Summer in Shenyang and Some 'Merica Lovin'

The city of Shenyang has two major seasons: summer and winter. Most people reading into Shenyang hear a lot about the harsh winter, which lasts about 6-7 months from late October to mid April. You can look back into the archives to hear me go on about the climate during that season, but I can sum it up in one word: frigid. Spring is short, about 6 weeks in May-June, and the weather pleasantly surprises us all, especially after being frozen for so long. I missed part of it this year when I was on R&R, so it seemed even shorter for me.

Compared to the rest of China, summer in Shenyang is mild. Unlike the southern cities of Guangzhou and Shanghai that experience heavy bouts of rain and the oppressive heat & humidity, Shenyang stays fairly dry except for the intermittent thunderstorm. Even Beijing experiences temperatures in the mid-90s and exceptionally high humidity. Out of all the Chinese cities I've visited in the summer, I prefer Shenyang's climate to all of them. I often say that we see more blue-sky days here than any other city in the country (which is not to say we don't see our fair share of smoggy days, but they are interspersed with clear days more often).

The Consulate gets pretty busy during the summertime, having come unfrozen after the deep dark winter. We get more official visitors, more visa applicants, and a slew of incoming/outgoing officers. The turnover is palpable. It's also a season of events, with the annual Independence Day Celebration and this year, the upcoming Liaoning Games (China's own version of the Olympics). Needless to say, in the midst of preparation, hails and farewells, I've been busy.

America the Beautiful
Photo credit: C. Stein 2013

The July 4th Event planning starts very early, back in March, with theme-choosing, vendor solicitation, and invite-sending. Thankfully, we have a lot of hands-on officers who help coordinate different tasks. By the day of the event, almost everyone at the Consulate has contributed to the party in some way. And it truly showed this year -- we had a fabulous event.

We held the party at a recently-opened luxury hotel in Shenyang, and every element was coordinated down to the finest detail. From the food and flowers to the tourism vendors, an extreme amount of attention was paid to perfection. And as one would expect, the result was an event that went off without a hitch. Having experienced two July 4th parties in my tour here, I can say that we took all the lessons learned from last year's party and improved greatly on the outcome. If anything, I hope that we set the bar for next year's pretty high.

Incredible food spreads & flowers
Photo credit: C. Stein 2013

In addition to the official party held by the Consulate (for official contacts), the local AmCham branch held a party down in Dalian for Americans, expats, and local Chinese involved in the AmCham community. A group of us from the Consulate headed down for a night by train to attend. Although there was a good amount of travel involved for just a one-day event, I felt refreshed after heading down there. I felt the same feeling at the family party held by one of the Consulate families in the suburbs. For a few hours, we felt like we weren't in China. We were among other Americans, listening to a live American music, enjoying fresh clean air, and eating hearty American food with our friends. To end the both nights, there were even fireworks. I echo others in saying that this brought a tear to my eye.

Fireworks in Dalian
(iPhone)

I'm normally pretty sentimental about patriotic things, but this specific moment, watching fireworks and celebrating July 4th in China, was super important to me. For some background, last year, I was blessed to be able to spend July 4th with my family at home in the USA. I had the chance to watch amazing fireworks not once, but twice! First with my mom and stepdad at the Midway Fire Station in Doylestown, PA and then again with my dad, sister, brother-in-law, and extended family down at Ocean City, NJ. The whole experience of coming home after a year abroad was emotional, but being back on our nation's holiday as an employee of the US government, that filled me with a sense of pride that I hadn't experienced before.

On a daily basis, I don't actively think of myself as a representative of America abroad. I live my life as I wish, with a subtle subconscious reminder that I am a government employee. Yes, it's obvious to just about everyone in this city that I am not local. They don't know that I'm an American, though. I could just as easily be French, Canadian, German, or Russian. But when I was in America for July 4th last year, I wanted to shout at the top of my lungs: "I AM AN AMERICAN! I LOVE MY COUNTRY!" Whether it was the sense of freedom and liberty I was feeling, or the fact that I could walk into Walmart and choose from 25 different kinds of pasta sauce, I knew I loved the US.

