Chapter seventeen: last week at Tsinghua Da Xue

This last week I am a bit sad. It's almost over... I wish I could stay longer. I can always come back, but the experience will never be the same: all of us here together.

Some stuff to take care of:
* writing the paper for regionalism (this is the exam, I write about the identity of Belgian architecture and in fact this made me realise it ain't so bad to be a 'belgian architect'...)
* writing the "open book" exam for History of Chinese Architecture in group together with the cave people <3
* planning our 5 week trip throughout China and Japan (read: booking the first train and learning how to book trains ourselves in the future with an app: awesome!)
* selling some of my stuff, like my dear orange fridge and pink bike :'(
* packing both the backpack for the big trip and the suitcase to fly back home in february

I had a 'last dinner' at Xenia's and Diane's place, a 'last party' in Sanlitun (even though we all lost each other at some point due to chinese taxi drivers being chinese) and a 'last lunch' with Ivan and Dee. I'm going to miss everything and everyone here so so much.

And yes, being my emotional self, I cried a bit after checking out of my room...

Luckily the sadness was only brief: we were about to set out on an adventure! Travel China from north to south: Shaolin temple, Longmen grottoes, terracotta army, Xi'an, Chengdu (panda panda!), Karst mountains, Rice Terraces, Guilin, Hong Kong and Macau!

One of the best parts was that the Caribbean crew would join us in Hong Kong, so the goodbye was only temporary. <3

After China, I would visit a country that had been on my bucket list for ages... JAPAN! Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Aso, Nagasaki, Gunkanjima, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Osaka, Awaji Island, Kobe, Kyoto, Nagoya, Nara, Ono, Snow Monkeys, and finally Tokyo!

Last year I was a bit disappointed I couldn't go on an exchange program in Japan, but in the end after travelling both countries I'm so happy I went to China. So much more authentically eastern. I'm in love with it. And someday, I'll be back.