It's been a couple of days now since we've returned from our incredible journey in China. It's taken time to adjust to the time (jet lag is merciless) but the adjustment is happening nonetheless. Being awake at awkward times has given me time to reflect and think about the amazing opportunity I was given this summer.
When people ask me "how was China?!" I really don't even know where to begin. I usually leave it to "amazing" or "incredible" to do the job, but they truly serve the trip no justice. The things that we did were extraordinary and breathtaking. I can say that I climbed (and camped at the foot of)the Great Wall, learned Kung Fu from the masters, cooked with a famous Chef, went Dragon boat racing, spent a morning with Buddhist monks and sooo much more. On a daily basis I learned new things. About the Chinese Culture, about history , about everything imaginable. However, it wasn't a mundane type of learning it was hands on and interactive. DISCOVERY STUDENT ADVENTURES truly does live up to its name. Everyday we discovered something new and along with that discovery came a new adventure. I couldn't complain about one thing about this trip even if I wanted to. We (the students) were surrounded by the most incredible staff. Both from Discovery and Star China. There was never a point in the trip where I felt left out, uncomfortable or in danger. We became incredibly close to these people and that made leaving them behind all that more difficult.
I remember the first day I met the New Jersey and California group. We all seemed awkward around each other, we didn't know what to talk about right away. Given a couple of hours though you could already tell we were gelling well together. Cracking jokes and poking jabs at each other as if we've known each other our entire lives as opposed to only a couple of days. Everybody brought something different to the trip. Whether it be a sense of humor, or a sense of knowledge everybody fit perfectly into our group of 12. We did everything together..literally. We ate every meal together, went through every experience together and traveled together. We had to face a lot of challenges on this trip. Many of us had to face fears and push ourselves, but the support of one another made overcoming that obstacle only that much easier.
Saying goodbye to the wonderful people that we met on this journey was the most difficult challenge we faced together. Goodbyes were tearful but held the promise of another meeting. "this isn't goodbye, it's see you later" was common the day of departure. I take that, along with the memories and accomplishments that DSA gave to me along this magnificent journey, home. This trip is something that I will never forget and I will be talking about for a long time to come.
Thank You Discovery Student Adventures for giving me memories and experiences so irreplaceable.
