how hard they work. Please do not ever give up on your goals just because of one or two missteps in your life.

Jen Hwang - I was only able to have you as a student for one semester, but I appreciate how you were always coming to ask me about advise for your classes and future. I hope that you are able to always find good mentors that can give solid advice to you about your goals.

Bruce Park - You were always the most enthusiastic person at any community service activity that you participated in, whether it was the library tutoring, House of Grace, or the mission field. Please be aware that I am fully cognitive of your efforts inthis area.

Cloy Lee - As one of my students, you had the unique gift of simultaneously making me proud of you and completely frustrated at your antics. Now you are going off to college to study education, and within four years you are going to appreciate exactly how I feel about you, because every class that you ever teach will contain at least one student just like you.

Darius Kim - You will be missed. I pray that your family is doing well, and hope to see you in heaven someday.

There are many other people who I encountered during the past 4 years, more than I could ever name here. I just wanted to give a shout out to those that made the biggest difference for me.