Goodbyes, nick's talent to the rescue, the greatest wall in the world!

Part 1 goodbye-- zai jen

I didnt think i got that close until i said goodbye to Ciggi and Vera. -- ashlee

It isnt proper manners to show tears at goodbyes, but the students werent able to hold them back. We were overwhelmed with armloads of hello kitty pens, pickled veggies, chinese books, tee shirts, lucky bracelets, personal notes, poems, drawings, fans, box sets, hot chocolate mix, collector's stamps from the Soviet Union, cookies, pumpkin bread, stickers, candy, notebooks, and anything else the Chinese students felt were their most prized possessions. One girl sang " i will remember you" on the playground after a farewell volleyball game.

The school gave us a set of uniforms to take home as well as rare tea sculpted into a design. Mr Gao, the headmaster, looked less intimidating in a quasi-crushed black cowboy hat we brought as a parting gift.

The night before we left, the school threw us a farewell feast. A nationally renown singer performed for us and initiated customary shots with rice alcohol. Mr Chen, a fabulous English teacher with a grin like a crescent moon and glasses, made his rounds to the tables with his shot glass. When he sat with our boys, he stuttered affectionately, "you are all sunny...boys. SUUUUNNYY BOYS!! And Sunny Girls!" Posing for a photo with Mr. Chen, I declined with a thank you for the 8th time to his offer to have me come teach at the school to be "Misssssshea, our foreign language teacha!"

After dinner, Miss Swallow invited us to her three story home for tea, watermelon, sunflower seeds, beef jerky, ping pong, and photos. She gave us a tour through the rooms like a museum. Her jade collection, her husband's artwork, her god luck charms, and her terraces overlooking the curved terra cotta rooftops. "earthquake!!" the crystal chandelier pieces tickled and swung strange shadows. It felt like we were riding in a ship or on top of a giant's grumbling tummy.

At 11:25, the chinese girls invited us to an undercover partyin their dorm room. They had played hookie from class to buy shrimp, crab, and boxed milk at the street market. When lights went out, we all huddled on the bunk beds under flashlights to talk about boys, family life, and alternate singing or dancing.