Dear Students,
I’m writing to you from a guest house in Mae Hong Son, not far from the SDC school. In the time that I’ve been away, I spent a few days in Pai, and a few days in Chiang Mai too, but wherever I was SDC was with me in every moment. In fact, I know that for the rest of my life the memories that I made with you all will stay close to my heart. These memories were cut short by unfortunate circumstances, and I hope that this letter will help you to understand why I cannot be your teacher anymore.
The reasons for my departure from the school are complicated. Depending on who you ask, you will hear a different story – this is the nature of stories. Maybe some of you have read my last blog post where I told the story from my perspective. I will not go into anymore details but to put it simply, Teacher Isabel and I do not get along anymore. Because of our disagreements, I could not live at the school any longer. I wanted to return to teach but she made an ultimatum with our supervisor claiming that if I were to return to the school then she would leave. My supervisor decided that it was best that she stayed working as a Teacher, so I had to leave.
As I said, this situation is complicated. Your current teacher and I are two very different people, who think and act differently. We strongly disagreed on many things, but I do not think that this means that one of us is a bad person and the other is a good person. When I was young if I couldn’t get along with someone my grandfather would say “There is no such thing as a bad person, there are only people who are not good for you, Rowan”. In this case, your English teacher is not good for me, but I know that she is good for you, and you must respect her no matter what.
She is a fine English teacher and I know that you all will all learn a lot from her. You must listen intently to all that she has to teach you. I hope that you think the same way about the teaching you received from me; I hope that during our time together you were all able to learn a thing or two. I will say, with certainty, that I learned a lot from all of you. I learned:
1) How even in tough times I should keep a positive attitude,
2) How it is almost always better to laugh then to get frustrated,
3) How to build a paper boat,
4) How to play cane ball,
5) How to treat those in positions of authority with respect and admiration, etc., etc..
Thank you for all that you taught me, and thank you for all you will continue to teach me as I think back on the times that we shared together.
I want you all to know that I am sorry for the choices that I made that make it impossible for me to continue as your teacher. I regret some of the things that I said to Teacher Isabel, but most of all I regret that I am not able to return to the SDC. Some of you might think that it was arrogant or selfish of me to leave and refuse to make amends, and it’s okay for you to think that way. It’s true that I had to do what was best for me at that time. It made me sick to think of living at the school because of all that had happened. My inability to make amends came at the cost of your education and for this I am sorry. I hope that in time you will understand this situation and forgive me.
Of all things, I have a lot gratitude and love for you all. From the day I first stepped foot onto campus I felt welcomed and respected. I felt this way almost always, and even though I often carried a serious expression, I woke up every single day with excitement and joy to be living at the school and to be your teacher. In the past, I was your teacher, and you were my students, but today I consider you all my friends. Now that I am no longer your teacher, I hope that the next time we meet, we will meet on even terms.
For the students who read this letter, I appreciate the time that you have taken to read it. I am willing to bet that it was a challenge for some of you, but I think that the content of the letter is worth understanding. You can think of this letter as my last assignment to you. I trust that those of you who read and understood this letter will do an excellent job of translating it to those of your classmates who want to know what is written but have a hard time reading in english.
At the end of the day, I want all of you to know that even though I am no longer teaching at the school, I will continue to work with the Karenni people for as long as I am able to and welcome to work with the Karenni people. I support your fight, and I long for the day that you will all be able to call the Karenni state home once again. May it come soon!
With love,
Your friend,
Rowan Huff Froese
P.S. If I am granted permission from the school administrators I will visit the school sometime in the next few days. I have a few things to collect, a few more things to drop off, and some goodbyes to offer. If you are around I will be pleased to meet with you; it would mean a lot to me to be able to give you a proper farewell.
Becoming Superhuman 
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