I MISS these girls.

This was the last time I saw our cute little interpreters before we left. They are so stinkin' cute.

I was joking and saying, "Chezzzzzzzz-uhhhhhhhhhhh!" - the Chinese version of pointing a camera at someone and saying, "Cheese!" They thought it was so funny I had picked up on that.

That shirt makes me look fat. Um, because I AM fat! Hahaha! Oh well.

National Day (the celebrating of the founding of the Peoples' Republic of China on Oct. 1st, 1949) was the following day, I think. The Chinese usually take a whole week to celebrate. I asked the girlies what their plans were. Summer was going home to hang out with her fam - they live about half an hour south of Baoding in a city called Shijiazhuang. Don't ask me how to say that. Whenever I referred to her hometown, I would just call it "shwawawawawa." And she would laugh and slowly pronounce it for me, having me repeat after her, but I never could remember it. It was our little "bit," kind of like "Who's on first?" with Abbott and Costello.

Maria told me she was heading home to help harvest corn. Her family lives on the outskirts of Baoding. I asked her if they do corn mazes in China. She had no idea what I was talking about. Dylan got in on this part of the conversation, excitedly telling the girls that some people here in Idaho, after they harvest their corn, make corn mazes and charge money for people to run around and get lost in them. Maria and Summer were nonplussed, just totally baffled as to why anyone would do such a thing.

And THEN Dylan and I started telling them about HAUNTED corn mazes. We told them that, when October rolls around, there are a few corn mazes that have people in scary costumes jump out at you and scare you. The girls' jaws dropped. Then Dylan added that some guys get chainsaws and take the chain off, so that they're safe, but that they may jump out at you and chase you around. The girls' jaws dropped even lower. Summer said, "But why would anyone want to go somewhere to be scared???"

"That's the question I've asked myself my whole life, Summer." I'm not a huge fan of Halloween. (Parenthetically, Ben has been watching scary movies on TV all week, and I've been hanging out down in my bedroom, because I get really, really freaked out when I watch scary movies. So I've been reading White Swans, speaking of China's National Day. I just finished, and it's sooooo interesting. I recommend it.)

I actually got a little teary-eyed when I was hugging them goodbye. I may not ever see them again in this life, which makes me sad.

I just heard from Summer yesterday via e-mail. She moved to Beijing and got a job at a "design firm" - I'm not sure what that means - I asked her more about it. She says that Beijing feels so big, and that she feels a little lost. Beijing, indeed, is enormous - I think one of our tour guides told us that you can fit TEN Hong Kongs into Beijing. That is how huge it is. But it was so funny to me that she has lived in Baoding, a city of 11 million, and considers it a "small town." And that Beijing is a "big city." To me, Baoding is a big city. And Beijing is a big city. When you can't see the edge of the city from any vantage point, that's a big city, in my book. Her boyfriend, Justin, lives there, so I hope he's keeping her company and helping her to transition.

Maria's boyfriend, Double Tiger, lives near Baoding, so she wanted to stay there to be close to him. I'm not sure what she's been doing. Hopefully I'll hear from her soon.

I just wish I could have packed them in my suitcases and brought them over here with me. Every time I do something interesting or fun, I think, "What would Summer and Maria think of this??" Like, yesterday, we were carving pumpkins, and I thought, "I wonder what those girlies would think of this?" Or trick-or-treaters that are coming by tonight. I think they would get the biggest kick out of it.

I wonder if they would appreciate the wide, open spaces and the fresh air here. They might feel as weird and uncomfortable as I felt in such a dirty, crowded, smelly city - a fish out of water. Maria is probably used to the countryside, because she grew up on a corn farm on the outskirts of Baoding. But Summer is a city girl, through and through. I'm not sure she would know what to do with herself. And I'm pretty sure she'd hate the food here. Because here, "Chinese food" isn't authentic at ALL. The people I knew in China had never heard of, say, sweet & sour pork. Or chow mein. Or chop suey. They ate more along the lines of...chicken heart and duck legs and stuff like that. :)

I really am so thankful to be back to My Own Private Idaho. Yesterday, my friend, Megs, and I went driving around the countryside to pick a spot for my family's photos, and I thought to myself, there is just no prettier place on this earth. A girl can BREATHE here. And see the horizon. And the stars. It just feels so great to be home.

But I miss my little friends.