Zaijian Beijing...

Dear Beijing,

On a cold winter evening in 2009, our first night here we went out looking to grab a bite. We smiled and stopped a passer by and explained we wanted something to buy for dinner . Ofcourse he couldn't understand , so we pointed to a Mcdonald's poster at the bus stand. The man said nothing but made gestures to follow him and walked with us all the way up to the nearest McD.
Many instances like these,  showed us people would go out of their way to help even though we couldn't have a conversation with them.

Thank you for being our home away from home for six and a half years. When we decided to move here a lot of people kept asking us if we were sure we wanted to move to China.

We though, didn't come with any expectations or pre assumptions.

It wasn't love at first sight but you grew on us. Now, it breaks our heart that we have to leave!

Thank you giving us friends who became like family. Our ayi, shifu, colleagues and our Indian friends here. All of them who were part of our Beijing journey. 

Thank you for the experiences we can talk about for a lifetime. You were where we had our first of many...

The first time we saw four seasons in a year, the first time we saw a wonder of the world, the first time we tried to learn a foreign language. And of course the first time we experienced the joy of becoming parents.

Don't take to heart that we also complained about the smog ,about a cabbie not stopping for us,or the crowds every where on days we were low.

We love that you always brought a clear blue sky when least expected so we could appreciate nature. We love that there are people who give up their seats for our baby on the subway and we also love the bustle at the restaurant -the big and happy group of people having dinner that can't help but make us feel happy too.

We will always remain true Beijingers at heart. We will truly madly and deeply miss you.

Until we meet next...It's not goodbye , but , Zai jian!