Well, after a five-hour ride on the high-speed train here I am in Beijing again! This morning my host dad and Ivy drove me to
school where we said goodbye to everyone.
One of the host sisters had a Polaroid camera and was taking pictures of
all the Americans and their host sibs so now I have a little Polaroid picture
of Ivy and me in my wallet. As the bus
pulled out of the school lot we all waved out the windows and Agatha and I pathetically
started to cry.
I can’t believe that my adventure in Shanghai is over. During these past six weeks, not only have I
made amazing friends, learned the basics of a new language, and explored one of
the most famous and beautiful cities in the world, I have matured and (as
cheesy as it sounds) truly discovered more about myself. This summer has changed my life and I am
going to miss every little thing about it when I get home. Of course, I’m ecstatic to get back to
Arlington to see my family and friends and share my experiences in person (six
weeks, after all, is a long time!), but I also don’t want to leave the life
I’ve created here.
Friday was the last day of school. We had given our final “China in my Eye”
presentations on Thursday so Friday morning we had our final test. Then we practiced for the Closing Ceremony
later that afternoon. The Ceremony was
great. The American students performed a
dance to a mash-up of popular American songs (including Cotton Eyed Joe, Call
Me Maybe, Gangnam Style, and Single Ladies), which was a big
crowd-pleaser. We also did a runway of
our Beijing Opera masks that we made in class as well as a Kong-Fu performance
and a traditional dragon dance. Finally,
we presented our host parents with silk flowers we had made and sang them a
Chinese song. It was really beautiful
and a time to celebrate the success of the past six weeks but it was bittersweet
because saying goodbye is always hard.
When my teacher, Chen Laoshi gave my class a goodbye speech yesterday
morning, I was definitely holding back tears.
The end of her speech said this:
“Room Caesar will always remember you, such a group of
lovely kids. Chen laoshi will always cherish
the memory of the Summer 2013, which is special because of you, the eight
angels. Filled with the pleasure and
confidence we get from the trip, I am sure that every one of us is ready to
start a new one. Let this be the
beginning of another interesting and enjoyable trip. I’m ready.
Ni men ne? [Are you?]”
Today I said goodbye to Shanghai and my host family, but I’m
just going to look at it like a new trip.
This wonderful adventure has ended and I’m most definitely ready for a
new one!
As for my last day in Shanghai, Saturday Ivy and I got our
nails done and then met up with my host dad for lunch. The rest of the day was spent packing and
then in the evening I took my host family (including my host aunt, uncle, and
cousin) out to dinner to thank them.
America-bound in 2 days!
sar
My class in Room Caesar!
Ag and I doing some Kong fu.
The A Team getting ready for some serious kong fu.
My host family and I after the Closing Ceremony.
This was my room in my host family's house.
My home for the past 6 weeks: 778 Xinnan Road.
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