24 hours from now, we will be on a plane heading back to the United States of America. 24 hours from now, our past few weeks spent in Beijing may seem like an extensive dream, completely surreal in the midst of our subsequent days after landing back home. As I sit here writing this in the middle of packing, I have to admit that the thought of leaving Beijing and the new friends I have made is somewhat of a bitter one. While I am definitely excited to return to my life back in the states, having ended this summer with an unforgettable trip to China, I am also sad to think that this awesome journey has now come to a close.
As for our final full day here in Beijing, we spent it at a Chinese traditional art house, where we learned tai-chi, calligraphy, and how to make bracelets using Chinese knots. I couldn’t choose my favorite activity if asked, because they were each so unique. The calligraphy and tai-chi were both a bit difficult to get the hang of. I hadn’t anticipated for calligraphy to be so hard! To be honest, I had underestimated the amount of practice that goes into writing calligraphy; I thought, well, it’s simply writing some characters with a brush on paper, how complicated could it be? Boy, was I wrong! Getting the strokes just right was definitely something I couldn’t quite master within a short half hour or so.
Overall, today was a day packed with lessons in Chinese culture and history, and I truly hope that I’ll have many more visits to China in the future!
