How Can It Already Be The Last Week in Shanghai?

---

It's hard to believe this is my last post in China, as next Saturday night I'll be flying back to the states. I still can't get over the fact that I'm even in China, and to think that I'm leaving next weekend is just absurd.

Thursday night was our end of the semester talent show, where each of the 6 classes had to do a skit for everyone else. Unknown to us, all of our Chinese roommates were invited, so when we showed up thinking we were just going to embarass ourselves in front of our teachers, we were surprised to see a room packed with local Chinese students. It ended up being a lot more fun than we thought, as all of the Chinese teachers got involved as well, and I was surprised to find that my Chinese teacher actually has a pretty good voice. My favorite was when the teachers did a mini Titanic skit--I guess that's a popular movie here in China too.

Friday morning we had our exit exam. We took an entrance exam (identical to the exit exam) at the beginning of the term, and without even knowing my results it is crazy to see how far I've come in just a semester. I remember going into the entrance exam and not being able to read anything, and then going in for the oral exam and being totally confused. I remember a teacher asking me what my hobbies were, and I definitely replied that I had 5 people in my family because I had no clue what she was asking. It was a very rewarding experience to take the exit exam and be able to read everything. For every sentence, I thought, "oh so that's what that said 4 months ago!"

Friday night we went to KTV with all of our Chinese roommates and our Chinese teachers. For those of you that don't know, karaoke is the favorite activity for Friday and Saturday nights for the locals here. They sing to both Chinese and English songs, and we decided that we couldn't leave China without experiencing KTV first hand (on a side note, I still have no idea why karaoke is called KTV here). It was really fun to see both our Chinese roommates (who usually go home on the weekends so we dont get to spend much time with them on outings) and our Chinese teachers let loose a little, and see both of them in a different light. Turns out our Chinese teachers know a lot of English songs, and we were able to belt out Mariah Carey's Christmas songs with them before breaking out some good ol' T. Swift.

I'm afraid the rest of the weekend was dull in comparison, as everyone's semester long research papers are due and we have finals all this upcoming week. Unlike Babson where you get the entire week off to study for finals, we still have absurd amounts of class time in addition to studying and taking the final exams. I can't believe China is winding down, and it's about that time to start figuring out Visas and housing for my third and final study abroad destination--Australia! I'm just going to throw my shameless plug out here--I'm looking for someone to get diving certified with me over the course of three to four weekends in January because I want to join the dive team in Australia and it is literally one million dollars cheaper in the States than in Australia to get certified. I'm pretty sure the dives are in Monterey Bay so we'll have to wear dry suits, but I need a dive buddy other than the Great White sharks so shoot me an email if you're in NorCal in January and interested!

---