One Last Hoorah

This was it. The last day of class. The last day of HBA. The end. It sounds so sinister, doesn't it? I have been half dreading, half hoping for this day. And now, finally, it was here. Time to face the music.

First up, our final written exam. I was feeling lose as a goose, and carefree. My written test was actually not as hard as I thought that it was going to be. I felt pretty confident for it, and it was not the hardest test that we have ever had. There were some points where I am fairly sure that I didn’t respond correctly, but hey. It happens. I don’t need to be perfect.

I finished the test in 2 hours and 5 minutes. And then I was liberated. That was it. It’s done. HBA is done. My summer was over. I actually didn’t know what to feel, or what to do with myself. So I just bought myself some soy-milk, and walked back to the dorms with my friend to change into more formal clothes. We had our graduation ceremony today, so I wanted to be wearing something a little more formal. Besides, one of my teachers was feeling uncomfortable because she was wearing something really formal, so I figured why not.

During our graduation ceremony, a bunch of people talked, thanking us for coming to HBA, and doing such a good job. For about half an hour, it was just people talking, and listening to themselves talk. Awesome. Then we got our diploma’s, and it was off to Chinese tables. No, wait, ENGLISH TABLES. That’s right folks, I am officially allowed to speak English again. And we had to get the teachers to speak English as well. They were all so nervous to be speaking English in front of us. It was actually kind of cute.

I actually have a confession to make. Even though we could speak English (officially) a lot of us kept speaking Chinese, because we were just used to it. Sometimes, it is just easier to keep speaking Chinese. Especially with the teachers.

We were going to another college to eat lunch, but once we got there, it was actually pretty cool. There was a huge restaurant, and there was a buffet, with American Chinese food, and American food. It wasn’t the greatest food, but it was fun. But it was also sad. Oh so very sad. Because this is probably one of the last times that we are ever all going to be together. There were lots of pictures being taken, let me tell you. We also all crowded together to take a big class picture, and then paired off to take pictures with all of the teachers. I was actually kind of sad to see this end. Which is weird, because I have never really thought of myself as an emotional person. But I was starting to get really nostalgic.

At 1:30, it was time to go to the gym. Even though I had eaten a lot of food at lunch, I was still going to go to the gym. It was my last day with Jack. How is that for sad. When I got there, I first took some pictures with Jack. They are pretty fun. Jack posed them especially, and even rolled his sleeves up to show off his muscles. Then we both had to flex for the camera. It was adorable.

Then it was time for working out. While I lifted, Jack took pictures of me. And he totally kicked my ass today. I thought that I was going to die. And the hour went by way too fast. I closed my eyes, and then we were done. After my super long, lovely massage, Jack taught me how to do cupping. That’s right folks, I can now unleash a new form of torture upon the American population. You want someone to suction glass jars onto your back that will leave bruises on your back for days? Look no further, I am here to help! I also bought 12 cups, and one of my friends gave me a lighter. It’s going to be a fun couple of weeks.

It was hard to leave the gym. I didn’t want it to be over, because Jack was going to Shanghai this weekend, and I am going back to America. But I gave Jack my email address and phone number after he asked for it. Hopefully, I will be getting an email sometime soon. Cross your fingers.

For the rest of the afternoon, I tried to relax. It had already been a long day, and it wasn’t even near to be over yet. But I needed a cup of tea, and a movie, stat. Not for long though. As soon as I got back to my room, I started crying. Seriously, I don’t know what is wrong with me. I am not normally this nostalgic. I was just so sad to be leaving Jack, and that HBA was over, that I just lost it. What can I say, it happens. I guess it was just my time to let some stress off.

At 7, it was time for dinner. Most of the 4th kids and the teachers were all going out to dinner, and then going to sing karaoke. I decided, what the hell, it’s my last day in Beijing (well, second to last day) and I was going to go out, and I was going to look good doing it. Time to take my black top out for a spin. Haven’t had a chance to wear it yet until tonight.

Dinner was actually a lot lunch. It was Chinese food, sure, but it tasted like American Chinese food. Not really the best thing to be eating. I felt extremely honored though. My teacher, for the entire 20 minute walk over to dinner, held my hand and talked to me. Female teacher, by the way. That may sound weird to you, but that is just the Chinese culture. Good friends walk down the street arm in arm, hand in hand, gossiping. I felt like a local.

After dinner, it was karaoke time. If you know me at all, you know that I don’t sing. Unless it is in the shower, or no one is around. But I went to karaoke, in the spirit of celebrating with my friends. When we first got there, I didn’t sing, but then, as it turned into a huge ‘everybody sing at the top of your lungs’ kind of thing. It was fun. We sang along to Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, and other such classics. It’s funny how those songs are really only okay when you are singing karaoke. But they are the most fun to sing at the top of your lungs.

Once again, at the end of karaoke, we had to say goodbye to the teachers. And it was still horrible. I hate goodbyes. Really. I would much rather say “See you later.” Bah.

For the final act of the night… dancing. And oh, how much fun it was. We got there at 11:30, and I stayed until 1:30. We had originally had 4 tables waiting for us, but by the time that we got there, we had lost all of our tables, because not enough people had shown up. Oops. But once we got in there, it didn’t matter. I just danced. The clubs in Beijing are amazing. The music is so loud that you can’t even hear yourself talk, and it is packed with people. And that is all that I am telling you about tonight.

And now, it is way past my bed time. Good night all!