I have mixed feelings about going home. I’m ready to head home to see my family and friends again, but I’m not ready to leave the amazing group I’ve been apart of! We have all become so close in such a short time! It’s going to be sad to leave these wonderful people!

I took the train a day earlier than the rest of the group. I was all alone and was scared to see who I was going to be sharing a room with and were things going to okay? How was I going to know when to get off the train and what am I going to do when someone asks me a question? I was slowly freaking out! I got on the train with no problem. got all comfortable in my bed, and was ready for a 18 hour long train ride of silence. Boy was I wrong! A couple got into the same car as me, got all settled and started talking to each other in Chineses. I knew this was going to a long trip.

What started out as a quiet train ride, turned into a loud and adventurous one! It turned out that the woman from the couple knew how to speak English! She offered me food– have you ever peeled a Pomegranate?, helped me buy dinner, and even let me join in and play a game that resembled Monopoly! Even though I had never met these people in my life, they were so helpful and wanted to please me at any moment, even though I felt like I should have been the one to please them! Once we got back in Beijing, we exchanged emails and I told her to find me on Facebook!

Sara was waiting for me at the train station platform and I have never been so excited to see someone I barely even knew! I invited her out for lunch before I had to say my final goodbye. I knew it was going to be hard to see her leave;  when you put so much trust and have a sense of security with a person, it makes it hard to see them leave. Over lunch we shared pictures of our animals and talked about each others culture. She then promised that she would come and visit us in America within the next year or so! She has always wanted to visit, but never has had the time to, even with her family living in Canada! It was then time to say goodbye… she helped me buy some snacks for dinner, got the bus to the airport situated, and then we said goodbye.

After Sara left, I felt so alone. I had no one to talk to, no place to go, and was left there to cry. So that’s what I did! All these emotions came fluttering in from nowhere! The stress of getting to China, being tired from all the activities had finally caught up with me, I was alone for the first time on this trip, and I was ready to leave, but I also felt like I wanted more. So, I cried. I cried a lot! It was pathetic, but I was going to miss this culture that I had grown to love in just three short weeks!

I’m really going to miss the friends that I have made who helped enrich my cultural experience! Like Victor, Liming, Brian, and Michael! They helped us get everywhere and helped us get out of a few sticky situations. I can’t express how grateful for all these men who made me appreciate their culture! Thank you guys for everything you did for us!

I’m looking forward to waking up and getting on the plane to go home, but I just don’t think I’m ready to leave. I just want to say thank you to those who made the trip so enjoyable! I never could have had this experience without everyone that was apart of this trip, so thank you!

Almost all of our group!