odds and the end.

Last night we got the whole group together for the last time. Early in the afternoon we began what would be a marathon journey to the northwest corner of Beijing. Tan, a Purdue alum, had invited us to her home (very very nice home) for a barbecue and to watch closing ceremonies. She roasted an entire sheep for us... no joke, I cut my meat from the loins of a sheep on a spit.

We enjoyed our last meal together, sharing it with someone who is a part of the Purdue family. We watched closing ceremonies with mixed emotions about the next day or so. And we headed out, one last time, into the streets of Sanlitun.

It wouldn't be a good "last night out together" if we didn't come home as the sun came up... and then wake up just a few hours later to start saying goodbyes.

The day moved in slow motion. The streets were so quiet. Hardly any Westerners were out. It was a perfect late summer day... and it felt like the people of Beijing were happy to have their city back. I was glad to have it too, for one last day.

I can't really even explain this feeling right now. For a lot of the people on this trip, they're headed back to Purdue and will get to see each other. For a few of us though, this is it. It's my last official moment as a Purdue student. I'm on the threshold of my post-college world. It's scary and wonderful; it's hard to break it all down into words even.

So now it's 2am, most of us are still awake... packing, trying to figure out how we feel about leaving, saying goodbyes. I have to be out the door in about six hours. And all I know is I'm waking everyone up to say goodbye once again. I feel like we shouldn't even sleep... or we should all pull our beds out into the hallway and all talk about the trip. Maybe that's a little childish, ha.

I guess I'll wrap up this scattered post and try to get a few hours of sleep. I'll be sure to get my act together a little bit and write up some great end of the trip reflections. It might take a day or two to decompress, but it will be great and glorious.

See you on the other side... of the Pacific, that is.
I was hoping to have a more focused "end of it all" post... but maybe this is more appropriate.