myretroperspective

Our time in Chengdu was great. It's a city that is decidedly Chinese and yet with all the development that's happened there in the last 5-10 years, I believe it's finding its own place amongst the international cities of the world. Chengdu folks enjoying a morning cup of tea Some of the hard things about China (for Westerners) are actually more pronounced there when compared with our home in northeast China. There are more people and each of those people seem louder and more boisterous. They're known to have "spicy" tempers. The taxi drivers are CRAZY. They drive much faster than in Shenyang and have less adherence to the rules of the road. I honestly believe that the car horns in Chengdu are audibly louder than in the northeast. The pollution in Chengdu is consistently not good. In Shenyang we will have 2 days with off the chart terrible pollution followed by a couple days of mediocre and then it clears for a day or two. In Chengdu, the pollution level doesn...

Maybe it's because I keep listening to a couple songs by the band the Head and the Heart (the lyrics of "Rivers and Roads" and "Ghosts" combine to reflect my current mantra) or maybe it's because every week there's a goodbye party for someone else. It feels like all of our friends are getting ready to leave. Ok, not all of our friends by any stretch, but some key friends, and obviously people who have been here from the start of our time in Shenyang. Yes, it's only been 6 months but rhythms were established quickly and people who define my idea of our community here are heading out over the next few months. This is our first "summer transfer season" in the Foreign Service, and I don't think I like it. It's not just consulate people leaving either. Half the women in my painting class move home to the states before the end of this month. Thankfully friends from our informal American church fellowship group are only home for the sum...

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...

Today we travel to Chongqing where R & I first met, dated, and got engaged. I have wistful memories of winding taxi rides through the gray drizzle and long afternoons learning to drink tea at a hillside homestay together. Chongqing is known as a foggy mountain city, but we have such bright memories there! Fall of 2009-dating. river cruise on the yangtze/jialing rivers We're looking forward to this trip to see friends, get a break from the cold (did I mention it snowed AGAIN Sunday night and most of Monday?) and relax some since R has been working really hard lately. Friday he did 100 visa applicant interviews in 4.5 hours (yes those ARE in mandarin). Yikes! hot pot deliciousness Not to mention the spicy cuisine of the south that we so desperately miss. REAL sichuan food is the best cuisine, maybe in the world, and it's just not the same  nearly as good outside of southwest China. I'm trying to convince R that he does NOT need to participate in the 3-in-1 hot pot challen...

hello from bartlesville! We were so blessed to spend Thanksgiving in Bartlesville, Oklahoma with R's entire family. One thing that typifies our time together is FOOD.  I know, I know, it's Thanksgiving; that's not super original, but since I'm just now emerging from my food coma I thought is was worth mentioning that they do not approach a holiday menu cavalierly. One particularly noteworthy tradition for R's family is the thanksgiving pies.  When I met R in Asia he insisted on baking pumpkin pie each thanksgiving (we actually spent a couple together even before we were dating). He maintains that he has baked a pumpkin pie every year for the last 15 years. showcasing R's pumpkin pie in Asia 2009 at Thanksgiving pre-engagement :) Growing up Mama C had assigned each child a pie to bake to contribute towards the Thanksgiving feast.  It started with their eldest making apple pie.  Then R took on pumpkin.  Younger sister is meticulous with her pecan pie. Then, not wa...

After bidding adieu to all of our possessions (uh, not to mention incredible friends), R having a minor run in with a stinging insect of some kind, eating our way thru Atlanta, hopping between 4 hotels and driving about 650 miles... we made it to falls church, virginia! We really didn't lift a finger on moving day- the movers did everything! Moving day was actually very low-key.  I stressed out a lot the day before hoping we'd organized everything well enough, but the movers were great and I fully trust we'll see our belongings again some day. chocolate chess pie with mint ice cream for dessert.  PS- I want those dishes! We concluded the day checking into the Marriott Marquis- a gift from my incredible team as a going-away/appreciation gift.  Incredible views from the 37th floor! We ate dinner at Abattoir a yummy Westside Atlanta (how fitting!) chophouse before dropping off my old civic with a friend's sister.  We are now a 1-car family! We will so miss this skyline!...

That may sound dramatic but we really have taken to substituting greek yogurt for a lot of different ingredients.  It makes tomato soup creamy. It's a yummy topping on pancakes with fruit.  It goes great with any mexican (quesadillas, enchiladas, etc.).  And not that greek yogurt needs any more PR but it is an excellent source of protein and usually low in sugar.  Most recently we've made chicken salad with it.  R loves it so much he insisted on me blogging the recipe.  So here it is- R's favorite chicken salad: 2 grilled breasts of chicken, shredded 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered 1/2 cup almonds pieces (grind or chop them small enough to mix in well with the chicken & tomatoes) 1.5 cups greek yogurt (we use low fat made from 2% milk) 3 dashes of worcestershire sauce 2 tsp. dijon mustard 1/2 tsp paprika 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper 1/2 tsp. lemon juice. salt & pepper to taste Combine chicken, cherry tomatoes & almonds in a medium bowl.  In a s...

food june thanks to R- quinoa, black bean chicken burritos Well we're at the midway point in my summer and I'm beyond excited that we get to visit my little sister in Seattle for 5 days including the 4th of July.  It's just the break we need from the heat, the routine, and the long days of summer.  The pace of summer here in Atlanta always reminds of the saying that the days are long but the years are short.  Was it really 2 YEARS ago that we moved back from East Asia? that we were engaged? that we were foreigners in Atlanta? I'll definitely post about Seattle when we get back but I couldn't let the month go by without mentioning our #FOODJUNE experiment. Food June has been lots of fun.  It came about randomly one of the first nights after I was home from my summer assignment (actually the last week of May).  Being away for 3 weeks and with all the travel we did the weeks before, it had been a while since I had been in the kitchen.  So I declared the month ...