Hey Hey and a Big G'Day toya,
 
Saying goodbye huh!
You think I would be used to it by now wouldn't you.
Surprise to me that each time it comes to this point it simply gets harder.
 
I guess nothing can really prepare you for 'The Goodbye' time.
 
In this job and living this life you get to meet and make many friends. Most of them in some way have helped you and some of them in so many ways that it is impossible to thank them in a way that seems 'right' or enough for their contributions to your life living in a country such as China.
 
Here everything is so different that it is upside down and inside out to your normal world that without the help of friend's life would be so confusing and impossible that the only possible answer to some sort of normality is simply a ticket home.
 
So how do you say good bye?
 
How do you say good bye to those you have helped bring 'some' normality to your life?
I guess the only answer and way is to actually say it and mean it!
 
In Shaowu I made so many friends and they become 'real' friends. In China it is easy to 'make friends' but to make 'real friends' it is so beyond words and so hard to describe what it is actually like to find a group of friends that are really there for you.
 
Beyond their call of duty so to say!
 
By this I mean that here in China everyone will help you in any way possible but to find those who will stand by you through the good times and the bad and really mean it is much harder than you can imagine. For those teachers who come here for six months to a year and then leave will find many friends, most of which will keep in touch but most have been there for the 'foreign friend' trophy.
 
How do you say good bye to people like Yan, Yun Jin and Yu Wei Jin?
Harder yet is the question of how do you say good bye to someone like Li Ping (Joyce)?
 
These are the people who deep down inside love and adore you just as much as you them. They are the ones who will be there in a year or two still calling and text mailing you each day to see how you are and what you are doing. They are the ones who can be compared to Policeman Brad from Baise City and Cathy from Tianyang Town in Guangxi Province whom I still here from several times a week and whom I still miss more than words can say.
 
Don't get me wrong, everyone else is important but they are the ones who become part of your family and if anything goes wrong you know you can call on them and they will be there for you at any cost.
 
So how do you say goodbye?
From nearing four years experience I have learnt that you don't!
You don't say good bye, you simply say 'Catchya Round Mate and until next time!'
 
They are the ones who will be there at the train station at any time of the morning or night to help you with your bags and wave good bye as your train slowly takes you away from each other. I miss Brad and all the good times we had in Guangxi and now I miss Li Ping and Yan and all the good times we had just as much.
 
It really is hard to live this life!
Much harder than most would think!
 
Most are here for a short term and take their memories home and continue on with their lives as they knew them prior to their arrival. But when you come to a new country with a dream of making it 'your life' then it becomes king of like saying good bye to your family and friends back home.
 
Nothing can compare to saying good bye to those back home so I won't bother even beginning to write about how much I miss my real family and friends.
 
So much so that the question soon becomes;
 
Do you stay and continue to teach in the school and city where you have made such friends or do you continue to live your dream and say good bye to them and move on and begin a new adventure and page in your book of dreams?
 
I guess so far my dreams and self are strong enough to continue and to turn the page!
 
After a very sad yet beautiful evening with Li Ping (Joyce) dining at Ching Ching's and playing pool we headed back to my place to collect my electric fan and other assorted things for her and her sister to use. We then took one last walk along the city streets we had walked together so many times.
 
I then walked her home for the last time.
Believe me, nothing prepares you for 'that one last time'.
 
Afterwards I spent an hour more walking around the city internally saying good bye to all the lights and people I both knew and didn't know. I was still sitting up staring out at the stars when my alarm went off at 4am. After a shower I took my bags down to the gate house to find both Joyce and Mr Huang waiting for me.
 
We all then caught a cab to the train station to find that the train was to be an hour late.   
 
It is sad enough leaving everyone and everything you have known for the past year and a half but when the train is delayed then it makes it even harder. We soon said our sad good byes and as the train departed Shaowu station we waved our last good byes.
 
Slowly the train took me away from yet another life that is to fade into my past until it becomes like a dream shrouded by a mist of memories.
 
Thankfully everyone was awake by the time I boarded and they helped me find room for my life's belongings by moving some of theirs. One guy tried to put my teaching case on the luggage rack above and couldn't even lift if off the floor.
 
That made me smile a happy smile!
It also broke the ice for the on coming journey.
I spent the most of the day sleeping, reading and eating noodles.
 
Also for some reason every text message I sent wouldn't go through and sat in the 'Out' box. Thankfully after several hours and many tries they would finally be sent. It was a very peaceful day and as everyone around me was elderly I was left alone to relax and do nothing but sit with my memories of the past and dreams of the future.
 
A very welcoming yet strange experience on a Chinese train adventure!
 
Beers N Noodles toya.....shane
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The soundtrack to this entry was by The Breeders.
The album was Pod.
Nice, very very nice!
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Shanxi Province:
 
Shanxi Province, whose name means 'land west of the Taihang Mountain', lies in the middle reaches of the Yellow River and on the eastern edge of the Loess Plateau. The Yellow, Haihe, and Fenhe rivers flow across Shanxi, whose splendid landscape is graced by the celebrated Taihang and Liliang ranges and Hengshan and Wutai mountains. Most parts of the land are more than 1,000 meters above sea level. Shanxi's long history is traced back to the days when it was a major cradle of Chinese civilization. In remote antiquity, southern Shanxi was the domain of three legendary kings - Yao (capital: Pingyuan or present day Linfen), Shen (capital: Puban or present day Yongji) and Yu (capital: Anyi or present day XiaXian County). A rich cultural heritage mixes with natural wonders to form Shanxi's bustling tourist scene. Datong, Pingyao, Daixian, Qixian and Xinjiang are famous historical and cultural cities. Pingyao is on the UNESCO's world cultural heritage list.
 
Xian City:
 
Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province, with a 6,000-year history, was known as Chang'an in ancient times.
 
For over 1,000 years the city has been capital for 13 dynasties, and a total of 73 emperors ruled here. With so much history within the ground the city lies upon, it's no wonder that there are so many historical ruins and, in the museums, cultural relics. Even before the lives of Christ, Mohammad, and Siddhartha, Xi'an was a world class city and already influencing the world outside of The Great Wall of China.
 
As the eastern terminus of the Silk Road), traders from far and wide brought goods and ideas for sale and took goods and ideas back with them to their communities. In the present times, not much of its former glory remains within the city due to warfare and constant political changes throughout the ages.