Do you celebrate cinco de mayo? I really can't think of a more fun (meaningless,
truly meaningless but FUN!) reason for a party. You've got the delicious food that everyone loves, margaritas & other refreshing beverages, piñatas, incredible music (and hopefully dancing follows
!) and colorful decorations. Not to mention it comes at the time of year when it's typically lovely outside. |
| invite! |
As I whiled away my march and april days in (then still) freezing Shenyang, I dreamed of springtime and a fun fiesta. Any American in Chiner will tell you after only a short period of time in country that they desperately miss Mexican food. I also discovered somewhere along the way that not only was R's birthday 5 days before this mexican holiday, but two other guys that he works with were born on May 5th and 6th. These forces combined and a party was born.
So having plenty of capacity, I set out to coordinate what ended up being possibly one of my favorite evenings in Shenyang. We invited all of the American staff from consulate and all of the Chinese staff from the consular section that these 3 guys work in. Needless to say I was a little overwhelmed at the prospect of hosting a party for 40+ people, but thanks to everyone's help it all came together perfectly.
 |
| printable sign for taco bar |
It helps big time that we have several people who love to cook at our post. The menu consisted of a taco bar (homemade tortillas, incredible pulled pork and ground beef and all sorts of fixings brought by the party attendees-the americans were great about offering what they could contribute out of their pantries and our chinese staff in particular were so sweet and willing to contribute- I just had to assign them a veggie or topping). On top of that some delicious enchiladas, guacamole, queso and empanadas were thrown in to round out the meal and there was no shortage of chips & salsa either. The bar was a little ridiculous honestly, but it made for an interesting night.
We rented out the rooftop deck of our friend's apartment complex for the evening and had perfect weather. I definitely regret not taking any pictures of all our preparations.
The decorations were autenticas as we actually have this great couple that spent their first tour in Mexico City and aquired a gorgeous brightly colored table cloth and placemats as well as fun papel picado banners. The party would not have been nearly as amazing without their contributions- from a hand lime juicer for the drinks to an incredible playlist that began with Mexican visa songs- yes that's a real genre. If a Mexico City post is on our next bid list it will almost surely be towards the top of ours.
 |
| sign for the bar area |
One favorite part of the evening was introducing all of R's Chinese co-workers to Mexican food and music. Most of them had never tried it before but they loved it (what's not to love?). They were the first ones out on the dance floor and even kept dancing after one girl's foot broke through the deck. I think it was just bruised, but she was so brave for the sake of the fiesta!
The other highlight of the evening was the piñata. Where did I get a piñata in China, you might wonder? I made it. Back in 2009 a good friend of mine made one for our CQ cinco de mayo party and I knew it was a must. Thanks to pinterest and this lovely blog:
http://www.imperfecthomemaking.com/2011/08/make-your-own-pinata.html I had no problemo! For me, I'm not sure there's better party entertainment than grown adults blindfolded, spun around and taking swings at a tissue paper covered burro with a stick. One of R's coworkers actually put the piñata stick through the wooden fence as he swung and missed the piñata. We're not sure if damages will be assessed for that or not!
 |
| not quite done with the piñata |
All-in-all everyone seemed to have a great time. It's always fun to come together as a community to do something, and I think it's made all-the-more special being so far from the US where this party would be utterly common-place. Shenyang has GREAT people at post and morale is high- we were told this over and over before we came and I will concur again. Last night sealed it for me, I'm going to like our time in Shenyang.
Comments
Post a Comment