Pre-Departure+from+Raleigh,+NC

__ "See you soon" Not "Goodbye" __ This has been the classroom I've spent quite a bit of time in this semester. It's been such a privilege to work with this group of 5th grade students along with their teacher, Mrs. Fichter-Venners. It was a difficult transition to realize that'd I wouldn't be seeing them each day. On my last day in Raleigh, I returned to Underwood for a visit. I was greeted with lots of hugs and a desk covered in a generous display of cards and gifts. The most special gift to me was a book of advice for teaching in China and later in life, which included this picture of "me" teaching. Many of the students suggested I learn names, treat others with respect, be colorful, and remember to not give my student's clocks (a symbol of death). The students also wrote pen pal letters in hopes that students in my Chinese class would write back. My small tokens for them were fortune cookie that represented how fortunate I was to have them in my class (cheesy I admit). I also told them that I hoped to Skype with them while in China and would be sure to visit when I returned home.

__ Ready or Not __

All week I'd been piling everything I might bring to China in one corner of our room (sorry roommate). On the day before leaving, I went through everything and folded and packed with Tetris-like skills. My mom and brother, Mark were there for moral support. To my surprise, I had a lot of room left over even though I was only bringing one suitcase and a backpack. Some key items I brought with me included a sleeping pad (apparently the beds are rock-like), pen pal letters, Chinese language worksheets, computer/iPhone, teacher clothes, chocolate, and my passport with a brand new visa Some friends took me out to eat at Raleigh Times for my last American meal. It was crazy to think I'd be gone for the whole month of April! I went to be fairly early because I ended up waking up around 5 am. May, a friend that is also going, and her parents picked me to take us to the airport. My roommates were crazy enough to wake up that early to say goodbye and had also made me a sign. Don't hate me for posting this :) May and I made it to the airport 2 hours before our flight where we met up with Morgan and Dr. Horne, our advisor. May and I scarfed down a Breugger's breakfast sandwich as our official last American meal. We boarded our flight to Newark and then onto our 14-hour flight to Beijing, China!