新 年 快 乐 ！ (Happy New Year's!)

Happy (belated) 2010! I had one of those great New Years celebrations that only happens when you have low expectations and zero plans. NYE is one of those holidays that has so much hype that it can often be a letdown, but our night ended up being a nice mixture of low-key family fun and typical alcohol-fueled expat shenanigans.

First, our friend Lucy generously invited us to her mom's apartment in Dalian for dinner. We got the opportunity to make dumplings, which I've wanted to do for a while. Lucy's aunt showed us how - Jess caught on quickly, and I eventually got the hang of it as well.

Once we were done making some weird, misshapen dumplings, we sat down to a delicious dinner, complete with tons of fresh Dalian seafood.

Lucy's family is...wonderful. Sometimes being with family, even if it's not your own, feels really good. Also, they didn't speak much English, so I got a chance to practice my Chinese, which was fun.

Next stop: Hopscotch, a local bar that we've been to a bunch of times. It was packed and full of cigarette smoke and weird music and a mixture of Chinese people and ex-pats and classmates from the international school.

We danced, we drank, we created our own countdown. It was great.

What could make this evening better? Getting home at 3 a.m. and reading an e-mail from my cousin, Jen, telling me that she's engaged! I think my reply e-mail just said "AHHHHHHHHHHH." (I love love). Congratulations Odie & Jen! What wonderful New Year's news.

!!!!!!!!!! (I'm still kvelling).