Where I celebrate the Fourth with rain and the mosquitoes

Happy (late) birthday, America!

I've been MIA, but wanted to share a quick update about the typhoon Chan-hom which we were all battening down the hatches for, but actually ended up being in Shanghai shorter than expected. Already the rains are dying down (but not the winds) so hopefully it'll be a few days of warm, humid, rain-free work next week before the next bout of rain come in.

That being said, July 4! Every post overseas makes it a grand tasking to throw the best representative party for the birthday of America. There's a lot of rules to play by, it involves a lot of meetings (god, the meetings), and during the events, anyone involved is working and not really partying, but it's still a sight to see. Our theme this year was involving the motion picture industry so we had classical film trailers playing (Honestly, who hasn't seen "It's a Wonderful Life") as well as some new 2015 blockbuster trailers kindly provided by the MPAA. There was a celebrity chef in town, a fancy candy and popcorn stand that was super well received (the Chinese and those little sour warhead candies? oh my), and some really nice dance beats.

My job was a technical role and I created subtitles for the trailers being played, converted the videos and slide shows onto a playlist (because older versions of PowerPoint can't play MP4. Go figure.) and manned the laptops we were using the day of. It was nice to not have a more prominent role like pushing and pulling, where you go out to mingle with guests and help get them to talk with other people. I'm a naturally talkative person, but mingling for work is not my favorite jobs. I feel out of the water if I don't know what I'm talking about and with a group number in the thousand, you don't know who you may be talking with.

Kinda like this. But smaller explosions. 

All in all, great event thanks to all the hardworking people involved.

This was the view from my media corner. Look at all of them eating popcorn like a real theatre!

Our own personal celebration involved a group of us renting some cars to drive up near Moganshan.

Known for being a "heat retreat", it's close to a 3 hour drive out of town. We rented a nice set up next to a small lake with 5 cabins, a kitchen, and a dining area where two of the guys braved the mosquitoes with air mattresses. (My phone's camera is starting to die so some of these are from our "Mo'ganshan, mo'problems" Wechat group.) 

B roughed it in a tent. 

Considering we had AC in our cabins, it wasn't exactly mountain camping (even if our beds felt as hard as the forest floor). I used to camp a lot when I was younger and I have always been a fan, whether it was mountain, desert, or beach camping. After so long of the city life though, the sudden invasion of insects (oh so many insects) was quite a reality check though. Maybe it was the close proximity to the water (our cabins were basically half on the lake), but we didn't realize we needed to keep both the screen doors and the wooden door closed at all times and had to sleep through a cloud of gnats, flies, mosquitoes, and moths in the first night. I was so hot during the night from hiding under my blanket, I let a leg stick out to try to cool my core body temperature down...let's say my leg definitely paid the price for that.

THE SIZE OF MY HAND. AND I HAVE LANA KANE HANDS.

But even with the bugs and semi-constant rain, it was a great relaxation weekend trip out away from the city. I feel being posted overseas, even with the great people, the meaningful (usually) work, and in SH, the supportive management, you sometimes can feel a desperate need to just get out. It's been a hard month, so having this trip out was just what everyone needed. We even shot off fireworks we bought at some local vendors while driving home from dinner one night.

Local cooking. Mmm bamboo is my favorite.

Chillaxing.

We barbecued the first night on coals and since there was no outdoor lighting, I wore a headlamp as I tried to see if the cheese filled hamburger patties and grilled veggies were done. (Sorry for any food poisoning, guys.) We drank beer and ate chips on hammocks outside. There were woods for exploring and a nearby Anji bamboo forest for hiking (where they apparently filmed parts of Crouching Tiger, Hidden 
Dragon.) 

Grown up obstacle course. 

Not us, but they had people you could hire to carry you up and down the mountain in sedan chairs.

There were some funny drinking games like "Most Likely"- you pour everyone a beverage of choice and take turns asking a "most likely to" question. On the count of 5, everyone points at the person in the group they think is most likely to be that person, no abstentions. It's fast-paced, is great for groups that have gotten to know each other (without revealing intimate details, unlike Never Have I Ever), and ends up with a lot of hilarious and occasionally unexpected results. (Most likely to survive the zombie apocalypse and be the tyrannical yet benevolent ruler of a cult that does NOT consume human flesh?) Oh and who can forget a game of chubby bunny with gigantic marshmallows which we attempted to roast over candles since it was raining outside.

No lights, no problem. Headlamp grilling it is. #foreignserviceprepared

One can never have too many board games or cards either. (Speaking of, I won last week and lost this week at poker. That means I'm breaking even, right? Any tips?) Being abroad many times means having to make your own entertainment and sharing the fun so many of us have boardgames, video game systems (dance party!), movies. I'm lucky where I'm posted to have pretty much all the usual comforts and a variety of entertainment to partake in, but there's posts where getting out can be much more difficult, either due to security or environmental concerns, or just because it's not available.

The last morning before we piled into our cars and made the trek back into our city home, we woke up to a morning drizzle gently falling on the lake. With soft pattering of rain on our heads and shoulders, a few of us climbed into kayaks, grasping at that last chance of nature and the outdoors, something I've always considered very American. Years in the scouts had taught me to love the wilderness: the petrichor after a rainy, dewy morning, the mysterious language of stars scattered in the night sky, the silky flight of water between your fingers as you trail a hand in a cold stream.

The lake was warm, the morning was cool, and the rain was a light dance across the water of the lake as we rowed out. There was no sign of the skyscrapers of Shanghai here, no building lights that never slept, only the occasional house in the distance on the hill. There were bamboos in clumps here and there, and a local scattered feed in a bowl for her gaggle of geese on the hill, waving back with a smile when I waved from my kayak before taking a picture.

I can't even do this on dry ground. Good grief, E was doing all types of yoga poses on there. 

On that lake in the morning, I paddled on, feeling the gentle kiss of rain, the water trickling down my face and shoulders, the waves splashing lively against my boat. Two friends were walked Reuben in the distance,  R's dog that he'd had brought with us; his happy lope as expressive of joyful satisfaction in enjoying the moment as either of his human handlers.

Moments like these remind you that the best things in life, like love, are about the people you meet, the places you go, and the memories you make and keep.

Here's hoping you're having a lot of "bests" where you are.