The End is Near

I have exactly 5 days left of work. My mom will be here in 9 days. We leave to travel around China in 11 days. And I will be home in 21 days. How have 6 months gone by so fast? What happened to all that time I have in China? Or that snowy day in February when my passport was late and there was a giant snow storm on the East Coast causing me to miss my flight? Or that time a less than 2 hour flight lasted over 7 hours and I missed my flight to China? Or the day I turned 23 with so much time left in China. I only have 20 days left in China. I can’t believe it.

On one hand I am completely excited to come home and see all my friends and family. I get to see my mom in 9 days and I am beyond excited. I haven’t seen her in over 6 months and that is the longest I have gone without seeing her. Our trip is going to be amazing. We really are going to some of the best places in China. I have a lot of plans for when I get back too. I have a coming home party, the usual doctor’s appointments and a hair appointment to give that blonde hair a touch up, tickets to a Florida Georgia Line Concert and the State Fair, a trip to the Rhode Island, a Labor Day party to go to and on top of all of that I have to plan my adventure in Spain. If that even happens, because the process is so complicated and I haven’t even found out where I’m going yet.

On the other hand I am sad to go. I will miss all the friends I’ve made and the life I’ve created here. I will miss Jared more than anyone else in China. Why you might ask? Well you might be thinking that Jared and I are dating like everyone in our office, but no Jared and I are not dating. Jared is my best friend here in China. We know each other better than anyone else. We spend a lot of time together mostly because of work, since we work together, but we also have the same friends and sometimes have movie nights or get dinner together because we also live in the same building. He’s the one I talk to the most and the person I tell everything to. We’ve endured all the craziness of work and China together. So I will miss him a lot. I know that we will stay in touch and see each other again.

Moving is bittersweet. When you move abroad there is the excitement of going to a new place and starting a new life. You’ll miss your friends and family but you can stay in touch. You’ll learn another language and your native language will get worse. You’ll make new friends so fast, it’ll seem like you’ve known each other forever. You’ll get used to the food and the culture and anything that seemed weird or gross or different will just be normal everyday life. This new place becomes your home and even if you miss home, you can’t imagine being anywhere else.

When you move home there is also the excitement of seeing all your friends and family. You’ll get to have everything you’ve missed like mom’s home cooking or Dunkin Donuts. But there is the sadness that comes from leaving the friends you’ve made and the life you’ve created. Not to mention that most of us have no idea what to do when we get home. I put my life on hold and now I’m back to wondering what to do with my life.

I am excited, sad, anxious, and nervous all at the same time. I’ve had an amazing time here in China. I’ve gone to Hong Kong, Zhangjiajie or the Avatar Mountains, Langzhong, an ancient city and I’m going to Beijing, Xi’an, Chengdu, and Guilin. China is must bigger than you think. So that’s actually pretty good for someone who was only here for 6 months and had no vacation time. I really like living in China and I really like the spicy food. Everything is so cheap here too. I’m ready to go home though. I’ve enjoyed my time in China, but I’m ready to spend time with my family and friends, to get Dunkin Donuts and to be home again. I don’t know what is coming my way but I hope only good things are in my future.