Still at our homestays, we all woke up around 4 AM to get to
Xiamen University at around 5 AM. Our bus to the airport left at around 5:30 AM.
This is where we had to say all of our goodbyes to our family, along with
others. Saying goodbye to my mom and Wenjing was really difficult and
emotional, but it was equally hard to leave some of the other host siblings of
my friends. Sharon, Shanna’s sister, was always so kind to me and did her best
to create a friendship with me as well. Wenjing and I would go over to her to
house (which was only a two minute walk away) and play cards or make these
Korean spicy noodles that Sharon ordered on the Internet. By the end, we had
our own inside jokes and I hope to stay in contact with her (along with everyone
else) when I return to the US. We had to wave goodbye to our families as we
pulled away from the parking lot and out of the University’s gate, but we were
luckily able to convince Cai Laoshi and Wan Laoshi to come with us to the
airport and see us off. We told them that if they weren’t at the bus in the
morning, we would go into their dorm room and drag them out of bed. We thought
that it would be easier to say goodbye to Wan Laoshi and Cai Laoshi since the
night before was already so emotional, but we were completely wrong – it was
just as terrible to say goodbye to them. The previous night, we had a goodbye
party at Xiamen University and all of our host families, tutors, and teachers
were there. It was really enjoyable until the reality clicked in that we would
have to say our final goodbyes to some of our closest friends. Everyone was
crying their eyes out, and I had a hard time keeping it together when I had to
say goodbye to Catherine, my tutor. Shanna and I noticed that Cai Laoshi was in
this separate room, and went in to find her trying to avoid crying in front of
all of us.
Sydney, Shanna, and I all sat in the same row on the plane
and Shanna would fall asleep for long periods of time and then wake up to find
herself crying – it was a rough departure to say the least. We slept through
the majority of the plane ride making it seem very short. The first thing we
noticed when we landed was the poor air quality in Beijing. I have been here
once before, so I was prepared for the slight shock to both see the air and
feel it in your throat. We got our bags and went to the bus, all exhausted and
hungry from the travelling. Our hotel is really modern and clean, and the
center is a 15-story atrium. Because we are friends, we share more in common,
and our sleep schedules are more similar, Merrick and I decided to share a room
for the remaining week of the trip. Our rooms are awesome, and it is so nice to
be living with each other again.
For our first activity in Beijing, we went to the Olympic
Park and Village from the 2008 Summer Olympics. They call the main stadium the 鸟巢
(niao chao), which means birds nest, and it is so much bigger than it looks in
pictures. The architecture was truly impressive to see. There were a lot of
foreigners waling around too, which was fun because it’s always nice to see
some people that look like you in a different country where you are the
minority. It was inspiring to see an empty stadium that can hold 80,000 people,
and was used as a place for international bonds to be created. The concept of
the Olympics is very relevant on a trip like NSLI, because one of our focuses
is cross-cultural communication, and the Olympics is perhaps the epitome of
that. Next, we went to the Water Cube (水立方)
where the Olympic swimming pool is held. This was really cool to see because
the pool is massive and the other facilities are very expansive. There is even
a water park inside! While all of this was very fun, it was so hot outside and
I was excited to go to the air-conditioned restaurant for dinner (which had
incredible food) and then to our hotel to hang out with each other and
eventually get some rest. It feels great to be back in Beijing, but I really
hope the weather isn’t too miserable.
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