Family in Strange Places

Well, maybe Brussels isn't one of the strangest places I've been, but it's certainly not the usual place for a small-scale family reunion! I was fortunate enough to be able to meet up with my cousin Laura & her husband David, as well as Kelsey and her beau. The three of us gals met in Brussels with the significant others from three other nationalities, and it was a hoot :)

First, we met an MBA friend, Alex, for lunch:


Then we had dinner with Laura and David at a yummy local restaurant:


Walking through downtown after dinner:


Then we chilled at one of Laura & David's favorite digs...a comfy couch bar:


THEN, on Sunday Soeren ran the Brussels 20k with some of his friends! That's a half marathon. Crazy, right?


We all parted ways on Sunday evening, and Soeren and I went back to Germany. But on a Thursday, that was a German holiday, we drove 90 minutes next-door to Maastrict, Netherlands for a little day trip. The nicest part was downtown, and the climb up the church to the tower:




That's all! It was a LOVELY week. Some work, some play, and some people we love!...what more could you ask for?

Plans for Pittsburgh

I'm getting excited about my next rotation...moving from Grand Rapids, MI to Pittsburgh, PA in August. If you don't know what I'm doing for work these days, I'm doing a 2-year leadership development program at a large industrial manufacturing company. My first rotation was in our Aerospace division working to enhance their global supply chain. In my second rotation in Pittsburgh, I will be working as a marketing analyst for the Director of Renewable Energies, i.e. our Solar & Wind power products.

So I am in for another cold winter, but I'm looking forward to being in a headquarters location as opposed to my current manufacturing plant location. I'll have more younger employees around me, as well as being in the same location as my manager. That will all be a huge change for me. So I have one busy summer planned with work trips to California and Singapore, as well as summer vacation with the Beau, then a move to PA in August. Whew. It makes for a busy schedule, but what's life without crazy plans for the future? :)

Slight Disruption in Plans due to Volcano in Iceland.....REALLY?

What's this world coming to? A major earthquake every week, and now a gridlocked air system due to a continuous volcanic eruption underneath a massive glacier in Iceland. It's almost unbelievable at times!

I was scheduled to fly over to Germany to see the beau on Friday night, but all flights to Northern Europe were canceled. After two hours and three transfers on the phone with Delta, I learned that the earliest I could reschedule for was Monday. At this point, I'm thinking that even that is wishful thinking. But that's where the schedule sits now, we'll see what happens Monday! After reading that the volcanic ash in the air causes airplane engine failure, I'm thinking that it's still better safe than sorry!...

First Trip Back to Asia

I left China hoping to try to make it back once a year. It would be impossible to keep up relationships and language ability without some sort of commitment. I'm so thankful that the first chance...10 months after leaving in May 09...came from my company. I have been working closely with our Aerospace Electronics Commodity Manager to find new Asian suppliers for key programs, quote them, review them, and (Ta-Da!) visit them to make a selection! We will now begin the complex technical reviews, awards and transfer of components as a result of the trip.

We were admittedly only going to SE Asia and Shenzhen, China, but I took a few vacation days and ran up to Beijing, since I was already in the area! I got to see a lot of old friends, visit a lot of my favorite places, and enjoy some of the local food that I hadn't had in 10 months. At the same time, I saw a couple more classmates in Singapore, as I was there for a weekend before we started work. It all really lifted my spirits. When you move away from a place...you leave promising your friends that you will be back to see them. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't. But over the last few months, I've seen a lot of my China and IMBA friends that I wasn't expecting to see again so soon...just because our paths are crossing in various places of the world. Thank goodness that the world is sometimes "flat." And now I can't wait until the next time I see you all again!

Here's a lot of people around the "Hot Pot" Table...Sichuan style!


Then with some of the foreign friends:


And then adjusting to the hot in Singapore:

A New (But Familiar) Blog

There was a bit of begging and pleading by my family, (OK- so only my father), to reinstate the blog. My old blog's web address used to be "Experiencing China" so I thought I had to end it when I moved out of China in May 2009. As it turns out, you can import all your old entries when you start a new blog. Your new life can start, still fully connected to the old one.