My love of country amplified a hundred times being outside of America for its birthday. Americans can easily forget how great their country is when they live there. The convenience of everything. We truly are lucky as Americans to have what we have and access to so much more (information, goods, opportunity, you name it). I am so thankful to have the chance to come home every two years to "repatriate" and immerse myself in the good ol' American culture. During the time at home, I think we (as Foreign Service folk) come to realize how proud we are of the US and it helps us recommit to our mission to represent/protect this great country abroad. It also gives us a chance to realize what is truly important to us in life, whether it's family, friends, fresh air, or freedom.

So here's to you, America. Happy 237th. You're one classy broad.

Happy Birthday, America
from Cabby

Great Wall Marathon 2013

Beijing at 3:00am still swarms with taxis, shuttling rowdy expats from bars in Sanlitun home to their apartments in the Guluo hutongs. So I didn't worry about finding a taxi at 2:50am, when the BFF and two more of my colleagues joined me on the way to the Beijing International Business Hotel. I had brought them with me on my second journey to the Huangyaguan section of the Great Wall. Whether I had accurately advertised running the Great Wall Marathon to them or swindled them into signing up for a crazy, difficult race was yet to be determined. But when we arrived at the hotel to meet the buses, my group of faithful followers was in high spirits and excited to get started. Seven joined me on the bus, while the CG and his wife met us at the start of the race. All together, Team Shenyang was made of NINE intrepid runners who would all face the Wall and its 5,164 steps of history.

The marathon weekend had started the day prior, when a group of us departed the 'Yang by train and made our way to Beijing. Thanks to the BFF's incredible amount of hotel points, I shared a room with her at the Crowne Plaza Chaoyang U-Town. To whittle away the time before we had to head to an early bed (given the early start!), we made our way over to Sanlitun to shop and eat. We stopped at the Bookworm, a real book store, to quench our thirst for the written word in physical form. Watching the two of them at home among the many pages was like watching two kids come home to the welcoming arms of their parents. Nothing is more normal than those two enjoying a good book. So glad we got to stop there. After a tasty Persian meal at Rumi, we caught the Metro home and made our way to bed.

So there we were, riding the early morning bus to the base of the Great Wall in heightened anticipation of what's to come. I was feeling very nervous. I felt I hadn't prepared enough this time around. Last year, I had gotten to about 11-12 miles in my long training runs. I had logged significantly more miles in total, as well. This year, I had been focusing much more on strength training, with a concerted effort to improve my leg strength and glute strength. My mileage was much lower and I had fewer opportunities to get outside due to both a busier schedule and poorer air quality. With all that on my mind (plus the stress of hoping everyone was having a good time), I didn't really notice that all of a sudden I was at the start line and we were running.

The course is difficult. The first 3km are uphill, along the mountain access road that leads to the Great Wall parking lot and entrance. Very early on, I lost A among the faster runners. "Godspeed and good luck!" I called out to him as he passed me out of the entryway. As I climbed the hill, I felt a difference from last year. This wasn't so tough, these hills seemed steeper last year. Sooner rather than later, I got to the top of the hill and made my way to the Wall. The next 3km are up and down the steps of the Wall. After the heavy incline, the steps actually helped loosen my calves. Now it was my quads and glutes on fire. Jog jog jog, and wait; jog jog jog, and wait. That's the tempo on the wall because of the bottlenecks. It's not a particularly wide section of the wall, so people are forced to take their time down the stairs as they come. But eventually I rounded the final corner of the wall and saw the Yin Yang Square below me. Halfway there, I thought, and I don't event feel tired?! This feels great!

By the time I made my way through the Square and onward to the village, I had found my true running stride and I was truckin'. The asphalt road to the village has an ever so slight downgrade, so I let the wind push me and gravity pull me through to the village entrance. Right around the time I was stopping at drink station 9 to get my snacks, I saw A coming toward me, having just finished the village himself. "Almost there!" Seeing him come through that connection gave me inspiration to keep going, along with the realization I knew my legs were solid. I had such better muscle strength than this time last year. I remember the agony of running the back stretch and feeling the strain in my legs and knees as I struggled to finish. This year, I kept a steady pace, cruised to my music, and just let my feet go. And go they did!

