Shenyang, Anshan

Woke up at 5 AM again, with the sole advantage that I was able to catch people back in the States online, then it was an early morning trip back to Shenyang to visit my mom's side of the family. Grandpa and Grandma were exactly the same - still playing checkers until the wee hours of the night, still cooking up a storm. My aunt and uncle were there as well, and it's amazing how much has changed since last I saw them. I finally saw my cousin Vivian (their daughter), as she's finally back from England. I can't believe it's been over 10 years since I've last seen her.

We left Shenyang around 2 pm as Aunt and Vivian had to return to work, and I sleepily snoozed my way through 2 hours of Chinese highways. Not much to my surprise, a big dinner awaited me back in Anshan, where Yanyan's grandmother had gathered her family to welcome me back to China (I was very touched). The food was really delicious, and featured some of regional specialties of Anshan: hand-kneaded dumpling soup, roasted fried eggplant, taro mash, sweet fried yams, etc. I definitely overate but it was well worth the stomach expansion. Everyone was in a jovial mood, and I was honored by their attention, as I was by far the most junior individual at the table (median 50, range 65). If I end up like any of these people when I'm old, then life will have been good...