Goodbye China :(

This will be my last post in China. I am SOOOO sad to leave! Its seriously heart wrenching. We had to say goodbye to our kids today, and it was the hardest thing I have ever done. I am so sad I'll never see these kids again. They just squeezed their way into my heart and pushed everything else out. All 38 of them have a special place, and I am so sad.

When we said our goodbyes, we all just broke down sobbing. At first some of the kids didn't understand, and they would just run around laughing and saying "Teacher sad!" but after the Chinese teachers explained that we were leaving for good, they were all upset. We were attacked by hugs and kisses and little kid tears. At one point I was sprawled out on the ground with at least eight kids on top of me giving hugs. It was super cute, but it made it so hard to leave. I never wanted to get up. It was especially hard seeing the other children crying. One of the Chinese teachers, Katie, told us that Bella's mom called her to ask when we were leaving, because Bella was at home sobbing about her English teachers going back to America. It broke our hearts even more to hear that. We seriously love these kids so much. They already feel like a dream, and I hope I can remember everything about them; their cute little quirks, and their giggles, and the funny things they do and say. I wish everyone of you could know these kids like I know them. It is probably annoying hearing me go on and on about little kids you don't know, but just trust me that these little ones are amazing.

Well, we head out tomorrow night on a super long journey home, full of huge luggage and lots of tears. But I know that I have tons of great family and friends waiting for me on the other end, as well as a steaming Little Caesar's pepperoni pizza with crazy crust and a two liter jug of Dr. Pepper. Pizza makes everything feel better haha.

Picture 1: Me and my precious Luna!

Picture 2: Cute Bella. (named after Bellatrix Lestrange, of course, but she is nothing like her at all. Such an inappropriate name.)