Finishing 17 minutes faster than last year, I made it through the finish line with more energy, more strength, and more emotion than last year. What a great feeling! And guess who was there to see me cross? Everyone who had finished already from my group! A cheering squad of colleagues and a round of hugs. Nothing could have been better.

I want to take a minute to thank everyone who came to participate in Team Shenyang this year. Your finishing stories were amazing to hear and I'm so happy to have been able to share this wonderful experience with you. I'm proud that you were able to trust me and believe in yourselves that you could do it too! The Great Wall Marathon is now ours and for once, when we say "Shenyang wins again!" we really did win!! Bravo!

December

The holidays have begun.

So has the season of baking, celebrating, and partying. I think in the past two weeks, the group has had a handful of get-togethers. I have made three batches of cookies (chocolate chip, heath bar, and brownie). Last night was R's birthday and I made wonton chicken cups. It's that time.

The holidays can be a hard time to be away from home. I hit my one-year at Post two weeks ago and it is amazing how fast time flies. Today we were decorating the CGR for the Christmas party next week, and I kept saying, "Last year we had the kids do this..." and "When we had the party last year..." I couldn't believe that I was one of the longest-standing people at post when in that group of people. A resident Shenyang expert? Maybe.

As I mentioned last year, the season is a great time to be in a small community like ours. Nothing brings people together like being away from our families. To be honest, I've created a family of sorts here among my friends. I feel such a tight connection with the people here that I can't imagine leaving in one year. True, many of the people here now will already have departed post, but there will be the people who have just recently arrived that I will have to say goodbye to. I can't imagine the tears!

~
Last weekend was completely splendid. Saturday I spent at the gym and around the apartment during the day, putting together some things for Christmas gifts. In the evening, I joined a group of people from the Consulate at a new Indian restaurant opening. Good restaurants in Shenyang are few, and when we find favorites, it's great to give them our business. Pakwaan, an Indian restaurant that we often order from for lunch, opened a new shop across from the consulate district (coincidence? Me thinks not). They had their opening last Saturday night and it was a great success. I guarantee that we'll be heading there for lunch more often now.

Sunday was a day of relaxing. In the morning, A and I went over the BFF's to make breakfast (bacon and pancakes, in that order) and watch the Pacquiao/Marquez fight together with the husband and an out-of-town guest. I'm not a fan of boxing (typically) and I wasn't really looking forward to the fight. But boy -- was it an interesting match!! What athletes!! What muscle structure!! What a knockout!! With a broken nose, Marquez landed a TKO punch against Pacquiao in the 5th Round that ended the match just as Pacquiao was heating up. Certainly brutal and hard to watch, but there was an impressive show of athleticism that I was not expecting.

After a nap and a shower, we headed back over to the BFF's for a cocktail party. The theme was "Elegant." I know how to do elegant. After channeling Holly Golightly, I headed over to enjoy some homemade cocktails, courtesy of their guest from London's mixology skillz. On the menu: ginger-infused martinis, lemongrass gin and tonic, a Chinese-style negroni, and more. It was a brilliant evening. There was brie. There was dancing. It was wonderful.

This weekend, we will have another get-together at the BFF's: a brustilli baking party. I plan on making a batch of my family's traditional People Puppy Chow (that I will try my hardest not to eat in one sitting). Sunday will be a snickerdoodle baking party at my place and then early in the week is the Consulate Christmas party. Time flies! It's 13 days until Christmas and I hope my presents get home in time for everyone to open them. I'm slowly accumulating a pile under my tree to open via Skype with my family. Plans are in the works for Christmas eve and Christmas day parties. What a season to be surrounded by friends who are basically family. In this holiday season, I don't have anything to complain about. My only wish is that I could spend it with my real family too, and then it would be the best of both worlds. <3

First (Annual?) Shenyang Pre-Thanksgiving Block Party and Pie Contest

Arriving last year around the holidays, I enjoyed the many parties and gatherings at Post that allowed me to interact with my colleagues (soon-to-be friends) on a personal/social level. That season has official begun again.

