Run for the Door!

Some people throw birthday parties, some graduation parties, some have baby showers. We throw farewell parties. The nature of Beijing is that it's a transient community, both of expats and Chinese. More than anything else it's a revolving door. Sometimes the door spins faster and sometimes slower, but people are always arriving on the scene and people are always leaving. Sometimes, especially in summer, it feels like a fire drill...everyone is running for the exits.

That's the case this summer, as many of our longtime Beijing compatriots pack boxes and ship off to exciting futures elsewhere. Some are switching jobs, some finishing school here, some starting school back in their home country. This makes Beijing a sort of sad place in the summer, that or the fact that it's constantly a white haze outside...I'm not sure what's worse. I'm planning to take a picture out my window everyday this week and document the overwhelming whiteness and lack of ability to see the sun. It's bad man, it's bad. But more about that later

The city's transient nature has a number of results.

1. Repetitious/Predictable Conversations

One of the first questions people is: "How long have you been in Beijing?"

In other words, are you a newbie here, or do you have ANY clue about what's going on. Also, we're secretly trying to discover if this person will be able to add any value to our lives...can they recommend a good, hidden restaurant? Do they have a connection with a tailor that can make a wedding dress, halloween costume, new suit? Can they offer any help when in looking for my next apartment? Living in China is no walk in the park. The landscape is always changing and good teammates make things a lot easier.

Question number two: "How long are you planning to stay?"

Most people here have an end date in mind, which is strange. It's hard to imagine someone having a logical answer in a western country to questions like: How long do you plan to live in your current house? When will you leave your job? Are you going to have a baby in the city in which you now live? But here these questions are commonplace. The majority of people are here short term and they know where they're going next. So, for those of us who DON'T have an end date, what we're really trying to figure out is: are you worth building a friendship with? If someone says anything less than "a year", I'm tempted to move on. They aren't going to be here long enough to "get it" and I have grown to hate farewell parties.

2. Promotions

If you can stick around, and have a decent job, you're moving up baby. The fact that a person has three or more years solid China work experience is a big plus...in China at least. For us it remains to be seen how this will play out once we move anywhere else. But the reality is that the majority of people I know that have been here awhile are doing things they'd NEVER be able to do back home in terms of roles and responsibilities at work. It's pretty awesome.

3. Dine and Ditch

When I lived in America, I attended my fair share of housewarming parties. But that was nothing compared to the number of dinner parties I've attended here where the end goal is for the host to finish the night with an empty house. People buy stuff here for their lives, but it's expensive to move it back or they already have a houseful of stuff stored at home, so they give it away. The only condition: pay it forward...make sure some newbie gets all your stuff when you go home too. I didn't register for my wedding, but I now know the feeling people must have when they use the "Platter Darah Gave Me" or for me: the "Spices Heather Left Behind" or the "Lamp Ali Didn't Want" or the "Sheets Ema Didn't Need". My house is a testament to all those who've gone before me.

The fire drill continues...this week we're planning two going away parties for some of my best friends in Beijing - one going to law school and one moving with her husband to start new jobs Stateside. I'll be forced to make new friends and reach out to unfamiliar people in order to fill in the gaps. Definitely not something that comes naturally, but I've gotten a lot better at it...I've had to. After all, if I don't meet new people, who will throw our going away party someday?

The Great Firewall

Well, it's been almost one year since my last post and a lot has changed. (I got engaged, planned a wedding, got married, traveled to Qingdao, Laos, The Caribbean, Korea and Japan.) BUT, have not been able to blog about any of it due to the number of websites, including all blogs, blocked in China. Finally bought a VPN to circumvent The Great Firewall, so we're back in business...will start churning out updates soon.

Tsingtao Beer Festival

After many years of talking about attending the "Oktoberfest" of China, this year we finally made it down to the city of Qingdao for their Beer Festival. Stacey, Derek, Justin and I headed down in September for a long weekend of eating and drinking.

One of the most interesting, and famous, parts of Qingdao is the method in which people actually consume the beer: in a plastic bag. This proved to be true, not only as a "to-go" method, but also when bringing beer back to your home. We watched as a local man ordered five litres of beer from a roadside stand. It was pulled from the keg straight into a plastic bag, weighed and tied off for the man to carry home.

We visited the Tsingtao Beer Factory and Museum, which was quite interesting, showing the history of Qingdao Beer advertisement and company structure as well as a functioning factory. We also got to taste both the raw and filtered beer.

One fun part was a "tipsy" ride, which must be trying to simulate how you'd walk if you stayed in the tasting portion of the museum too long. Stacey loved it...and went through twice.

The final room is a large cafeteria style place where you can order cheap Qingdao by the pitcher and buy gifts. The men-folk left us for one second to buy some beer, which proved to be totally unnecessary when Stacey and I were left like sitting ducks and bombarded with every other Chinese tourist wanting to "Gambei" (like "Cheers", but literally means - and used in practice as - finish the glass). We finished our glass with countless people until the guys came back to rescue us, by which time we needed to take a seat. Saying no in China, especially involving drinking in social situations, is not an option.

The beer festival itself was enormous, with tent after tent of entertainment and beer from around the world. Again the "foreigners" were the spectacle, and person after person came up to try and "Gambei" the guys under the table.

The next day we headed to the beach. Which was surprisingly nice. There were pretty nice public restrooms, restaurants with tables out in the sand, and the option to order a keg to drink as you have a beach party. We sat down at a table and ate fresh barbecued seafood while we drank cold beer. Absolutely no complaints.

Engaged!

Justin's parents' visit was a very exciting time for all of us. Just as they were getting out of the customs gate and we were finishing hugging and saying hello, Justin pulled us into a huddle and began to expound on our relationship and the journey we had taken over the past three years - moving to China, growing as a couple, etc. He then got down on one knee in the middle of Beijing Capital Airport's Terminal Three and proposed, much to all of our surprise. Here are some pictures from immediately following. What fun!

Parents in Beijing!

For the next two weeks Justin's parents will be visiting us in China.  For the first week they'll be checking out Beijing and then we'll be hitting Xi'an and Shanghai together.  It's so fun to have people you care about see where you are and (hopefully) begin to understand why.  Yesterday was VERY polluted and windy, but it's clear today and the sun is shining, so they'll get a great first day.  I'll be sure to post pictures of our adventures!

Wiggin' Out

It's no secret that Beijing is a fun place to live because of how cheap the shopping is, but few realize the potential this holds for very fun costume parties.  At least 50% of parties we attend have some sort of theme which usually involves running around town in ridiculous outfits.  

This is fun for two reasons: a) it's so cheap that you can go all out b) many local people assume it's normal, thus less embarrassing and less chance of getting kicked out of respected establishments.  

This past weekend was our friend Peikwen's birthday and his celebration was no exception: wigs and costumes mandatory.  Peikwen is an amazing photographer and had fun documenting his party, which led to some fun pictures for the rest of us to enjoy.  Pei's wife, Shanti, is also amazingly creative and had a "birthday suit" custom made for her husband.  We love them and loved celebrating such a great guy's birth!

The Big 8-0!

I love living in China, except for times like these.  I missed my Grandmother's 80th birthday celebration recently.  I should have been in this picture, but was wholeheartedly there in spirit!  My Grandma is definitely something special and has had a powerful impact on the woman I am today.  I couldn't love her more, or miss her more.  Have a great 80th year, Grandma.