Where did four months go? (retro blogging)

Woah, it's April. Four months since the last blog post.

After Chinese New Year I switched into the American Citizen Services section, which has been a very worthwhile experience but has consumed a lot more time outside normal working hours. Dealing with a drunken American who got himself in the local media. Flying to no-name cities to execute a repatriation loan for a hospitalized teacher. Uncovering a fraudulent claim to citizenship. All of these cases are really team efforts, though - we all share the load and pick up slack.

It's also four months 'til arrival in Kabul, Lord willing. Got my travel orders today, so that means 7ish weeks 'til PCS. I started off the winter strong trying to work out and learn Dari, but now I just want to enjoy things here while I can before it all comes crashing to a halt. There's a lot going on here:

 A friend from both grad school and the 168th A-100 came to visit, which was the perfect reason to finally go see Hangzhou.

 Engagement parties...lots of engagement parties

Dinner parties for my small group - creative uses for all those Starbucks mugs

A Royal Ascot party?! You see a theme here. What a ridiculously charmed life we expats are living.

 

The Poetry Party, perhaps the most wonderful of all so far. One night at a friends' farewell dinner, we got to talking over dessert and coffee about our favorite poems. Someone said we ought to have a poetry party, and it actually happened. In fact, it's probably going to be legendary.

But then there are farewell parties - alas, it will happen to us all.

A few weeks ago I was at a working group for stakeholders in mental health treatment here, and one of the doctors stated that "Shanghai is a city of excess." An excess of options for entertainment and food, bars and music. Glitz and glamour, grasping and guanxi. Excessively tall buildings, prestigious schools, outrageous property prices. But there are also quiet lanes with birds chirping and laundry drying, secret gardens and historic houses, bakeries and brunch spots, Europeans on bicycles, and the pleasure of running into a friend on Saturday morning at the Avocado Lady. It's a lot to take in sometimes. But a lot to be thankful for too.