As I sit here thinking tomorrow and the fact that this room will no longer be my home makes me sad. I am happy to be going home, but then again, whenever I think about leaving the kids or when they ask, are you going to America tomorrow in their broken Chinglish a knot starts to form in my throat. I have gotten to know the kids pretty well over the summer and I am so blessed to have had the opportunity to meet the people I did and form the relationships I now have. This experience has been very informative for me and it has, I believe helped me grow in ways that I didn't really expect. I have gathered a lot of insight through it all and I would never trade this chance of a lifetime. I have been able to meet some really cool and interesting people from all over the world and been able to share my experiences with them and they with me. That is one of my favorite things about missions trips.
Back to saying goodbye. Today I had my final class and that was sad, but fun as well and it was a great way to sum up my time here as the English teacher. I got to do some face painting, hangman, play dough and of course eating of candy, or (tong) in Mandarin. For dinner I got to take four of the kids out for dinner which was hilarious and blast! Tomorrow (wednesday) will be my final official day here at SFCV and trust me I am not looking forward to getting in that taxi to Beijing. Before I leave however, I will be running around the campus making sure that I get to say goodbye to everyone as well as doing some last minute tasks and packing up the few straggling items in my room. This trip has gone by so fast, I still remember when I first got here and now I am watching new interns come and see them in the position I was once in. I am now the seasoned veteran now that I have to leave, figures, but I am glad to see the willing volunteers lining up to work at SFCV. I will miss this place a lot and I know that the kids will be on my mind often! So many of them have become my little buddies and I wish I could take them home with me.
Another sad farewell, it that of saying goodbye to the staff and the other interns here. I have gotten to know these great servants over the summer and it will be weird not to see them everyday. Life here has been fun and interesting and I don't know what I'm going to do with myself going back to a house with only four people in it, at least my brother is back from school so that fourth spot can be filled without me having to start counting the fish tanks and my cat. Aside from all of the silliness, I can honestly say that this this opportunity has blessed me in so many ways and I have learned so much about myself, and God's plan for me as well as my friends and the kids here. He is working in China and it has been an honor to have been even considered to be a part of the work which is being done. I can't wait to share more about my experiences with all those who want to hear about them. I have a lot of things to talk about! This has been a whirlwind of an adventure and I am glad I got to spend it with my lovely friends Melissa. Going through this with her has been so great and has brought us closer together and for that I am very glad. We have been friends for so long that our families have become one and we even have a last name to prove it. We are the Russlinskys and proud of it! Friends are great to have but as they say family sticks around even through the roughest of times and I am blessed to have Melissa as family and to have been in China, which is her heart land and see through her eyes this place which has become an intricate part of her life and who she is. I am excited to see what the future holds for the both of us and I will be glad to say that this trip to China has been influential and a simply unforgettable experience. With that I will end and say as the kids here say, "see you last time!"
This has been M&M Adventures-China Edition, this is Mari signing out China side.
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