Back to reality, but just for a couple of months ;)

Being in a country, where you can speak your native language. Being able to understand everything that's written on billboards, cars with ads, streetnames, signs, etc. Walking outside and hearing the language you grew up with, understanding every word and not even have to think about the actual meaning. That's what happened to me. I'm back in Belgium and it feels so good being home. I landed Wednesday morning, 6am local time, my parents were there to pick me up in Brussels and I drove me back home. It was somehow weird that I didn't saw that many Chinese people. The streets looked kind off empty, the amount of cars on the highway wasn't that impressive as in Beijing. The people actually know how to drive here in Europe. No dirty streets in my neighborhood, no weird smell hanging around my environment, no pollution in the air, the trafficjam. Crossing the road and being surrounded by cars, because they totally don't stop for pedestrians. Oh god, I already miss Beijing. I have to admit, I kind off miss all those things. After my parents picked me up, we went to a gasstation and I quickly grabbed a coffee and was just walking around in the gasshop, I touched some stuff and I didn't really place them back on the same spot. This would not be a problem in Beijing, you just throw it somewhere on the shell, but that was not what the lady in the shop was thinking. She actually turned around and said "Could you put that back where that belongs?" Normally I would that in Belgium, but in Beijing I kind off lost that habit, so I felt a little bit ashamed. I felt bad and I just bought the thing, lol. 

My favorite boys.

The big boys and their dino's! 

That same day I went to see my cousins, the twins. I can't believe they're already so big. When I left Belgium, occasionally I would pick them up and treat them like babies. And when I saw them Thursday, I could not believe my eyes. They are big boys right now, they have big teeth, know how to read and write. I'm so proud of them. The older they get, the less they look alike. The oldest one looks more and more like his dad, and the youngest one looks more and more like his mom. The moment I walked into the restaurant, I saw the younger one behind the bar and when he saw me, he didn't really know what to do. But after 3sec he gave me a big hug and the other one came running towards me. And there we stood, hugging each other for at least 2 minutes, telling me they've missed me so much and that they're happy I'm back. Oh, true love -wink. We started playing with the helicopters that I bought for them and I told them that they should come for a sleepover when the weather is better and when the Holidays starts. I'll be at their restaurant every weekend because I'm helping out my aunt and uncle. They bought my parent's restaurant, where I worked for 9 years. I won't be that long, because I'll be helping my parents in the frituur somewhere mid of July till I leave for New York and Beijing. 

Russian store in Dongzhimen. , our meetingspot
for the past 6 months. 

But let's see how my last days in China were. I went to class on Tuesday, I wasn't really paying attention during class. Actually, I was just passing by to say goodbye to my classmate and my teachers. I picked up my certificate and I was disappointed. I only know (or better, recognize) 2500 characters, I'm pretty convinced I know more than that, both of my teachers told me I know around 2800-2900 characters. They didn't even made the effort to get a confirmation from my teachers. I guess the staff of school thinks, after 10 months, the student probably know 2500characters. So, after class I went home and grabbed some dinner with 2 good friends. Watched a movie at my place and almost fell asleep during the movie, so tired I was. Wednesday I finished packing and had a goodbye dinner with all my good friends in Beijing. I kept it small, loads of previous Hutong students always had a huge goodbye dinner with people they didn't really even know them. Well, this was something I was trying to avoid. I wanted to spend my last hours with the people I love and really know, instead of sitting at a table with people I barely know. So we had a dinner in Dongzhimen, ghost street, followed by a icecream in front of the Russian Store and one hour later I was on my way to the aiport. Thank you guys for staying at my apt till I left and thank you for taking my luggage downstairs. Thank you for getting me a cab and thank you for being there! 

Kisses from Belgium.