After last week's trip to Taipei we were determined to have as few plans as possible for this past weekend. As much as we love travel, as life-giving as understanding a little bit of a new place can be, we generally need a bit of recovery time. So this past weekend looked as "normal" as weekends in Shenyang do.
Friday we met up with consulate colleagues for a drink after work and progressed to take out pizza (Shenyang does actually have a decent pizza place that will deliver... eventually) and friends sharing about recent adventures.
Saturday morning we made blueberry pancakes and skyped with family which is pretty much the norm for Saturdays home. There's usually someone around and willing to say hi at the end of their week. After a few housekeeping items, we decided to check out the Shenyang library and a side of town that we don't get over to as much. I needed to pick up a few ingredients for a chicken salad I made to host our Sunday fellowship group.
We didn't make it 10 feet outside of our apartment building before I looked at R and said- Is it Children's Day? Oh, no. I think it's CHILDREN'S DAY!
You see, being an American in China, it's easy to be completely unaware of local (or in this case "international") holidays. It was evident from the a)-swarms of people, b)-children with excessive amounts of balloons, stuffed animals, candy, etc. and c)-swarms of people that this was not an average Saturday in Shenyang. This is one of those holidays that people don't get off work for, but it's celebrated by the commercial industry- stores have sales or promotions and extra children's events.
I always smirk at the fact that China indeed has a Children's Day because I remember when a kid asks about kids' day (most likely on mother's or father's day) being told (by an adult) that EVERY day was children's day so there's no need for a set holiday. Au contraire.
It almost never fails, from my 3 years in Chongqing and this year, I'm always caught totally unaware by Children's Day. It falls on June 1st which is generally pretty good weather and I'm heading out into the city on some adventure or another when I realize traffic is horrible and there are people everywhere.
As we rode the jam packed subway, I kept looking around at people and muttering "children's day! harumph." I could already imagine our nice productive outing turning into a long fiasco. "children's day! sheesh!" R just rolled his eyes at my umbrage.
We got out at the library stop and saw a field full of kite vendors and people of all ages (lots of children, of course) flying kites. The sun was bright, the air was clear, the wind was strong. It was gorgeous. I realized I was faced with a decision. I could continue to be annoyed by silly holidays that made life a little more inconvenient or... I could go fly a kite.
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| kite purchasing |
And it really was that simple. We surveyed the options, then bargained a little for a sturdy handmade, hand-painted bamboo and cloth pink butterfly kite. And we were off and flying.
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| KITES! and a statue honoring athletes. |
I think R and I are both at that point in the culture shock/adjustment cycle (5 months in) where we have to choose whether to embrace the novel and endearing parts of life here or let the unexpected things that turn our plans upside down take center stage. Because the novelty does wear off and Shenyang is not an easy place to live. I have to choose to remember that we didn't move overseas to lead a life centered around our plans anyways.
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| embracing shenyang on children's day |
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| kites & kids everywhere |
After dinner with friends that same evening we strolled through a nearby park at dusk. We were all amused by the ridiculous but enthusiastic walking group (100 people strong probably) walking circles around the small park with synchronized music blaring out of portable speakers. Old men playing strange homemade woodwind instruments huddled under trees and the kids rollerblading in circles around the waterless fountain made us grin. "If there comes a day when I'm not charmed by a Chinese park, then I really have no heart," quipped a friend who struggles well to enjoy Shenyang.
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| love our butterfly kite! |
And she's absolutely right. There are a number of times when we say, "Shenyang wins", meaning our plans are foiled and what we thought would work out one way, just doesn't. It's easy to start to expect Shenyang to win and try to escape it altogether. A degree of that is normal, but in the end if we don't choose to embrace the unexpected here we definitely miss out. I am glad we made it out on Children's Day to fly kites and for all that it represents.
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