So long Harbin

Well, today was our last day, and it was sort of bittersweet. We’re all ready to move on, and we had a really good day, but it is also the end of a chapter of Carli’s life. She’s leaving her province, her friends, the people she has known. We’ll do what we can to preserve her heritage and culture, but there is still something final about it. I’m not sure she knows or not, but tonight she was a bit different than before.

We didn’t eat much lunch, and at dinner Carli didn’t want to eat anything. She acted sort of lethargic and out of it. She’s been suffering diarrhea and so that’s tough, but it seemed a bit more than that. She perked up for a bit during dinner, but only a bit. On the way back to the room she started crying, and she cried for another 30 minutes or more. She stopped for a while, had a few more trademark smiles, and then we got ready for bed. She usually goes down without a problem, but tonight that was not the case. Whenever we put her down she started crying. So, I’d hold her for a while and settle her down, and then she’d point like she wanted to go to bed, I’d lay her down, and she’d start crying again. She cried a lot tonight. Like I said, maybe she knows we’re leaving, maybe it’s the start of the grieving period for her, or maybe she’s just tired and worn out. Anyway, it was a bit tough for her but it felt good to be able to comfort her.

Like I said, we pampered ourselves a bit today. Sara, Carli, and I went to the Science Museum, which was pretty massive and pretty cool… kind of like the Imaginarium but with about another $100M pumped into it. It was pretty cool. Then, we all took turns and went and got massages, which was nice. Then we went down to the hotel restaurant for a nice dinner. We even were able to order a bottle of Australian wine (the Chinese wine we have tried so far leads a lot to be desired). All in all, it was a great day, except for Carli. I finally was able to lay her down and she is now asleep, at least until early tomorrow morning when we have to get up early to leave.

Our next post will be in 70 degree plus weather. Ahh……