I was in sixth grade and eleven years old at that time. It was math class; I was listening to my teacher, Ms.Mendoza, explaining on how to solve a math problem. Someone knocked at the door of our classroom. A classmate of mine opened the door and I was surprised to see my mother standing there. I was thinking, *What is she doing in here? What's the matter?* Ms.Mendoza quickly went over to my mother to ask what was the matter. After a few minutes of them talking, Ms.Mendoza called me over, "Cyndi Wang, your mom wants to talk to you!" I stood up from where I was sitting and quickly walked to the door. "

Honey, I just received our "VISA" today. We can go to Canada now," my mother grinned.

I was shocked and I was speechless. I pretended to smile although thoughts already came through my mind.

*What's it like there? What about my friends, my classmates, my relatives? I'll have to leave them just like that?* I wanted to cry as I thought to myself, but I forced myself not to. I don't want to show them any of my emotions. It would be better for me to keep quiet and say nothing.

After a while, I started to speak. "What about my final exams? March is the end of the school year. How would I graduate then?"

"Well, Cyndi, we'll advance your final exams so that you can graduate," said Ms.Mendoza.

"But I'm afraid we'll have to leave on the second week of February," my mother said.

"Then I suggest that you talk to the other teachers of Cyndi and then we can discuss what to do next. Do you already have an exact date of flight, Mrs.Wang?" 

"Yes, we have already booked the 8th of February."

"Then we'll do our best to make Cyndi take her final exams before February 8th."

My mother talked to my other teachers to settle the date of the final exams. They gave me reviews to review for the final exam. I studied, but let's just say I wasn't that focused. I was depressed, especially when my friends and classmates found out about it. I took my exams though I didn't know if I did good or bad because I never got the results. Time flew by easily; each day I woke up, it was getting nearer and nearer to the date of my flight.

I had never riden an airplane before and that made me feel kind of excited, yet sad. I didn't even know which emotion should rise up. The excitement because I had never been out of the country before, and I wondered, *Is there really another country? Does another country exist?* I felt sadness because I had never been away from my relatives, classmates, and friends-and I didn't want to leave them.

The Philipines was the place where I grew up and I was happy with that. I didn't care if I would be stuck in this country forever. I was happy as I am now; I couldn't ask for more. After a few days, the time had come when I had to say goodbye to my classmates, teachers, and friends. It was February 7th, 2006. I brought them siopao (CHINESE FOOD) and soft drinks as a treat to them.

As I was about to leave, they gave me something-something that I would treasure forever in my heart. They gave me their pictures and some letters of friendship saying goodbye and that they would never forget me. They even drew pictures of an airplane. I was about to leave the school with my dad when suddenly my classmates, especially my friends, hugged me tightly and they started to cry. I didn't know how to express my feelings at that time, but I realized, I was crying too. I didn't want to cry, but it was just that those emotions were too strong to think that it could be the last time that I would see them again. I might never see them again or it would probably take a couple of years before we meet again. I hugged them as tightly as I could and we all promised each other that we would be friends forever, and that we wouldn't forget each other even though we would be a million miles away from each other. It was the sadest part of my life as I exited my school where I had studied since kindergarten for almost eight years. It felt like I had ended the most important chapter of my life, which was "friendship."

I wondered if I would see them again or if we would still be friends after we separated. That night, I went to my best friend's house, who had been my best friend for about a year and a half. Her name was Danica. We had been classmates for two years and we became best friends because we had a lot in common, I guess. We had been close friends since the field trip at our school because were seatmates on the bus. It was my first time to visit her house. My parents, my aunt and my niece, Zyra, accompanied me. It was the happiest moment in my childhood; we had a lot of fun before I went. We ate dinner together and rode on the tricycle for the first time. I gave her a gift last Christmas; it was a big foot pillow and then I gave her another one that night which was a Valentine mug since that time was almost Valentine's Day. In return, she gave me a letter with her picture on it. Danica told me to just read the letter later because we didn't want to cry again when we said goodbye.

That night, me, Danica, and her sister, Ally along with my niece-cousin Zyra, kept shouting all night-some crazy jokes to make ourselves happy. That was the best part of the night and I enjoyed it so much. It was the most unforgettable moment of my life. When I think about it now, if I can just repeat my life again, I would agree. When the night was over, I was so exhausted, but still happy that my last moments in the Philippines were spent with my best friend, Danica. I kept all the souvenirs that my friends gave me and put them in my luggage. When I got home, I took a bath. I stared at our washroom, and I was thinking, *This is the last time that I would take a bath in here. It would take years again before I came back.& I started to cry again; I loved my house, I knew I would definitely miss it. If I could just bring my house to Canada, I would. After I took a bath, I sat on the couch wandering. I didn't notice that I fell asleep. When I woke up, my parents told me we we leaving and going to the airport now. That time, I forgot I was going to Canada.

I forgot about my grandma. I didn't even say goodbye to her-I didn't say goodbye to anyone. I was still half-asleep. I thought I was only going somewhere like a field trip. As I entered the van, I fell asleep again. Hours passed and I was awake. I just saw outside the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila. The sun hadn't rise yet; it was only 4AM. My parents told me would be checking-in at 5:30AM. I was able to talk to my aunt, who came with us to the airport. Outside, I looked calm and fine, but inside, I was actually quite sad. Time was going by so fast and it was already time for us to check-in at the airport. I had never been inside the airports before, but all I knew was that airports were where people would board and depart. We checked-in and I was on my way to the airplane.
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Based on a true story though some changes have been made.

Thanks to Xiao Wen for beta-reading Forewords and Chapter 1