A Fisher out of Water

Last night Kevin and I went to an event at the Chinese embassy, and I've never said this about any other cocktail party or shindig that we've ever gone to, but it was really fun!
Now, some diplomats have invitations to engagements several times a week. But Kevin's not in Public Affairs or anything like that, so he gets invitations a couple times a year. And he invites me, and we go as a really cool, fancy date. But usually we just stand around talking to a few people we know, drinking juice and eating fancy little foods they bring around on trays. It's kind of fun, but I'm not very good at small talk, and usually people from work tend to talk about work a lot, and I don't always have a lot to add to the conversation.
But last night was awesome.
It was a Chinese New Year celebration at the Chinese Embassy. Everyone they invited had some connection to China, whether they'd worked, studied, or just lived there. There was a group of us from the US Embassy, and there were also a few other people I'd met who I recognized at the party. They asked people to prepare something to perform at the party. Of course there was an enthusiastic karaoke rendition of a Chinese song-- and it was well done. Someone read a poem in Chinese, and one girl presented a Chinese tea ceremony. Our group recorded a video of our kids singing a Chinese children's song, and then afterwards we sang "Yueliang Daibiao Wo de Xin" (a favorite Chinese song of some of the Americans), and John Denver's "Country Roads" (a favorite "Popular American Song" of many of the Chinese). It was a hit. We sang. People sang along. Everyone enjoyed it.
Then between some of the performances, they drew for door prizes, including a new cell phone and a fancy cloisonne vase. There was a musical chairs competition which Kevin played, and a chopstick-using contest which I won. I just pretended I was super hungry, and I got 54 little beans into another bowl in 60 seconds!
So after the performances and the games, there was a fantastic dinner with Chinese food (including Kung Pao Chicken, which made my mouth water the second I saw it. It's the spiciest thing I've eaten in months!!) and Brazilian desserts. The best of both worlds!!
The Chinese embassy has their own Chinese chef, who cooks lunch in their cafeteria. The American embassy... doesn't. I'm pretty sure there is no US Embassy in the world that has a US chef. Why would you export an American chef? What would they cook anyway, hot dogs and hamburgers?
I had a blast speaking Chinese to several of the Chinese diplomats. I got to admire some beautiful paintings, show off my mad chopstick skills, and feel for an evening that we had gone back to China.

Penny went to another birthday party today for one of her Brazilian classmates. This one was a bit tamer than some that we've gone to.
There were buses to take the kids directly from school to the party center, but it was just the kids that were invited, not the whole families.
This party was from after school until six-thirty, rather than starting at eight-thirty and going well into the night. (We left one party at almost eleven, and they hadn't even sung happy birthday yet!)
This party was at a party center where there were ball pits, slides, climbing playgrounds, and some carnival rides, but no one was using the carnival rides from what I could tell.
This party had cotton candy, french fries, and birthday cake, but the endless drinks were all water and the pizza, hot dogs, sandwiches, and piles and piles of brigadeiros were notably missing.
There were party favors with candy and modeling clay, but thankfully it wasn't a big old present bigger than what we had gotten the birthday child!
There was no photographer, and the parents were wearing rather casual clothes, meaning that I wasn't hopelessly under-dressed like I usually am in Brazil.
Penny had a blast, and I just went for a few minutes at the end to pick her up and chat for a while with the parents-- one Brazilian and one American. So it makes sense this party was only half-Brazilian.

On the way home, Penny asked if she could have her party at Mega-mundo, like this one. I told her, "No, we'll probably have your party at our house like we always do. But we can decorate with a bunch of balloons!"
"Okay!" She thought for a minute. "Your cakes are always just like brownies and stuff. I don't want to have that. Maybe we could have... cupcakes!"
Now it was my turn. "Okay!"
So Penny's party will be at our house with balloons and cupcakes. Penny will love it. Her friends will love it. And I hope their parents think it is cute, multicultural, or quaint-- not just cheap.