G'bye Mate!

Jin Yi has left Tianjin. She's now in Weihai, her hometown, where she will quickly pack and get ready for her flight to Australia next week. This morning she flew from Beijing to Weihai. She had been living in Tanggu where she worked, but since her fight leaves Beijing at 7, she needs to catch the 4am bus to Beijing from Tianjin. The question for her -- where should she sit with all of her belongings while waiting for the bus 4am bus? The answer? My apartment. So Pan Ke, Feng Fan, and I had a going away party for our friend last night. Jin Yi's boss in Tanggu gave her a ride to Tianjin and then she was able to store all of her things in my apartment:



Believe it or not, her biggest suitcase is not pictured here! It was very amazing that she was able to get onto the plane with so much stuff! Then we went out to eat hotpot together:



Jin Yi trying to hide from my camera behind a glass:



Then we went back to my apartment to do, what else, play cards!



Amazingly, we stopped cards to watch Sesame Street! It was the first time they had ever seen it. They were especially interested in watching Elmo show children how to mail a letter, as "Elmo" is Jin Yi's nickname:



As 3:30 rolled around, it was a mad scramble to find taxis to get over to the bus stop. I thought I had seen people cry before. I was wrong! The flood of tears that emerged was quite amazing (or depressing, depending on your point of view).

Jin Yi has been a big part of my life in Tianjin. She helped me fix my laptop, got me my apartment, taught me Chinese, but, most of all, she was a true friend. In life, there are few people with whom we can really be close friends. Jin Yi is one of those special people in my life. Thank you for the memories.