Happy New Year

Hey, remember me? I know it's been quiet around here for the past two months but I thought I would pop back in to wish you a happy New Year and recap the awesomeness that was 2014.

January
The winter in Shanghai is chilly, making it perfect hot pot weather. But Shanghai apparently wasn't cold enough so we traveled to Harbin for the Snow and Ice Festival, where temperatures dipped down to negative 30. Brrrrr. While the ice was the main attraction, we also enjoyed the Russian cathedral and eating ice cream.

February
February started with an ill fated trip to Cambodia. The month improved though with the Lantern Festival and a Bean Valentine auction.

March
In March, I indulged in a decadent brunch at Vue and shared my feelings about being a housewife. I also found out I was born to be an expat.

April
I came clean about my addiction, attended the Formula One race and participated in the Jinqiao 8k. The highlight of the month was when I volunteered to teach English in rural Henan Province and visited the hometown of my childhood hero, Mulan.

May
May is my favorite month since it's the annual celebration of my parents blessing the world with their youngest child (that would be me). I celebrated the demise of my twenties dressed as a giant cat and also indulged in lots of dumplings. But May also sucked this year because it marked the beginning of an exodus of expat friends from Shanghai. At least May had lots of pretty flowers. And a weekend in Hong Kong.

June
We spent a relaxing weekend in Moganshan with college friends where I realized I had become far too local and returned to America for a detox.

July
I was feeling a bit lazy from finally figuring out how to ride ride the bus, so I ran a Half Marathon in Inner Mongolia. Normal.

August
August was hot and busy. I'm sure I did something interesting but all I can remember is attending Shanghai Supper Club.

September
September was a month of travel with a hike up Huangshan, a weekend in Seoul, and a tour of Beijing with my sister.

October
I was a bad blogger this month but I did return to Cambodia. So there's that.

November
The moment I had been dreading arrived and we said our goodbye to Shanghai by running through it in the Shanghai International Half Marathon. Then we boarded a plane and left this crazy life behind.

 

December

December was a flurry of settling into our new house, new jobs, and new lives. It was a time to celebrate with family and friends but also a time to reflect back. Not only on 2014, but on the entire three years in China. For the first time in three years, I was stateside for New Year's Eve.

As we begin a new year, I'm excited for what is ahead, the next adventure we undertake. But I'm also sad that this piece of our journey is over. Looking back over the last year, I cannot fathom the things I have done and the places I have been. I can't imagine 2015 will top 2014, but the same could have been said for 2013 I suppose. Let's hope 2015 has a few surprises in store.

How Local Are You?

Matthew has been teasing my lately that I have become very Chinese. So when I saw this quiz on Urban Family, I thought I would test out his theory. Turns out, I have been acting pretty local. I suppose it's time for a trip back to the States.

How Local Are You?

Questions to test just how much influence China has had on you.

1. Your family mostly eats food from… 

a) the local wet market

b) Lianhua or Carrefour

c) City Shop or Sherpa’s

2. Your ayi brings a live duck to you from her village after Chinese New Year, you:

a) help her kill it and cook it

b) watch her cook it from the living room

c) freak out, it’s bird flu season and there’s a duck in your house!

3. The strangest place in Shanghai you’ve changed a diaper is…

a) what diaper? My child wears split pants.

b) in the back of a moving taxi, since my child isn’t in a car seat

c) in the grass next to the playground at the park

4. When you’re out with your children and one of them shouts, “I need to pee!” with no restroom in sight, you…

a) just let them go on the side of the street

b) look for the nearest tree

c) make them hold it until you find the nearest restroom

5. Your kitchen consists of…

a) a toaster

b) a toaster oven

c) a full-size oven

6. It’s Saturday morning, you’re still in your pajamas, there’s nothing to eat for breakfast and you decide to go out and get something, you:

a) head straight out the door, not bothering to change

b) leave your pajamas on, but wear a coat over

c) change your clothes

7. For special occasions, you’re most likely to give:

a) red envelope with cash

b) gift bag with present you bought on Taobao

c) a store-bought present wrapped and tied with a bow

8. When a Chinese grandma comments that your baby isn’t dressed warmly enough, you:

a) agree with her

b) debate with her

c) smile and walk away

9. At the dinner table, your family is most likely to put:

a) soy sauce on everything

b) chili sauce on everything

c) ketchup on everything

10. Your child was potty-trained at what age?

a) 18 months

b) 3 years

c) 4 years

11. When you cross the street you:

a) cross with authority; those drivers will avoid you if they know what’s good for them

b) cross when the people around you start to cross

c) wait for the light

12. When someone is talking with you and you want to reply in the affirmative, you:

a) make various “mm” noises, then add, "due, due, due"

b) nod

c) nod and say, “Yes, I agree”

13. When out at dinner with a group of friends and the check arrives, you:

a) insist on paying

b) break out the calculator

c) say you’ll expense it and ask for the fapiao

Give yourself 3 points for every (a) answer, 2 points for every (b) answer and 1 point for every (c) answer.

32-39 points = You’re very local. You’ve assimilated nicely.

26-32 points = Your local friends would be proud, but you still have a way to go.

Less than 20 points = Fresh off the boat. You’re living like you never left home.