I first want to apologize for not posting anything in a while. I realize that my posts are getting farther and farther apart, and that I’m not writing nearly as much as I used to.
Two reasons I can offer in apology:
1. It’s the last month of school, which is when all of our group projects are due; a.k.a. I’ve actually been focusing on my schoolwork!
2. Perhaps I’ve grown used to my life here in Macau, and the culture shock has worn off for the most part. Things that used to strike me as exciting, new, or different are now a part of my daily life, so I don’t feel the need to write about it.
However, now that I’m in the final stretch of school, my thoughts have been more and more on returning home. All I have left is less than a month of school, two weeks of finals, and then I’ll be on a plane back to Phoenix. Now that the deadlines for all my final projects are approaching and my final exam schedule has been released, it’s making the end of the semester more real.
Yesterday the IFT Student Union threw us a farewell luncheon. At first I thought it was strange, since I would still be in Macau for a month and a half, but now that we’re in the homestretch it actually doesn’t seem too untimely.
The luncheon was filled with speeches about saying goodbye to our lives here in Macau and to all of the friends we have made. Slideshows commemorating our Welcome Week brought things into perspective. Musical performances and gifts of picture frames were a gesture of friendship from our new friends at IFT. Group photos were taken to put in handmade scrapbooks back home and electronic Facebook photo albums.
I have to admit, I did get a bit teary-eyed throughout. Nostalgia hit me like a hammer, and I realized that I still had so much left to do here in Macau. I still have yet to go to a karaoke bar, or see creepy Penha Hill at night, or visit a tea shop and witness a tea ceremony.
And yet, the past couple days I’ve also been very eager to return home. I’ve begun making plans with friends back home, planning a barbecue party with my mom, and getting excited for our family vacation this summer (to Las Vegas!!!).
The other night I watched Bus Stop with Marilyn Monroe. The movie actually takes place in my hometown of Phoenix, Arizona. While Phoenix looks a lot different than it did in the 1950s, the natural beauty has remained the same. It made me miss the desert and the mountains and the dry heat (it’s been disgustingly humid and sticky here in Macau the past couple days).
While I’m mentally preparing for my return home and my “readjustment period,” I still have a few things left to do here. I don’t want to leave Macau with any regrets, so the next couple of weeks I’m determined to visit all these places on my “Macau Wish List” with my friends, who I will miss the most above all else.
But I am beginning to count down the days…
Until next time,
Kati
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