A few of my favorite things

I've been back in Langfang for just a couple weeks now, but it already feels really normal, like I've been living here for two years already. Oh, wait....I have! So the apartment is clean and smells like home again, and the best news is that there were NO unwelcome animals waiting to greet me. Classes have begun and I have a full schedule right off the bat, but it's fun to be back with students. Life is good- and mostly calm, which I appreciate after a wonderful whirlwind of a summer. I was just thinking today about all of my "favorites" here in China. Some are old and some are new, but all are wonderful. My most favorite new discovery has got to be:

the Land O'Lakes "Fresh Buttery Taste Spread"! That's right, people- spreadable margarine, in China!! Notice our extreme excitement upon finding it in the grocery store. It has already revolutionized my in-house eating habits: delightful grilled cheese sandwiches, buttery sweet pancakes, and who doesn't love the combination of salty butter and sweet jelly on a warm piece of toast? Mmm mmm GOOD!!

Here's another Langfang gem:

I call it the Bumblebee. It's our team vacuum, and it's not brand new, but let's just say I remember what life was like without it, and I don't ever want to go back: tiny brooms and massive dust bunnies made cleaning a serious chore. Now it's more like a game- a game that I win every time. Hasta la vista, bunnies!!! And many, MANY thanks to Shannon and Peter for bringing the Bumblebee into my life. Your legacy lives on :)

I don't have a picture of my next favorite thing, but that's because I've eaten it already- today and many days before. What do I love? CHEAP food!! Just today I strolled down the street to a place we've dubbed "the Courtyard"- lots of street food vendors gathered in one place- and ordered up some yu xiang rou si. That's Chinese for "delicious pork, peppers and carrots in a slightly sweet spicy sauce". An individual serving made right before my eyes along with some rice cost me a whopping 75 cents. Now I try not to think in terms of dollars and cents, since I earn Chinese yuan, but sometimes it's just too fun. 75 CENTS!

My favorite experience of the year so far definitely came last night at dinner. We invited our believing brothers and sisters out to catch up on each others' summers and kick off the year with some good eating (again, so very cheap!). There were 10 of us around a table in a private room, so we were chatting freely and openly, laughing together and listening to tales of adventures in traveling and summer job searching. At one point, I looked around and realized that "this"- us hanging out with our Chinese family- just felt so natural and normal. I love all of those people, and am so glad to have them in my life. We are all so completely different, but none of those differences matter when you share what we share.
Favorite!!!

Yeah Team Langfang! (outside of our apartments)

Andy, Heather, Jess and Carly!

To Three or Not To Three??

Wow, really long time since my last post! But don't I always say that? As I type this, I'm relaxing in Raleigh with my brother, sister-in-law and nephew. This semester FLEW by in a flash- lots of great stuff, topped off by a visit from my parents. Those of you who know Bev and Dwight know that this was no small feat. I had a great time showing them my China life and watching them interact with this foreign culture that's become so familiar to me. They did wonderfully, and were using chopsticks like professionals by the time they left. A couple snapshots:

With one of my classes, who all got hugs from Mom & Dad

Working out in the park on the Chinese version of the Gazelle

But the real reason that I'm back on the blog is that it occurred to me that many of you might not have any idea what I'll be doing once summer is over. Will I be returning for year #3 in Langfang, or moving on to a new adventure? To three or not to three, that is the question. What do you think, do you have a guess?
Well you have a 50/50 chance of getting it right, and those of you who guessed "three" are correct. Yes, I am going back to Langfang! It did take a little longer to come to this conclusion this past year, but I am no less confident in my decision. I've only been back in the States for 10 days, and I'm already missing my home and looking forward to getting back there. I shouldn't be surprised; I've spent the majority of the past 2 years over there, so why wouldn't it feel like home? Either way, no matter what, I'm excited and ready to see what #3 has in store for me- definitely feel like the Big Man's not done with me yet. Thanks to all of you who are taking the ride with me- the adventure continues!

Fire in the sky

The Chinese equation for celebration goes as follows:

Fire + (BoomBangPow*Infinity) - Sleep = PARTAY!!!

So I missed the first and second acts of the Chinese New Year celebrations, but made it back just in time for the finale- Lantern Festival. Now, I have a hard time keeping up with the many holiday traditions around here, but I think I've found my new favorite. And no, it's not the 21-gun salute of fireworks that began at 6 am. On this last day of the Spring Festival (Feb. 28th this year), the other tradition is to light a giant paper lantern and send it, along with your hopes and wishes for the new year, off floating to never-neverland. It's really neat to see a sky lit up with lots of tiny little fires, and the process of getting yours to actually fly away is pretty fun- it takes lots of lighter fluid (and a little hairspray doesn't hurt, either), many hands, and patience. Extra patience in our case, as Mother Nature graced us with another snow storm that evening.

Here you can see Carly and Peter waiting for it to heat up:

And...liftoff!

Thankfully it went around and above the trees, which is more than I can say for our first attempt from a few nights before:

After our lantern floated out of sight, Carly decided that she needed to add to the noise. She spent 10 RMB (about $1.50), and we made our own bit of magic:
Happy Year of the Tiger!

So to rewind just a bit, early February was also pretty exciting and eventful. After our annual IECS conference in Shenzhen (south China), Carly and I headed over to Hong Kong for a few days. Definitely the biggest and most diverse city I've ever been in- and it hardly felt Chinese at all, especially because they were driving on the wrong side of the road! Not surprising given HK's history, but still. We decided to skip out on HK Disney and hit the track- the horserace track, that is! It was my first time ever at the races, and it was a total blast- the weather was great, the backdrop was gorgeous, we wore our "Southern lady" hats, AND I won some moola! Who could ask for more?

Turns out these hats were gorgeous AND functional!

Here is my horse-#2- coming in third and winning me 40 RMB! (I bet 10)

Sunset behind Hong Kong Island:

"The biggest light show in the world":

And as if all that were not enough, I got to fly back to the States for two whole weeks to see my family and have some quality time with this cutie:
(my nephew Owen, 8 months old)

Life. Is. Good!