It’s bittersweet to know that I’ll soon be leaving China for the States. I remember that during the trip, I would get frustrated with certain aspects of Beijing, such as the inability to see blue skies only except after a rainy night or the fact that there is no such thing as “right of way.” But… I’ll miss all of that. I’ll not only miss the obvious things such as the famous landmarks like the Great Wall or Tiananmen Square, but I’ll miss the small daily things more. I’ll miss my daily walk to the classroom and back. I’ll miss the Peking University guards saluting me into the campus. I’ll miss starting my day off with Ye Laoshi saying “上课!” I’ll miss the small classes with Liu Laoshi and Zhou Laoshi. I’ll miss the walks to the Hollywood or Nongyuan cafeteria. I’ll miss the 一对一’s and the talks and words of advice that my teachers would give me about life. I’ll miss going to Rayma after class for some ice cream, and going back to the classroom again for office hours. I’ll miss Ajisen Ramen, because honestly that’s my favorite restaurant in the entire world. But I’ll miss the people more. I’ll miss Ye Laoshi and his playful fatherlike demeanor. I’ll miss Liu Laoshi and her bubbly personality. I’ll miss Zhou Laoshi and her inability to wear any other color besides black. I’ll miss my friends, especially Emma who is from Penn. I’ll miss her blue hair and her random outbreaks of dancing. It’s only been 8 weeks in China, but it honestly feels like I’ve been there longer. Not only did I learn Chinese, but I learned more about just what it is like to be in China.I thought that China would be some kind of wildly different place, but I realize that it’s very similar to the United States. There is a huge disparity between the wealth of those who are at the 1% and those who are playing music on the streets. There are modernized buildings and some skyscrapers. But most of all, it seems like most, if not all, of the people work incredibly hard. Not just in studies, but in life. I’ll miss these things and much much more about China. Being in China these past eight weeks really broadened my perspective about different cultures and people, and this trip has motivated me to explore more of what this world has to offer. 再见 China. I’ll see you again someday.