20
Location: Beijing
This morning we woke up at 7 am and had breakfast then headed to New Hope. Today was our last day at New Hope and our last full day in China. At New Hope, we played with all of the babies with whom we’ve formed strong connections and bonds. While the kids were sleeping, we headed outside to the trampoline to tell each other things about our lives and one another that we liked. Through this game, we were able to learn new things about one another and look back on the memories that we’ve made together. Claire and Julia killed 17 bugs today! After lunch, when the babies finally woke up, we said goodbye to Sarah and gave her a bunch of giant group hugs. This was the first time that it hit all of us that the trip was coming to an end. Afterward, some of us joined the classrooms that taught pre-school age (taught by our new friends Emma, Ella, and David). The rest of us continued playing with the kids until we all sadly had to say our goodbyes. The Aiyi’s gave us cucumbers as parting gifts to munch on while in the bus back to the apartment. As we enjoyed our cucumbers, we cried, slept and just kept eating cucumbers. Once we returned to headquarters, we prepared for dinner. The restaurant was coincidentally the same restaurant that we started at. After eating a ton of good food until our bellies were full, we fulfilled Claire’s request, and surprise celebrated her birthday with some cookies and ice cream. We then joined a group of elderly women dancing in the park. Now it’s time to enjoy our last night together in China. Good night!