I’m enjoying the Beijing night one last time from my balcony. I haven’t sat out here in forever, it seems, which makes me realize how long I’ve been here — long enough to undergo changes in behavior. Sitting on the balcony at night right before I went to bed was one of my favorite things about living here. It still is, but Beijing nights are no longer as cool as they used to be when I first got here. Plus we started staying out later, and I usually just went straight to bed after getting home and showering.

Today was actually probably the hottest day that I can recall. Tomorrow is supposed to be just as hot, around 35 degrees Celsius. But it feels nice right now, though not very much breeze. I’ve said this a gajillion times already, but I’m going to say it again: I can’t believe this is it and it’s over. Time flies. It feels like it’s been such a short time, but thinking back to the beginning — what did I know then? How did I imagine this would be? — it was so long ago and different.