Coming to an End... Just the Beginning
Last day running at the track.
Class C holding up our awards of program completion.
My host dad and I on stage.
Class C reciting Chinese poetry.
All of us singing Auld Lang Syne.
My host family after the program.
My host sister, Nurie's host sister, Jordan's host sister, and I after the program.
A Chinese teacher's daughter who has hung out with us and I after the program.
My amazing afternoon Chinese teacher and I after the program.
This is my last day in Chengdu! Tomorrow we leave for Beijing, and from Beijing, we fly to New York. This morning was relatively normal. I went for my morning run, ate a banana and some eggs, and went to class. However, instead of a normal day of classes, we had our last test, and then we pretty much got to do whatever we wanted until 2:00 pm. I finished some thank you notes, had my last lunch in the school cafeteria, and went to the stationary store one last time. Everyone was getting ready for the Closing Ceremony, so I was running around trying to give all the peer tutors and teachers who’ve helped me my little panda charms. I gave one to this little girl who was one of the teacher’s daughters, and she must have shown her friends the little charm because she came back and asked for three more. I had a few extra, so I gave in.
The performance was pretty fun. We did our poems and songs and fashion show, and then the Chinese people performed a few shows. One Chinese girl performed a traditional Chinese dance, and professional Sichuan Opera performers did some cool performances. There was even fire involved. I felt that we looked a little silly, mainly because of the fashion show and our silly songs and dance. The Chinese people definitely looked a lot more professional. Tomorrow, they will give us a CD of the whole show, which is pretty awesome because I didn't take videos. I was enjoying the moment.
After the show, we took a lot of photos. I got a picture with my host dad, my whole host family, my teachers, and a few Chinese friends. A thousand pictures later, everyone headed to this really fancy restaurant about fifteen minutes away. The restaurant was huge. We walked up two flights of stairs to this huge private dining room. As we sat down, they began to put plate upon plate upon plate of food on this lazy susan. There were stacks of rice cake, cashews and shrimp in a sweet, sticky sauce, a whole fish, mushrooms with walnuts and spicy peppers, more mushrooms in thick, yellow sauce, even more mushrooms in broth, potatoes, peanuts, corn, tofu and more shrimp, shrimp meat shaped into a ball, fatty pieces of pork, juicy pieces of beef, watermelon, two desserts, and so on. Once you thought all the dishes were on the table, there'd be another coming its way.
In all honesty, I prefer few dishes and simplicity of flavor. Although the food was very delicious, I felt that there was too much sauce on many dishes. Raw fruit, vegetables, and meat simply need to be well cooked with additional herbs, pepper, and salt. Tons of sticky sauces, sweet sauces, yellow sauces, etc. aren't necessary to make real food taste good.
As I was finishing a slice of watermelon, I noticed that lots of people were standing up. The majority of the people were either American or Chinese students/kids. The music that was playing in the background began to change from relaxing Chinese music to popular American songs, and the hoards of people standing moved towards the stage. Out of no where, a whole karaoke session began with microphones and everything. I even got up there and sang California Gurls... well... kind of. I didn't really know the lyrics except for the chorus. Chandler really wanted me to get on stage and sing a song, so we got up there and did it together. I think the most amazing part was when Yang Lao Shi rapped Eminem. He is so freaking amazing.
After returning home, I began the process of packing absolutely everything, which was kind of difficult. I had to use another bag to carry some extra stuff I had purchased/been gifted while in China. In packing again, I realized that I probably should have packed less clothing. About one week worth of clothing is probably enough. I guess I'll just find out how much it weighs tomorrow. Hopefully less than forty-four pounds.