Last, But Not

When I first met Basil Hamusokwe at Sky Harbor International Airport on June 2, the six-week-long SUSI program seemed never-ending. But today, the end of it, I realized what the words “time flies” really mean… 

The last day of the SUSI scholars’ travel began with a visit to the U.S. Capitol which is home to the United States Congress, and the seat of the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government. It is clear the building is an instantly recognizable symbol of democracy in the world. There are the monuments of people who contributed to this democracy. (We already knew most of them because of SUSI travel.) Also, the building is a collection of the best architecture, visualizations and sketches. Every part of it looks as though mysterious secrets are kept here like in Dan Brown’s novels and films. In one word: Amazing. 

After visiting the Capitol, in the evening, we had our farewell dinner at The Darlington House. The meals tasted delicious, the drinks were enjoyable, but saying goodbye was hard. After even such a “never-ending” period of staying with each other, we all made friendships here regardless of nationalities, cultures and some differences. But this day finally arrived with many hugs, selfies and sincere words.  

Here are greetings from some of us to everyone:

I wish you all safe trips to your destinations. It was a pleasure to meet you; I’ve learned a lot with this experience and meeting you was a significant part of that. Please contact me if you ever need my help for anything…or if life takes you by a small country on the edge of Europe.
Peace, Love…and good wine 🙂 ~Luis

It has been an extraordinary time to me getting to know you guys and I hope you make home safely and we’ll meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when, but I hope we’ll meet again some sunny day! And welcome to Tallinn. We have also good (Portugese) wine, but a lot of beer, bear and chocolate! ~Vaino

Dear friends, I feel lucky to meet you and spend the six weeks together with you. I am sure we will meet again somewhere in this small world. And please please please contact me if you come to Hong Kong! Let’s keep in touch! ~Bess

I am the youngest person in our group so I definitely learned a lot from you all. I was so lucky to get the scholarship for SUSI program. Thank you everyone for so nice experiences. See you someday, in somewhere in our life. I will miss the time with you together…Call me when you visit my country 🙃 ~Nga

Hi all. It was such wonderful opportunity to meet u all and to learn from ur expertise. I will definitely contact all. Convey my regards to ur family. And have a safe trip as well as stay safe.💟 ~Sumon

Great minds from all over the world. Wonderful personalities. Meeting all of you was a great revelation of cultural diversity. It is an honour and a humbling experience. Zambia may be a landlocked country, but very open and friendly. You’re all welcome. Remember it’s also home to one of the greatest wonders of the world, the Victoria Falls.
Travel well my friends. 
Will greatly miss you.
Love, peace
❤🌹🍷 ~Basil

Dear SUSI friends and colleagues, it has truly been a pleasure and a privilege meeting and interacting with you all; a wonderful adventure and learning journey. I sincerely hope our paths cross again, sooner rather than later. Fiji is a great conference venue and a nice place to chill out. Do get in touch if you plan to head that way in future. All the best. ~Shailendra

I love u my SUSI Family. We will meet somewhere for sure. Thank u for the great time and the unforgettable memories. Will be more than happy to see u in Lebanon. We had great food, amazing beaches and lots of Pubs. 
Stay safe. Bless u all 💙💙💙 ~Joanna

Dear all, thank you for this time together. I have learned many things of all and each of you. I’m not very good at farewells but be sure that you have a friend in Mexico. Hope to meet you again. Love. 🇲🇽🌶❤ ~Grisel

Dear all, it was really marvellous experience to meet You all and spend these 6 weeks! So to all of You: have a nice trip!! Looking forward to meeting You all again! 🇺🇦🥰🌹 ~Yurii

Hi everyone! Thanks for the chat, thanks for the friendship! Good luck and success in life! ~Alibek

And from me:

It was a great opportunity to meet you guys. I have learned and known many things. You all inspired me your abilities, experiences and personalities. Hope we will meet again, and believe you have a loyal host in Mongolia anytime. 
Hope today is not the ending, but the beginning of our world-crossing relationship. Thank you, SUSI program.