Day 17. The day of their departure. I cannot remember a moment sadder than when they left us behind, walking past the security check point at the airport.
My partner and I woke up at 5 a.m and left by 6 for the airport, even though we had been up very late the previous night. She had been very enthusiastic about the henna tattoo, commonly known here as mehendi, so we had stayed up late while I applied mehendi to her hands.
We were the earliest to arrive but soon enough, everyone was there. Saying their goodbyes, hugging each other for the last time and giving each other small gifts to remember them always. Tears were a major part of the last farewell and just as fast as the seventeen days had gone, all the German students and teachers left.
What I realized later was that we were going to meet them in Germany just after 3 and a half months and this was not goodbye forever, but our return to India would be much more difficult and sad than this one. But just like Aashima said at the farewell dinner, "Goodbyes are not forever, goodbyes are not the end. They only mean we'll miss you, until we meet again." :)
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