我的兄弟 ('My Brother' if I have found the correct Chinese translation)

Brothers are generally bothersome, smelly and juvenile... so you'd think I'd be jumping for joy, cheering 'Huzzah!' that one of mine has left England. Nope, I'm the furthest you could possibly be from that and well up just thinking how very far away from us all you'll be. It is only just dawning on me that you are leaving (you HAVE left now) and it makes me so sad... I've never been great with goodbyes, so having to say it to my brother Jamie at 5am this morning was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be and so I couldn't bring myself to go with you to the airport. After giving you and Johannah a final hug, hanging out the bathroom window upstairs waving like a mad woman was all I could do not to burst into greater tears :'( 

Usually I am the one who does all the leaving (but everyone always knows I'll be back like a boomerang, hanging around like a bad smell).. I don't like it when the shoe is on the other foot and all these sad emotions are in reverse because I am the person who is left, while you go on your adventures this time. I know that you will have some scary thoughts as it all becomes very real and you make a new life in a foreign land.. but it will also be kinda wonderful for you too. An opportunity to make friends you'd never have met, go places you'd never have had the chance to visit and see so many amazing sights. Most importantly, you'll learn and grow every single day, as an independent man in Chengdu. 

Yes we bicker and quarrel and say unkind things we don't really mean... *this is going to sound really cliched* ... but I am so proud that you have been brave enough to follow your heart. In the biological sense, you may be my 'little' brother but I am the one who looks up to you. Although I wouldn't/couldn't admit it to your face I will really miss having you around.. and not just because there won't be anyone to solve all my problems - technical or otherwise. 

I didn't intend for this to read like a eulogy because nobody has died but today there is a very large Jamie-sized hole in our home.. and because of it we are hurting. Me, Amy and Joe are so blessed to have such a dependable, thoughtful, generous, sensitive and best of all patient (a trait I definitely do not possess), brother. And I know Mum and Dad feel the same way about having you as a son. This whole thing seems like a strange dream right now and I keep expecting you to walk in the room any minute.. just seeing the everyday household objects that belong to you, bring little jabs of sadness to my heart. I'm sure it will get easier with time and once we know you have arrived safely and are settled. 

Thanks to WeChat, Skype and other fantastic technologies - all at the touch of a button; we'll be able to keep in constant contact and bug you endlessly, which will help bridge the great divide of physical distance. As you take this big step moving to China with Johannah, know that we are always here wishing wonderful things for you. Enjoy every moment! Soak it all in but don't listen to what the world is telling you to do. 

Will you love it? My guess is YES. Will it be challenging sometimes? Almost certainly. Will you miss your bonkers but well-meaning family? You BETTER had!!!!!!!!!!! We all love you very much and hope you'll be the happiest you've ever been before. Be good, take care of each other and be in touch regularly please or we'll only worry. Have the time of your life!

Lots of love from your bossy, old, pain in the butt sister xxx