Beijing Birthday
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Beijing,
China
Saturday, August 23, 2008
So, I am now 22. And it was not as much fun as 21, so I suppose I have entered the period of my life where birthdays are not monumental in the same way. Oh well, at least this one was special because I am in China! It was my last day of teaching, so I declared that we were going to celebrate by having a birthday party in class. This was also convenient considering I had already finished teaching all the lessons in the book and only wanted to play games during the time remaining anyway.
My students were sweet and wished me a happy birthday and sang to me. One even drew me a picture as a gift. I was happy. Then Adam and Jason met me for lunch, and we went to the mall. On my birthday, I bought Adam and myself a present. We discovered a t-shirt printing shop that had clothes more wearable than your run-of-the-mill souvenir crap. Mostly because I fell in love with a sweatshirt that had a Chinese design and the words Auspsicious Pattern. I wanted it for myself because I think it's hilarious how frequently they use the word auspicious, but the size 2XL only fit Adam.
Later that night, a bunch of us went to a nice restaurant well-recommended to us. All the food was delicious and we enjoyed sitting outside on the rooftop terrace. The restaurant was near Houhai so we walked our last lap around the lake catching the end of the US basketball game.
Everything I did Friday was with a special feel of excitement because it is my day. Also, I was cognizant of it being our last day in Beijing, a city I had lived in for two months. I feel ready to leave in the sense that all of the traveling we'll do is a reward for the work we've done, and I have been greatly looking forward to it. But I know I will return to Beijing because I'll have fond memories and things left undone. For instance, we discovered the most incredible dumplings 2 minutes from our apartment and realized there was no time to eat there again. But I think it would be unthinkable to live in a place for so long and never find a way to go back. At least, I feel this same way about London, too. Someday I can go back to Beijing and feel something akin to a homecoming.
Speaking of saying goodbye, the closing cermonies are on TV right now, and for a taste of awesome acrobats and showmanship, you should totally tune in.