This weekend, the citizens of the 17th floor hosted the First (Annual?) Pre-Thanksgiving Block Party and Pie Contest. Over 50 people were in attendance, crowding the halls of the shabbily decorated Crowne Plaza apartments. Despite the ugly carpets and grandmothery decor, the mood was lively and wholesome, with tons of food to boot.

I made three dishes, two from recipes of Mom-Mom Brosious (courtesy of the family cookbook): the traditional green bean casserole with French's french fried onions and Cambell's cream of mushroom soup; the Brosious-style sweet potato casserole with marshmallows and (hidden) pineapple flavor; and a from-scratch recipe of pigs in blankets from handmade dough. Since they were based on tried and true classics, I knew they would turn out okay. I mean -- how can you go wrong with brown sugar, sweet potatoes, and butter topped with marshmallows?

Ready for topping and baking

Among the other dishes present were delicious traditional must-haves like stuffing, mashed potatoes, potatoes au gratin, and of course turkey! We had three people brine turkeys for the event and each one of them was divine in its own way. My favorite was the beer brine. Yum!

You can never have enough potatoes

In addition to the dinner feast, the BFF organized an official pie contest. This contest was serious, folks. Not only was their an engraved glass trophy for the winning Pie Master, but on competition day, my boss (one of the 5 judges) unveiled his scoring scheme, complete with pre-printed score cards that rated the pies on density, composition, appearance, and "mouthfeel." These guys meant business.

The contestants:
1. Pecan Pie A
2. Blueberry Pie
3. Pecan Pie B
4. Apple Pie
5. Pumpkin Pie
6. Coconut Creme Pie

The full pie spread, including those not up for competition

 Needless to say, it was a night of epic eating proportions. Shenyang, you did not disappoint!
After eating, some of the musically-inclined participated in what others have referred to as a hootenanny. Someone might have even fashioned together a washtub-bass. I might have lent my vocals to a song or to, but others had much better pitch than I.

"I think I'm turning Japanese" was actually one of the songs we sang

After all was said and done in the hallways, we retired to the BFF's apartment to finished off some of the mulled cider wine and relax in peace. As I said on FB, thanks to all for great memories and a feast-well-done!

Happy New Year - Chinese Version

A long overdue post, but one still fresh in my memory.

Chinese New Years in China is almost too much for words. It starts about two weeks before the actual Lunar New Year, with fireworks going off at all hours. The displays are typically noisemakers, but occasionally you get the aerial rockets that make pretty flowers in the sky. Vendors sell large packs of fireworks on street corners, and without any licenses or authorization, you or I can buy professional grade fireworks for cheap. The city doesn't have many regulations regarding when or how you can set them off, so some days the explosions would go on until 2:00am, sounding like a war zone outside my bedroom window.

There were two days of "crazy-go-nuts" fireworks on the actual New Year's Eve and the final day that fireworks were allowed to be burned. I took videos and will upload them sometime soon, but it was nothing like I've ever seen. Everywhere I looked there were beautiful, colorful starbursts all across the city. The horizon glittered as you could hear the firecrakers explode in the streets below. In the mornings, the streets were empty save for the remnants of burnt offerings and casings all over the place. When work resumed at the Consulate, mornings were filled with the sounds of explosions from the surrounding neighborhood. Supposedly the sound of the fireworks is supposed to scare off any remaining spirits from the previous year, thus giving people a reason to set them off whenever they feel like it. All I know is that by the end of it all, I was tired of hearing fireworks at all! Fourth of July will never be the same.

In the past few weeks, I've kept myself pretty occupied between doing activities at home (reading, knitting, cooking, baking bread) and with friends (going out to clubs, parks, massage parlors, restaurants). I've gone to a few events at the CGR that have been fun, including a baby shower for one of the EFMs and a Mexican food night with the Liaoning Basketball athletic trainer. There are plans in the works to visit the local Beiling Park this weekend and in the future, we'd like to do some skiing/snowboarding at one of the nearby parks. I'm registering for the Great Wall Marathon, to be held in May, and I've started back up with my running training for that. Things are going smoothly -- you can assume that the lack of posts means that life is keeping me busy, for sure!