再见
The day had finally come that all 32 of us had been dreading, the day the 厦门 2016 NSLI-Y Summer Program came to an end. Before coming to the trip, I expected it to be boring and non-exciting. I expected the other people to be weird and nerdy. I expected to do nothing adventurous. But throughout the last 6 weeks, I have met some of the most inspiring, intelligent, and interesting people. I have done things I never dreamed of doing and learned about things I had never even considered. This trip has truly opened my eyes to topics I would never of thought about other wise.
On one of the first days on the trip, our chaperone, 伊芬, told us about her experience on NSLI-Y. After her summer program, she continued her study in Chinese language and culture at the University of Delaware. She said that without this program, she would never have created such an interest in the Chinese world. I remember her telling us about how she is still in touch with people from her 2012 NISL-Y trip. When she said this to me 6 weeks ago, I never imagined becoming so close to the other program members. I thought that I would never become so close to someone I only knew for 6 weeks. But now that the program is over, all I can think and wish about is seeing them all again.Before the plane ride, I told myself to do 2 things: not be sad and not to sleep. But neither of those things happened. I slept for the first 3 hours of the flights and was nearly in tears by the time we landed. For the majority of the flight, Skylar and I were working on our trip video which I will post a link to later once he uploads it to YouTube. Besides doing the video, Merrick, Skylar and I talked about many things. We talked about our favorite parts of the trips and our feelings towards going home. When Skylar lands in San Francisco, he has 9 hours before he gets on another plane to go to Amsterdam for 2 weeks before school starts. Since Skylar has this vacation already planned, he is excited to go home but he said that he would rather skip Amsterdam if it meant spending more time with us. Merrick, being the macho person he is, says that he is not sad because "all good things must come to an end". But when he gets home he has so many things he must do, including his driver's license test, college applications, and being soccer team captain. I on the other hand, wanted to stay in China forever with all my new friends. Although I missed my family and friends in Maryland, the 30 other participants on the trip had become my family as well and leaving them was one of the hardest things I have had to do. Merrick, Skylar, Sydney, and I have become inseparable during these 6 weeks and not seeing them every second of the day will be confusing. We will be going from seeing each other 24/7 to not seeing each other at all.
Once the plane landed we filed off and went through security before arriving at baggage claim. Our director, 陈老师, had told us that baggage claim would be the time for last goodbyes, so when our luggage started falling onto the round-about everyone started saying goodbye. Merrick was one of the first people to get his luggage and since he lives in New York, his parents were already waiting for him at the airport exit. He made his rounds around the group and said goodbye to everyone, saving Skylar and I for last. While he was saying goodbye to everyone, Skylar and I made making him cry our #1 goal. Since he told us that he doesn't get emotional, we were even more dedicated to see a tear fall from his eye. But of course, his eyes remained dry, even when mine were filled with tears. Even if he didn't cry I know he will still miss everyone.Since both Skylar and I had a few hours before our next flight/ train, we waited for everyone to get their luggage before we all went through customs as a group. After customs, we had to go our separate ways. Most of the people would go to catch their connecting flight while a few of us went to get on a train that would take us home. Like most of you already know, Skylar has become my second half during our time in China. It has been a privilege getting to know everyone on this trip, but especially Skylar. Skylar has personally changed me into a person that seeks to know more and more. He has taught me not to care about my appearance and my social status and to focus on the things that important the most. If Skylar was not on this trip, I know I would not have had the same life-changing experience that I did with him. After almost everyone already left for their connecting flights, it was just me and Skylar, not wanting to have to leave each other. Although we leave on opposites sides of the country, I know we will see each other again. In the mean time I will be texting him all the time. We hugged and said goodbye and I watched as he disappeared through the doors, waving to me.
Even though I have only been home for less than 12 hours so far, America seems different. I watched my friends Snapchat stories to find that I no longer cared. There were so many other things out in the world that were more important than the latest party or movie you went to. Being away from most social media this summer has taught me that what people do is not nearly as important as I thought it was. Doing something adventurous and interesting doesn't mean posting a picture about it, it means experiencing it and remembering it.
Posts
That was so deep and incredible.
ReplyDelete