As you already know, the new web address is "WatchOrLive." I'll admit that there were a few months where I thought I would fall into a more sedentary 'watching' role as I moved to Michigan to be a grown-up, start a job, take on the responsibilities of paying back student loans and saving for retirement. I didn't feel like I was going to be experiencing all the world has to offer, and wouldn't have anything interesting left to say in a blog. But I was wrong,thank goodness! I should give credit here to Aunt Cindy...who told me last summer during the transition that the things I was truly passionate about would still find me, and I would find them...and if anything, I would have better means to experience them now that I was employed and not a student. She was right. I didn't spend more than 2 months in Grand Rapids before I was flying over an ocean again, and I haven't sat still since.

I look forward to sharing with you the new perspectives from new personal and professional roles in my life. At the same time, writing about it reminds me to continue to Live it...not Watch it go by. I'm 6 months in to this new Phase...and am finally looking forward to it and not fearing it. I hope you enjoy the little tid-bits I may share along the way.

Stephanie

The End!

I've left Beijing and I don't know when I'll be back...and that is so hard to say out loud. Leaving Beijing was one of the toughest and most emotional things I've done in a long time. An intense outpouring of love from my friends made me realize how much I loved the city, the people I met there, and how I had more friends in that city than in any other single location in the world. As Rory reminded me, "Don't be sad that it's over, just be glad that it happened!" We are all made of different chapters, and they open and close with the flow of life. My Beijing chapter has just finished, but I know that China will always beckon me back and I will find time for it again and again. Thank you, thank you, thank you to China, Beijing and every person that I have grown to know and love there! I can't wait to see you all again!

For now I am closing the "Experiencing China" blog, as I would be doing it injustice because I am no longer living there. I graduated with an International MBA degree and accepted my first job in the United States. However, it is with a global company so I will definitely be able to enjoy various cultures and seek out the new perspectives that so often drove this blog. As an ending note, I've included some of the graduation pictures. So long for now, it sure has been fun sharing life with all of you! 再见朋友们!


These are most of my classmates that did the Chinese track of the IMBA!


My Family (minus Kelsey)


And my Aunt and dear friend Courtney that also trekked to Columbia to watch the graduation!

End of April 2009 in Beijing

The end of April in Beijing brought with it beautiful weather and fun outside! First stop: Boating with Rory and the gang!

We got 10 people on the electric boat! And puttered around the lakes in Houhai, all is green in Beijing!

It was also my last month to enjoy some of the favorite Chinese foods! This is what a typical spicy soup for Hot Pot looks like! You cook the raw meat and vegetables in the red pot, dip it in the peanut sauce in the front and enjoy! Mmmm.

Rory's adopted Chinese family also invited us for a lovely homemade dinner!

And last but not least...flowers! Everything started blooming so it was time to trek out to the many parks in Beijing and take pictures with the flowers!

Guests in Beijing!

In the beginning of April, two friends came to Beijing. John- a first-timer and Adrian- a returnee. I spent the first part of the month seeing Beijing again through the eyes of a newbie. Here are some of the adventures:
The group at brunch on Sunday:

With Adrian and John at the Saddle:

Back at Mutianyu section of the Great Wall:

And coming down the great wall on the toboggan slide:

At Korean BBQ with Zhangyi:

On Jingshan hill overlooking the forbidden city:

The classic Chinese baby pants...how do they do that potty training so early???

At the 798 Art District, which one am I?

The Panjiayuan Antique Market:

And the good ole Chinese acrobatics!

Good Times in Seoul!

