Painful goodbyes

Seeing the end of this trip has been hard in a lot of ways. Although I am excited to go home, there are so many things about Hong Kong that I will miss. Chief among them are the friendships that I have made here. I had a group full of all stars, and each one shines in a different way. The input they put towards the project was important, but the kindness and openness they showed me and the other ASU students was invaluable.

I feel very proud to have had the chance to represent my country as well as ASU on this trip. I think the volume of information I have digested in a short amount of time has not yet caught up with me. I imagine in a few weeks I will look back and realize how incredibly impactful this course was for me, but right now I mostly think about how I am going to dearly miss my Chinese friends. At the final banquet each of the Chinese students gave each of the ASU students a token of their appreciation. I received a printed photograph of our group, two handwritten cards and a university pin from them. I was so touched by the words on the cards and their other farewell gestures. All is not lost though! I made some amazing connections with many of the ASU students, and I look forward to continuing our friendship in the states.

Now I have to get to packing up my belongings, along with the treasures I have collected along the way. It feels like a goodbye, but I hope it is only the beginning of a new chapter in my life.