and i'm back... for one last post.

Waking up only a few hours after going to sleep yesterday (was it yesterday?) was the easiest part of leaving China. The hardest might have been the goodbyes... to the country, the way of life, the Olympics... the people I've spent the last couple months with.

With some great help I made it to a taxi and said farewell to the south gate of CUC... the very gate I had climbed so many times. Drove past the popsicle man I came to love... and looked back at the subway station I cursed so many times... only to wish I wasn't leaving it all.

As soon as I found the note from Megan in my bag I lost it. I can't imagine not waking up in the 801... cracking the door open to see who else is already awake... and then going and bothering them, without even thinking twice. I know we're not dying... and the Beijing Summer08 reunion is already in the planning stages... but there's something about that mosquito infested dorm that you can't find anywhere else.

After sitting in the airport for hours and napping on the leathery recliners looking out over the runway (quite nice, actually) I looked around and realized I was the only white Westerner where I was sitting. I realized it would be the last time in a while that I would be that only one... again, almost lost it. I've never thought I would feel so at home somewhere so different. I never thought I'd feel so lost heading home... but then again, a year ago I never thought I would be in China at all.

Soon the others came filtering in... the Puerto Rican boxers, track and field athletes from Guyana, Canadian wrestlers... all of us wearing our Olympic accreditation still. Boarding the plane, I realized I could probably take mine off... though I didn't even want to. It seemed like the last little bit of Olympics I could cling to for a bit longer.

Several hours of drifting in and out of sleep and I was arriving at JFK. The first American flag I saw was outside the Port Authority building... I don't think I'll ever forget it. And as soon as I stepped off the plane and into an airport full of English signs and voices over the loudspeaker I knew it was real... no more China. Through customs I took the "US Citizens" line... strange... and was asked the series of "why are you trying to get back into this country" questions by Ryan the customs man. He asked if I had a good time, I said "the best." To which he said, "I'm going to do you one up today... you're getting a kiss going through customs." Before I could even process what he was saying, he smacked a Hershey's kiss on the counter and smiled. I laughed out loud... especially happy to have some English-interaction again.

While at JFK I met a great family who had their share of traveling too... I was talking to their young son who was marveling at the pins on my backpack. I told him I had even more pins in my bag and pulled out the panda pin I had gotten from my Newsweek photographer friend. The boy's eyes lit up as he told me that he and his sister LOVE pandas. His sister, who wasn't feeling well, perked up as soon as she heard the word panda. I fished around my bag for the Fu Wa panda keychain I had too and told them they could have them. Not only did I make these kids' days... but their parents gave me that silent "Thank you" and smiled. They were all fascinated with my trip to China and the Olympics... and I was so happy to just be able to talk to strangers again. I love human interaction... and although it happened occasionally in China, it was never a guarantee that I would be able to strike up a conversation with people I didn't know, just because of the language barrier.

And then it was home to Chicago... where it all seemed to real to be home.

Then the reverse culture-shock set in. I saw American money and freaked out. I felt scared riding in a car on a highway with semi trucks. I keep forgetting that I can flush toilet paper here. I looked for bottled water until I realized I can drink from the sink again. I washed my face with cold water... out of habit. I woke up after sleeping from 2am to 2pm today and immediately got on my computer to see who else was awake on Skype... only to remember that we're all in different places now. I'm still a little our of sorts, but it's staring to sink in that I'm back. Mom's food and my brother's hospitality (I shack up in his room on a futon when I'm home... spreading my stuff out everywhere... and he never minds) are helping me feel like I'm "home."

But even more than that, I feel like fall is always a crazy time for me... I always get wrapped up in all the changes that seem to take place this time of year. Being back in Lowell is even stranger than usual. It's been four years since I haven't had to be at Purdue right now. Crazy amounts of things are happening... coming home from China just brought it all to my attention.

And so here I am, at the end of a summer of adventures. I will miss everything about China... even the things that seemed so annoying. I'll answer "Xie xie" instead of "Thank you" for a while, I'm sure. I'll especially miss having my eyes opened to a new culture.



Thanks again to everyone who has kept up with my trip through this blog, it was a great experience to write it all down and I've really enjoyed sharing it. Believe me, I'm sad this is my last post... for this journey at least.

Thanks for the comments, the feedback and the e-mails regarding posts. It made my day whenever I saw that I had comments waiting.

Thanks also to the NWI Times for featuring our blogs on their Web page, and for featuring the three NWI bloggers in a print story as well (the grandparents are bringing it over so I can finally see it!).

Take care, all the best,
Zai jian,

Alysha