I went for a long weekend in Seoul to visit my cousin Laura and to add one more Asian place to the list before I move back to the States in May. We did lots of fun stuff, so instead of narrarating it, I like lists! 16 things we did in Seoul:

1) Visited Gyeongbokgung Palace:
(I realized how much the Koreans borrowed from Chinese as all of the buildings looked just like Beijing's Forbidden City and the titles of each were in Chinese characters.)
2) Watched a changing of the guards at the palace
3) Ate traditional Korean BBQ: (Mmm Mmm Good! Done over coals in the middle of your table)
4) Walked along Insadong street, (fun art and culture pedestrian area)
5) Bought great street jewelry! (I like the street jewelry much better than in China. It is original and inexpensive!)
6) Ate Korean pancake and powdered rice cubes from the street vendors
7) Met up with an old Korean friend that I studied with in Beijing.
8) Spent a night at a fancy wine bar. (We don't really have these in Beijing. The wine list was a book!)
9) Went to the Dr. Fish cafe where fish give you a pedicure by eating at the skin on the bottom of your feet. Weird!
10) Enjoyed Turkish, Thai, Indian and American delights at various restaurants throughout the trip.
11) Walked along the Cheonggyecheon Stream that runs south of the palaces while sipping Lattees.
12) Went to the large COEX Aquarium (saw my first two-headed turtle)
13) Took silly pictures in one of the crazy Asian photo booths
14) Enjoyed the plethora of cafes and donut shops on every corner!
(No, even more than that, multiples on every block! Who knew the koreans were so into coffee, donuts and belgian waffles?)
15) Went to the top of N Seoul Tower to gaze upon the city.
16) Toured the National Museum of Korea

In summary, a good time was had by all! And thanks to Laura for all the hospitality!

Trip to Guangxi III: Final Thoughts

I wanted to include the last thoughts or pics on the trip to Guilin before I move onto the next thing. Yangshuo's foreigner-hangout and really the only interesting strip in the city is called Xi Jie, or West Street. We went a couple of times for shopping, coffee, etc. Xi Jie at night:

When you get out of the big cities, you see a lot of interesting vehicles in China. Like these old trucks with exposed engines. They make quite the clanking as they putter down the street and are really only used for trash, landscaping, etc.

Back in Guilin we visited the Elephant Trunk Hill. Apparently to Chinese people, this is a symbol of this city. Of course, I had to demonstrate where the hill got its name:

Around the mountain were photo ops with various local cultural outfits. I chose to go the fisherman route. These are my fish-catching birds:

I couldn't find many specialties in Guilin except for Mifen, or "rice noodles." I'd say this is one province with relatively few offerings when it comes to food. These noodles are served up with a little meat and pieces of vegetables and then you add as much pickled vegetables and spices to the soup as you can handle. It's OK...but pretty uninteresting compared to other Chinese foods.

However, rice wine and corn juice were both new to me on this trip! Rice wine was not so good...I just wanted to try it because I was amazed they had found yet another way to eat rice. Corn juice, however, is fabulous. It is served warm with a bit of honey...like a thin, sweet soup. We ate it practically every day we were down there, so this was definitely a good culinary find.

That's all for the Guilin trip. Next stop: Seoul.

Trip to Guangxi II: Yangshuo

The village of Yangshuo is the launch-pad village for the trips to Lijiang River, which was my last blog. We stayed 2 nights in this town, set in a background of those beautiful pointy mountains. This was the first night, as we waited for a bus to a show.

Besides the river, a must-see is the show by famous director Zhang Yimou. (Many popular movies and most recently, the Beijing Olympic Opening Ceremony Creative Director) The show was based outside, and this was the audience as we waited in the moonlight:

The show started with a vocalist in the lake and mountains lit-up in the background.

The torches lit up all around the lake as the minority peoples sang from all directions...first men then younger girls:


There were all sorts of creative dance and props on the water, representing various parts of this Southern China culture...


Then the show ended with hundreds of singers linked hand-in-hand walking across various platforms over the water in lit-up outfits. With impressive coordination they turned the lights on and off creating patterns and rhythms with the music.

Zhang Yimou certainly does an amazing job of creative directing as well as creating art with large numbers of people. I was very much reminded of the Olympics opening ceremony as I watched this show. It's called "Impression Liu Sanjie" if you are ever down there and interested in going!