Party Month!

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June has been a busy, busy month in general! Certainly, things have really picked up at work now that I'm receiving more and more responsibility... but socially, things have been exploding as well. Recently, I've felt that I had kind of run out of things to report on in my blog-sphere. But, a friend pointed out that it's not that I'm running out of things to say, it's just that things don't seem so new to me anymore. So, I do have things to talk about, even if it doesn't seem all that interesting to me 😊 And maybe it's not interesting to you, either. But, here's a bit of a peek into some genuine ex-pat life in China.

This month, a lot of my foreign friends have had significant events taking place. We've had birthdays, bachelorette parties, departures... the works. And this has pretty well dominated my social scene. As a result, I've admittedly spent a lot less time with my exclusively-Chinese crowd, and have been drawn into the foreign crowd. I'm embracing this in a big way these days because, honestly, it's a good cure for inevitable homesickness. In a world where one is constantly bombarded with a new culture, language and general way-of-being, a little American (British, South African or otherwise English) accent can, admittedly, be refreshing. Don't get me wrong, I've come across several ex-pats whom I cannot stand due to their general ignorance and lack of appreciation for this place... but the folks that I've surrounded myself with have a similar mindset to that of my own, and it's been absolutely lovely.

Anyway, early this month, my closest friend, Juliet, had a birthday. We're referring to this as her first 29th birthday; the first of many. She's handling her almost-30 existence very well (and just by the fact that I've had to put that in there, you can assume that she's not...). For her celebration, she finally got the tattoo that she's been talking about for at least the 5 months I've known her. It's a very thoughtful tribute to a friend of hers that passed away a year ago. Beyond that, the highlight of that weekend for me was dinner at this amazing French restaurant that is tucked in a corner of the ex-pat nightlife strip. Ugh -- a-MAZ-ing food. You don't really realize the kinds of things that you crave until it's sitting in front of you. Good Western food is hard to come by over here, and that was a delightful refresher. Mmmmmm... 😊

The following week, my friend Kirstjen (and the J is actually pronounced... weirdo) was preparing to head back to the States for her long-anticipated wedding. As a collective group, we surprised her with a high-class Bachelorette party at a fancy hotel bruncheon. We kept it classy.

This past week, then, my friend Kirby had her farewell party as she is heading home for an unknown amount of time. She may have gone home for good, she may be back soon. A lot depends on jobs and schooling and other circumstances. That's just the way it goes when you live abroad. People come into your life just long enough to leave again. You kind of get used to it, really. It's sad that way. Friendships are fast and furious to develop, and equally as fast to end. As I talked about in Shanghai, you cling to like-minded, similarly-situated people out of an almost survivalesque necessity. Juliet, having grown up in Hangzhou, talks about time periods in terms of the friends she had at the time. We are the phase markers in her world. Granted, Juliet is not exactly the grounded rock of Hangzhou one may make her out to be given that she lived in Europe for 7 years and is probably not back in China permanently... but who's counting?

Anyway, so this month of celebration has helped me to develop an entirely new pocket of very close friends. The other night settled the score for me that, when I am away from work, I prefer to spend time with non-work people. I was at one of the most popular ex-pat haunts, and there were three crowds that I could choose from: my friends, my nightlife dependables, and my work crowd. I bounced back and forth between the first two, and only barely acknowledged the work folks once or twice - despite their disgruntled pleas to join them (ugh... I know... it's so rough to be me... hahaha). Honestly... I don't think that makes me a bad or unreasonable person; I spend a LOT of time at work and with those people, so it is only fair to seek out a new conversation topic on my days off. In all honesty, my time away from the work folks makes me appreciate my job a little more. I enjoy what I do, and I enjoy talking about it in clips and phrases, and being surrounded by removed people filters out the daily drama. It's nice!

So, while this may not be ground-shaking "THIS IS CHINA!" news, it's a continued peek into my day-in-the-life. Sometimes, as I've pointed out before, things are just kind of normal. I continue to be humbled by this place; I still grow frustrated and confused. I still get lost sometimes. But, having passed my 6-month mark here, I'm home. I'm the ol' Sophomore in this experience now - I'm the one folks call when THEY are lost, confused or frustrated. I've implanted myself into this world and feel extremely fortunate to know that I can call it home.

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Photos

Juliet's Birthday Dinner
(L to R) Juliet, Kirby, Mitch, Kirstjen and Me
(I'll be living with Mitch and Juliet in just under a month!)

Birthday Dinner
Juliet and Kirby

Kirstjen's Bachelorette Party
Ummm.. I don't know EVERYONE here very well... but:
(Top to bottom, L to R)
Helen, Kirstjen, Mitch
Jess, Annette, Norya, Juliet, Me.

Cuties
Mitch and Kirstjen
("Oh, Mitchell..." Modern Family fans, anyone?)