Last Day in China!

Number of days spent in the Middle Kingdom: 17
Number of shopping items purchased: lost count
Number of undeleted photos on my digital camera: 1107
Number of memories made: infinite and priceless

Our bags are packed.  The shopping damage has been assessed and another suitcase purchased to accommodate the damage.  Good byes to our new friends we've made have been said.

I am typing this last post listening to Chinese pop music on the radio as we get ready to go down for our last amazing White Swan Breakfast Buffet.

There is a sense of excitement and anticipation for two little people to ride on another airplane.  XiXi is excited to go back to her house again.  Ross is looking forward to sleeping on our SOFT bed again.  I'm ready to not live out of a suitcase for a while.

But at the same time, there is a sense of sadness as we get ready to leave a country that has captured such a huge place in all of our hearts.  How do you say goodbye to such a place?  How do you begin to describe the impact a trip has made on your soul?  I feel a bit like Frodo after he returns to the Shire after taking the Ring to Mount Doom.  How do you go back to your old life after such an adventure as this?

Our last full day was spent at the park.  Several groups of Chinese students studying English came up to us asking for wishes for the people and country of China on their 60th Anniversary Celebration of China Day (October 1, 1949).  As Ross and I wrote little wishes on post-it notes and took pictures with these amazing students- I felt a bit like I was writing snippet of my farewell to China.

Our guide took us to a famous noodle place for dinner.  Our "Last Supper".  It was one of the best meals we ate here- two kinds of noodle soups, fish, pork, eggplant, green beans, and dumplings to name a few of the dishes.  We got to watch the cooks make the dumplings and pull a 20-foot strand of noodles.  Pretty amazing!

Our flight for Seoul leaves at 12:50- we will arrive @ Reagan at 11:44 pm local time- after about 24 hours of traveling.

Thanks for following us on our journey- we can't wait for all of you to meet Zach and share in person more amazing stories that just can't be described on a blog post!

Zai Jian!