This year has passed by so quickly, almost as fast as a high speed train, occasionally stopping to let you get off and visit a city or two, making some friends along the way. And so, as the end of June came near, so did the time to say goodbye…Filip was the first to leave, but not without a bang! He invited us all to a HUGE Chinese dinner, ordering every dish on the menu.

The next day it was Lizzy’s turn to say goodbye. We all accompanied her to Shanghai, where we had a delicious last meal and hung out at the Bund until the neon lights of Nanjing Road were replaced with sunlight. Back in Nanjing, I realized this year was actually coming to an end. I just couldn’t believe how fast everything has gone by and it made me sad that very soon, I also had to leave the place which now, I can call ‘my home’.

The next week, more and more people were saying their goodbyes, having their ‘last meals’, their ‘last parties’. Our group got smaller and smaller until there were only a few people left. And then, it was time for me to leave Nanjing as well. Asaf and Gaby accompanied Pato and me to the train station. Pato was leaving for Shanghai and I left for Suzhou, to spend some time with Cynthia before she went back home. Saying goodbye to my friends was very hard and a lot of tears were shed.

As my train left Nanjing, I remembered the first day I got here. I was so nervous, disoriented, I didn’t know what to expect and on top of that, I was sweating like a pig! Everything seemed so huge, there were so many people on the street. I didn’t know anybody and it seemed as if every Chinese person was staring at me. I wanted to go back home, back to the familiar. But as the days and weeks passed, more and more friends were made. We made lunch plans, dinner plans, party plans, travel plans. We got to know each other. I got to know the streets of Nanjing, the clubs, the bars, the good restaurants, the good street food, the night markets, the shopping malls, the tourist attractions. Now, I cannot believe I ever thought this city was scary and big.

Tomorrow I’m going to Hong Kong, where I will pick up Caroline. We’ll spend some days in Hong Kong, before going to Sichuan, where we will meet my parents and travel some more. There’s been a lot of news about heavy rain, thunderstorms and floods in the south west of China, so I’m hoping the situation will get better once we arrive in Sichuan!

I’ll keep you posted!

Magali