Last Day of SU Abroad

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I can't believe it's already June 21st. As expected, the time has flown by. I have had five amazing months here. In this time I have travele to Xian, Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuxi, Yangzhou, Datong, Hong Kong, Chengdu, Jiuzhaigou, Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, Chengde, Hohhot, Guilin, Yangshuo, and I have, of course, lived in Beijing. My Chinese has greatly improved, though I still have a LONG way to go. I have pulled the only two all nighters of my entire life, (one of them being last night as I struggled to complete my final 10 page paper and pack up my entire room at the same time). Mostly though, I feel I have learned a lot about people. I find it very humbling to go to other countries and learn that the way you do things isn't necessarily the right way or the best way just because that's how it's done in your culture. Though I learned this lesson long before coming to China, it wasn't until I got here that I found a culture significantly different from my own.

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Right now I have a lot of thoughts running through my head. It's strange to think that if I had gone home when originally planned, then I would be on a plane back to Chicago right now. Last night I had to say goodbye to some people who I have become very close to over the past five months. I don't know when, if ever, I will see them again. I think the fact that the program is over still hasn't really sunk in yet, perhaps because I won't be leaving for another month. A part of me is sad that the program is over, but another part of me realizes that this is just how life works. I'd like to end with a quote from my dear friend Emily Rich, "We arrived as strangers, became friends, and left as family".

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