Leaving AES – My farewell speech, PechaKucha style. 28 May 2025.

Video (6´40¨)

 

Today, after classes, the middle school teachers had our end-of-school-year celebration — an event I particularly enjoy. In international schools, it’s not unusual for teachers to move to another school after a few years, and this is the perfect opportunity to say farewell to colleagues who are leaving, while chatting over a beer or a glass of wine. Some give creative speeches, others emotional, funny, or a mix of everything. Super fun!

 

When the assistant principal asked me a few weeks ago who I wanted to speak to say my farewell, I told her no one — that I’d take care of speaking at my own farewell (which is a bit unusual). Below is what I shared with them, PechaKucha style.

 

Even though I’d said I would do my own goodbye, my wonderful colleagues Rojin and Lauren stepped up and introduced me, and it was fantastic.

 

What an amazing bunch of colleagues I’m leaving at this school!

 

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Transcript of what I wanted to share with them…

 

SLIDE 1

 

Last year, when Isaac left, he gave a speech at the end-of-year party. I wasn’t there, but I heard from several people “the speech was awesome, it was great and long.”
And I thought to myself: “A great and long speech”… that’s an oxymoron for sure.
That’s why I told Kasey I would speak on my own behalf — so at least I’m in charge of the time.

 

SLIDE 2

 

An oxymoron, by the way, is a figure of speech where two contradictory words are placed next to each other: working vacation, organized chaos, safe adventure, useful Toddle…

This presentation is going to be PechaKucha style: 20 slides, 20 seconds each, a total of 400 seconds.

 

SLIDE 3

My farewell speech will be quite different — I just want to talk about three things I love, and India has been fantastic for that:

• Literature
• Travel
• Hiking

I’ll start by recommending a few books that helped me understand this country — most of them are available in the library.

SLIDE 4

 

The first is Freedom at Midnight, by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins. In my opinion, reading this book is a must for any expat living in India to understand figures like Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, Jinnah, and the role of the last Viceroy, Lord Mountbatten, in the independence and partition of India and Pakistan. Fascinating!

 

SLIDE 5

 

The second book I recommend is The Red Sari, by Javier Moro. It tells the story of Sonia Gandhi, an Italian woman who married Rajiv Gandhi, the son of Indira Gandhi, who was the daughter of Nehru…
It helps explain contemporary Indian politics — the Congress Party, the BJP… A perfect summer read!

 

SLIDE 6

Reading allows you to travel with your imagination — and sometimes for real.
Many of you may have heard about the Bhopal gas leak, considered the world’s worst industrial disaster. Thousands died and about half a million were injured. A book written by the two previous authors describes that tragedy perfectly.

SLIDE 7

 

After reading the book, I wanted to visit Bhopal and that factory, which now lies in ruins. I took a night train, about 8 hours. I’d read that you couldn’t visit the site, and my tuk-tuk driver also warned me it was off-limits.
But after spending some time chatting with the security guards, they let me in to visit the plant.

 

SLIDE 8

 

Another book and another story: Passion India.
In Spanish, we have an expression “más rico que el maharajá de Kapurthala.” When we say someone is rich, we say “richer than the Maharaja of Kapurthala.”
But very few people know anything about Kapurthala or the origin of that saying. It’s a small city in Punjab.

 

SLIDE 9

 

It turns out that the Maharaja of Kapurthala, in the early 20th century, fell in love with a Spanish flamenco dancer, Anita Delgado. They married, she became a maharani, and that’s how many Spanish people first learned about the maharajas.
One weekend I took a 6-hour train to experience the setting of that novel.

 

SLIDE 10

 

My favorite trips in India have been the ones off the beaten path.
But there are some places you keep coming back to:
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven…
I wonder when I’ll return to this place again.

 

SLIDE 11

Out of all my trips, if I had to choose just one, it would be Leh-Ladakh. I love mountains, riding a bike, culture, historical architecture — and this is a place where I could have it all. I definitely want to go back.
We all have different preferences: beaches, big cities… as for me — take me to Leh-Ladakh.

SLIDE 12

 

Hiking in India!
When we talk about hiking, I don’t know why people don’t associate it with India. It’s always Nepal, Switzerland, Patagonia… but never India.
And we have the Himalayas right here!
There are family treks, weekend treks, 5-day treks… something for everyone. You don’t need any experience, and great local companies can organize them.

SLIDE 13

 

For example, this is a trek that I enjoyed: Sandakphu.
From a distance, you can see 4 of the 5 tallest mountains in the world:
1 – Everest (8848 m)
3 – Kanchenjunga (8586 m)
4 – Lhotse (8516 m)
5 – Makalu (8463 m)

 

SLIDE 14

 

This mountain in the photo is Nanda Devi — 7817 m. For 25 years, it was believed to be the highest mountain in the world.
I took this photo from another mountain called Nag Tibba — an easy weekend trek. I worked on a Friday, took the night train to Dehradun, hiked Saturday and Sunday, and was back in Delhi by Monday 4:30 a.m.

 

SLIDE 15

 

About how they measured mountains back in the 19th century — there’s a fascinating book in the library called The Great Arc.
That’s where I learned more about George Everest, who lived for 11 years very close to Delhi, in Mussoorie. He also spent time here, in Delhi.

 

SLIDE 16

 

Not related, but sort of.
This mountain is Ama Dablam — 6812 m, in Nepal. One of the most beautiful mountains on the planet.
And what you may not know is that our Director, Dr. Harrington, opened a new route to the summit of this mountain. Probably the closer you have been to a serious mountaineer is next to Rand.

 

SLIDE 17

 

I want to say thank you and recognize all the people who’ve been important to me at AES.
I thought of naming people individually, but the list is too long.
So, thank you very much to everyone for making my experience at AES and in India absolutely wonderful.

 

SLIDE 18

 

You know my philosophy — stay up to 5 years in a place.
If I leave after 5 years, that’s a great sign. It means I loved my time there.
And when you know you’re leaving, you value everything more: your last visit to Malcha Mahal, your last run in Nehru Park, your last chai…

 

SLIDE 19

 

I watched the movie Troy, with Brad Pitt as Achilles, twenty years ago — and there’s a sentence I’ll remember forever.
It says “Everything is more beautiful because it ends.”
And knowing that, we value what we have, every moment, a little more.

 

SLIDE 20

Last slide.
As you may know, I lived in Jakarta and now I’m moving to Kuala Lumpur.
Both Malay and Indonesian cultures have a beautiful expression, especially at the end of Ramadan: “Maaf Zahir dan Batin.”
It means “I apologize for any offense I may have caused, whether seen or unseen, intentional or not.”
Gracias. ¡Hasta la vista!