The last two days have been a little weird for me, since I'm so used to waking up and going straight to the Yingdong Natatorium every day.  Now I don't even have to set my alarm in the morning, but that will change in a couple days when I'm back at school.  Yesterday I went to lunch with a few friends and had the best dumplings I've had the whole trip.  Then we went to the Silk Market, which was flooded with tourists and Olympic athletes who were doing some last minute shopping before heading home.  We recognized a few water polo players, as well as an American track athlete.  I bought an extra suitcase, since I didn't have enough room for all the gifts I bought in the suitcase I brought from home. 

    Today I went to the Temple of Heaven, which was the last sightseeing spot on my list.  What we saw was really cool, but the main areas were closed to the public, since the Paralympics were holding a special event there.  Beijing has wasted no time converting from the Olympics to the Paralympics.  On the ride over to the Silk Market yesterday, I saw workers taking down the Olympic flags that lined the street and replacing them with Paralympic flags.  After the Temple of Heaven, we went to lunch at yet another Beijing duck restaurant, which was very good.  I spent the rest of the afternoon packing my bags and cleaning up my room a little bit.  Even with the extra suitcase I had a little trouble getting everything to fit, but eventually I crammed all my stuff into the cases.  We have all morning tomorrow to get ready to go, but I wanted to get as much packing as I could out of the way today.  

    In about two days, I will be landing in the USA.  I never thought the American culture would seem weird to me, but I won't be surprised if I have a little bit of culture shock when I get back.  I'm sure it will take at least a few days to get used to life back at school.  I've written this here before, but leaving China leaves a bittersweet feeling.  I loved my experience here, but at the same time I am more than ready to go home and see all my friends and family.  I was also away from home for the entire month of June, and I haven't seen a lot of my friends since last school year ended.  They're all back at school already and having a great time.  My little brother also starts at Ithaca College this semester and I can't wait see how he likes it.