And it seems the better the thing, the sooner it comes to an end. Wednesday was a very short China day for me, though a very long day in general.

Adam, Latisha and I met up for a late breakfast and final China chat. I know they are in good hands, will be well looked after, well taken care of, fully entertained, and learn more than they ever thought possible in a semester. My only regret is that I’m not a college student any longer, and will not get to remain for the entire semester with them. Fortunately for us all, both Adam and Latisha have agreed to keep online journals through this site, so we can all live vicariously through them.

I headed off for the airport at 11am, for my 1:30pm flight … which arrived in San Francisco at 9:30am … four hours before I left Beijing. Ah, the joys of the International Date Line!

So, week in review: if I’ve not mentioned it already, this is a great program! The UIBE campus is BEAUTIFUL! Clean, green, easy to navigate, and just plain nice to walk around. Beijing is a completely different city from the Beijing I met ten years ago. The streets are clean, the air is clean, there are recycle bins on the street along side the garbage bins, there are blue-sky days, and far less ambient noise. The food is still amazing, the people are still lovely, and China remains my most favorite country, ever. And, for the first time, I was completely comfortable in China. You have to realize that I did not really start studying Chinese until after I left China, so this was the first time I was there with comfort of language, and what a difference it made!

Now granted, my entirely positive experience was still in the honeymoon phase of my international experience. Would there have been things that made me feel slightly less sunny about all things China had I remained for the semester, of course. Would that change how I feel about China, Beijing, the UIBE, and the amazingly awesome educational, cultural, and personal experiences to be had through the CIS program in China? No way, man!