* 8/23/09 7:44pm Day 50: SAD :( *

Today was the last day with all the Chinese students :( I wont see them again until I come back to China or they come to America. First we went to Thanksgiving Church and saw Teddy & Desiree (for the last time :(), then we had lunch with Clarissa & her friend, Chris, Ariel, and Eric (for the last time :(). SO SADDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD! It’s so strange that I’m saying goodbye to them now…for the past 2 months, I’ve always been saying goodbye, but it was like a temporary goodbye. But this one felt so much more permanent…not because I won’t ever see them again, but because when I see them again next time, things will be so much different. I might change, they might change, the circumstances will change, and things just won’t ever be exactly how they are right now again. It’s a sad realization, but it’s true. I can’t believe I’m saying goodbye to them…it still feels so surreal, like it’s not happening. I feel sad, but at the same time I feel like it’s not really happening. I feel like since I still have 5 days here, I will see them again in my next 5 days. I don’t think it will really hit me until I’m on the plane, flying back to America.

After lunch, we walked around and hung out at the shopping mall for a while. We even went to an arcade, which is pretty much the same as an arcade in America except there’s an asian wanna-be gangsta on the DDR machine who is doing a double mat with spins and tricks, and a crowd gathers around to watch him because they all think it’s really cool. Yup, that was the only difference. Me and Joanna took a video of it. It was hilarious.

After that, we all came back to the hotel and just rested for a little bit. Then Joanna went out with her family friends for dinner, so me and Geneva decided to hang out. We went to get our nails done, which, I know, is completely unlike me. But she wanted to get hers done, and I wasn’t just going to stand around and wait, so I decided to do mine too. Plus, i have to go to my cousin’s wedding a week after I get back, so I figured it might be nice to do for her wedding. Plus it was so cheap! Only 20 yuan (=$3). So I got my nails done, and I got them done COOL too (see picture). We’ll see how long it lasts though. I kind of suck at maintaining nails, so these might look really ugly really quickly. I sure hope they last at least until the wedding, though, otherwise that’d be pretty lame.

After the nails, me and Geneva just went to eat dinner, at another ridiculously cheap restaurant. I got a plate of 6 dumplings and a bowl of noodle soup for 6.5 yuan (=$1)! RIDICULOUS. Man, I’m definitely going to miss the cheap food here. When I go back to America, I’m never going to want to eat out because it’s so expensive in comparison.

Alright, well, tomorrow’s another school day (THE LAST WEEK!), and I’d better get started studying for our test on Thursday. I’m actually kind of nervous about it, because we’ve learned so many words that there’s no way I’m going to be able to remember all of them. And on top of studying I need to start packing and pick up last minute gifts/souvenirs I want. And this week is pretty packed with dinners and activities saying goodbye to people. Man, I can’t believe it’s really happening.