The Last Days in China

Our China adventure finally wound its way down to an end. The Scholastics left on Thursday in order to be stateside for St. Ignatius' feast day on July 31st. John also left for Arizona that day. Thus, I was left to my own devices for three days!  The boys and I had a foot massage on Thursday. A Chinese foot massage consists of shoulders, neck, head, feet, and legs - all but the torso. I have included photos of this!

I spent these days wandering through Xiamen - taking in the city and its people. As much as I wanted to return home, I felt somewhat melancholy leaving this beautiful city. I had lunch at my favorite "Green and Yellow" restaurant. The young people at the restaurant, who were my servers, were absolutely darling. We became old friends!



The Ignatian teachers meet for fun and discussion




All enjoyed time together!




Our "good bye" dinner!




The walk on Hubein Xi Lu - adjacent to a lovely lake




Foot massage, anyone?




I am smiling - but not sure why.... foot massage? "Open to growth, open to growth"




The young people who worked the coffee shop around the corner from our apartment




The Ignatian group teaching in China ( minus John)

 Christina returned from Cambodia so we met for dinner. She visited the sites of Pol Pot's horrific holocaust of the Cambodian people. In addition, she was able to connect with some of the young women whom she has taught at Regis. These young women were sold into slavery as children by their families. Since they were engaged in illicit activity - their families would not take them back. There is a program at Regis ( sponsored by a donor) that brings these young women stateside and trains them to operate businesses in Cambodia when they return.

As I reflect on my time in China - there is almost a dream like quality to my memories. It truly stretched my life and in doing so, enhanced it immeasurably. Would I return? Absolutely. Sharing this journey with teachers from Jesuit schools was incredible. In addition, the presence of the Scholastics - Alex and Curtis - made my adventure challenging and comfortable. As I told these two young men, "The Jesuits are blessed to have you in the 'company' ".  If nothing else, as I'm sure you have discovered on your journeys, human beings share a quality that knows no political, idealogical, or geographical borders: we are human and humane.
Gan bei! Zai jian!