24 Hours Left... Panic Strikes!

Hello everyone!

This is just a quick 'hello', and to say that you probably won't hear from me for the next week or so. My time will be occupied with last minute packing and buying, spending time with my family and friends, trains planes and automobiles, a few days in Beijing, and a COW in Regina.

The other day Song Song, Mi Mi and I made a goodbye lunch for our families. We had to get up early and cruise through the crowded market streets to get all the vegetables and ingredients to make our very own dumplings! Mmmmm, dumplings are amazing... But I think next time I'll just buy them instead of making them - they took four freaking hours to make even with six people helping! It was so much fun though - and rewarding in the end, too. I'll try to smuggle some dumplings back for everyone! Saying goodbye to Mi Mi was the hardest though... We spent so much time together in the past few months, and I'm really not ready to say goodbye to her. I didn't think saying goodbye would be so hard to do, but I got really attached to some people. It seemed like such a short time, but the friendships I made with Mi Mi and a few others are incredibly strong. It's not the last I'll see of her though. Sounds corny and all, but we made a promise to see each other some time again in the future. Uh-oh, I better stop now before I get too worked up. I'm seriously dreading the last goodbye to my family at the train station... Krud, what's with all these crazy emotions I've been going through lately?

Ohohohoh... Guess what our group is doing in Beijing? Ever heard of the GREAT WALL OF CHINA?! Yup. We're taking a group trip there. Our hotel is also close to Tiananmen Square, too, which we'll be sure to check out. And how could we miss out on the Forbidden City *tries hard not to squeal*?

As you can probably tell, I'm having a lot of mixed feelings. Leaving Yichang isn't something I look forward to doing, but at the same time I'm excited to go to Canada with Hu Song. I'm even more excited for the fifteen hour train ride and thirteen hour plane ride! Yaaay! I'm just trying to enjoy every moment while I can. Which probably means I should be getting off the computer so I can enjoy Yichang while I can?

*Runs out to dance the Ba Shan at Yiling Square*

-Joe