Goodbye Panzhihua

"Bye China!"

Well, it's finally here. Tonight is the last night in the apartment and town that Lindsey and I have called home for the past 3 and 2 years, respectively. We have most of our things packed up, have spent the past week running through a marathon of goodbye dinners and banquets, and still don't really feel like we're leaving yet. Our schedule has been so packed that we really haven't had the time to slow down and reflect or realize that we are leaving, but maybe that's for the better. We are both sad to be leaving this place, but it's certainly time to go. The one thing that we will miss the most are the people. The few people we could call friends were the beacons of light that kept up going, day in and day out. If it wasn't for them...and the Chinese BBQ with crushed peanuts, we probably wouldn't have made it a year.

We've spent a long time here and we are so excited to get back to America. Tomorrow afternoon at 3:50 we board the train to Chengdu for the last time. I always love the train rides, but it will be sad to say goodbye to our friends at the station and then slowly pull out of Panzhihua. After we arrive in Chengdu, Lindsey and I will have to say goodbye to our friend Hong Mei who is riding the train home for the summer. This will probably be the hardest goodbye for both of us. While Lindsey thinks she has made about 5 real friendships in China, I count Hong Mei as my only one. After this, we will go out for a dinner with my host family and say goodbye to them. They actually have a new volunteer living at their house right now, so it will be quite interesting to see what someone who just arrived in China is thinking so far.

After finishing all the Peace Corps paper work, Lindsey and I will be heading to Beijing to spend two quick days traveling around before we fly to New York. I'm not excited to go to Beijing yet, but I'm sure seeing The Great Wall and Tiananmen Square will be interesting. Yet, right now I just can't wait to be sitting in the backyard, with a cold glass of lemonade, hanging out with the family. I just want to be sitting around a small fire talking with the people I miss and love. I think driving a car will be pretty fun too.

Oh, Lindsey and I spent the past couple of days filming our town and friends, so if you want to see the past 2 and 3 years of our lives summarized in 1 and a half hours of video camera footage, your going to be made to watch it anyway.