First, it is Physics teacher Mr Anton Gillich.

Then it is a close friend from Iran, Armin.

Now, it is program director/principal a.k.a First Lady Dr. Rosemary Gannon.

And these valedictory encounters happened all within this week.

To begin with, Mr Gillich is leaving for Canada, for he misses home. Jeez, I hate to admit this, but I think I had teary eyes when he made his valedictory speech in class during the last day of the semester.

Thankfully, I did not shed any tears, for I found comfort by telling him how I felt throughout the semester in his Physics class by penning a thank-you letter to him, just before the class ended.

Mr Gillich is a really capricious person. He could be affable today, and could be aloof and obstinate on another day. Also, he could act like a normal layperson today, and turn unorthodox the next day.

Throughout the semester, I thoroughly enjoyed his presence in school. He is witty, funny, and makes Physics less boring, really. Despite swearing occasionally in class (which tends to invite gales of laughter from my classmates and I), his humour is arguably what I will miss most throughout his absence for the next few months. Some of his words that I still remembered vividly was: “For fun and profit, let’s do some problems” (still wondering what “fun and profit” means), and he even used the word “duh” in class.

What I liked about him, however, is that he never failed to explain a topic more explicitly when I (and we) needed explanations. He believes that we all should understand things, not memorize them, which is so freakin‘ felicitously in-line with my article of faith. He even went on to encourage us to ask questions. He firmly believes that learners learn best by asking questions. So, the Physics class will constantly digressed into something else, even something that is not from the text book, which only makes our learning experience more colourful and vibrant.

The explanation part was even more engaging. He actually took the initiative to draw pictures and diagrams on the whiteboard to aid our comprehension (though I must say there is definitely room for improvement in the drawing part). And in the event someone else does not understand, he will not hesitate to explain for the second time, or even the third. Ergo, I think he is being really dedicated to his profession by virtue of such academic experience that he has given me.

(and the dedication showed by Malaysian teachers pales in comparison, I shall add)

Besides hard-core Physics, I also learnt my lesson of respecting other’s intellectual property (albeit the very very hard way) through Mr Gillich. The thing is, I had a big round zero for my very first lab report, for committing the crime called plagiarism.

Pardon my expression, but I must say I despised him for this at one time. Now, thank God I was caught plagiarising in high school, and not in university. I will never cite sources the same way again.

I met him for the very last time today.

“Aaron, thanks for your lovely letter,” was all he said.

At the end of the graduation ceremony, we shook, for one very last time.

That, reignited the divine connection between me and a teacher, a feeling I longed for in the past few years.

And that poignancy will haunt me for the rest of my life.