Darcy

If there is one downfall in this job of mine, it's having to see some of your best friends walk out of your life and leave you wondering if you'll ever see them again.

Darcy's last day in town was last Wednesday. So, for about 5 straight nights we had "Darcy going away" celebrations. Darcy is from Guilin, but works in Shenzhen. He's 31, and say he's my older brother, or ge ge, and I'm his di di, or younger brother. Over the past 5 weeks or so we became really good friends and are part of a tight nit group of friends that spent everyday together. Since he's the oldest, he usually makes most of the decisions, same as it is in America. He always pays for meals, picks up beer tabs, etc. One night at the alley bar we refused to let him pay for any of the beer. He sneaked off just before we were leaving, saying he had to use the bathroom, then when we went to pay for the beer they informed us that it had already been paid for. This is the type of guy he is, and the more time I spent around him the more I liked him and the better friends we became.

So, on Wednesday night, the final night of the celebrations, we all had dinner at City and City. Of course, Darcy picked up the check, but this is Chinese tradition as well. Much MUCH different than that of America. When it's someone's birthday here, or someone is leaving, that person pays for everyone, instead of the other way around like we are accustomed to. Here's a picture of all of us, from left to right- Esteban, Fran, Eiki, Darcy, Tina, Rabbit, Justin, and Me.

Me and Darcy....

We proceeded to have a long night at various places, Alley Bar, Kaya Bar, dancing bars etc.

So, at the end of the night we all said goodbye, and you could tell that it was pretty hard for Darcy to leave. In fact, he's been studying here at Omeida for 6 months now. It's obvious that the students can also get emotionally attached to their friends here just as we do. I hope he makes it back to Yangshuo someday to visit, or maybe I can make my way down to Shenzhen. I already miss hanging out with the guy.

More to come...