Eggsceptionally Eggspensive, and that's no yolk!

I do apologize for the bad pun. There really doesn't need to be much said for this blog post, because the pictures say it all. I went to the Shanghai Museum after another expat told me about the incredible Fabergé eggs that are temporarily on display. Seeing these certainly fried-up my interest in jumping on any boats that are Russia-bound this summer!

Chocolate World!

The hunger for chocolate runs deep in my family...indeed, it is almost as deep a heritage as the Twilight vampire family has for their preferred food. So you can almost taste the excitement I had when I found out that there was a World Chocolate Dream Park in Shanghai. While it was not quite what I had hoped for (I expected an actual chocolate volcano, not just a painting of one...) it was still very interesting and there were some truly fantastic chocolate sculptures. The art was treated with chemicals to keep it from melting and otherwise discoloring over time and with lighting, etc., but you can bet I was still able to get my chocolate fix and stock-up at the gift shop! To give you an idea of the life-size type of art that was sculpted in chocolate and placed on display, here is a picture of me modeling a Ronald McDonald-size pair of shoes:

I want to try and share the chocolate art with family by picking some that I think they'd like to eat:

For Ivan:

 For Jill: 

 For Ryan, who is going skydiving with Jill soon:

 For Mel:

 For Shannon:

 For the aunts, who might love shopping more than chocolate:

 For dad, as a challenge to Christmas lights on the house next year:

 For mom, to encourage her Easter egg hunt tradition:

 For Mel and Ivan, and also Miranda and Russ:

Bon appetit!

Homecomings

This blog is dedicated to U.S. Army Captain Bryce Markiewicz who, after several long hot months and, surprisingly, cold nights deployed in Afghanistan, is returning home. Bryce is one of my oldest friends- we have known each other for about twenty years. Welcome back, Bryce!

I was happy to celebrate my own, brief homecoming in Colorado for Christmas this year. As my mother was quick to remind us, this was the first Christmas in four years when the Doherty clan was able to all be together and not have anyone skyping from abroad. The highlight of the Christmas presents this year was a new puppy- ok, a big puppy, for my parents!

We got to share family time in a number of really memorable ways. For starters, Melanie and Ivan surprised us all with tickets of White Christmas at the theater downtown. We spent Christmas at Aunt Sheryl’s house with my mom’s side of the family, and made calls to my dad’s side in the afternoon. Movies were also on the agenda: an afternoon showing of Les Mis, and then a late night show of The Hobbit, joined by our cousin Will. Then, to get in touch with nature and our sweet teeth, we drove up to a beekeeper’s shop in Fort Collins, where we learned how to make honey! And for New Years, we got together for bowling, laser tag, air hockey, and DDR dancing!

Family time during the holidays was such a much needed break from cultural and language immersion in Asia and from working long hours. This trip gives me the fuel to keep going through another year abroad, complete with plenty of photos to turn to when I start to feel homesick! 

2013 - Year of the Snake

It’s New Year and I am proud to release the newest version of me, fully-upgraded, supporting open-source software for continuous development. Ladies and gentlemen I give you the redesigned, Sean 2.0. Sticking to my theme of upgrades, I decided to make some big changes and really ‘trade-up’ in just about every aspect of my life. Take it from a sales guy, a good amount of what we buy is “sales pitch,” so be sure to fully read the “reality check” section! Single women will need to submit their own, current product version information to judge for appropriate compatibility! (pictures of my new apartment at the end)

downstairs living room:

the lab:

hallway, with bathroom on the right, my door at the end, with another small hall to the left for French roomie:

my bedroom, looking into my bathroom

truth be told, I only made the bed for this photo: 

places where I put stuff (can you spot the new traveling hat?)

 staircase!:

upstairs living room / laundry room 

upstairs living room / laundry room:

Next Step: Shanghai

As part of a business article that I was writing, I made a trip to Shanghai on one of my days off. I would be sitting down to interview a Polish business professional, to better understand her experience of working in China. Hanna welcomed me into her office and introduced me to her boss, Alex, originally from Michigan. Alex began his own management consulting firm after many years of successfully guiding Fortune 500 firms and private equity companies in their Asian divisions. We had a great conversation and I really connected with both of them.

Shortly after returning to Nanjing, I sent one of my past business articles to Alex for his review. He read through and called me the next day.

"Listen, Sean, I don't know if you are looking for anything, but my wife's school is hiring for a marketing position that involves a lot of writing, and you are a great writer!"

As it happens, I was not looking to make a change at this particular moment in time. My contract in Nanjing had just come to an end, but I had no plans to make any big changes. However, I won't say "no" to new opportunities. I sent my resume to his wife, Hilary, and accepted the offer to interview the following week in Shanghai. Several days after the interview, I accepted the job offer.

My new company is an international school with a long history and a well-respected reputation in education. The school provides K-12 education for international families that have relocated to Shanghai for work.

My position involves a lot of writing and networking with the various English media outlets in Shanghai. I also help out at occasional events and have a role in other marketing activities throughout the week. There are around 250,000 foreigners living in Shanghai, so my team must work very hard to reach this audience. So far I really enjoy my work and my new team!

I have moved into the top floor apartment of a 29-story complex. I have a French and an American roommate- both young men like me. Our apartment has its own, large rooftop patio that will be great for summer bbq parties. I have a decent bedroom and my own bathroom, the shared kitchen has an oven and a dishwasher, and we even have a clothes dryer in our laundry room (most families in Shanghai must hang-dry clothes). At the time of writing, all those fancy appliances don't actually work, but we have been told that a repairman will arrive to fix those.

My new apartment is in one of the major downtown centers of Shanghai, just a ten ten minute walk from the Jing'an Temple. This is a really great area to be!Here is a picture of the temple with some buildings in the background (not my apartment complex).

When I get back from my brief stop at home for the holidays, I'm looking forward to exploring more international food options and finding a gym in my new city! I hope to also have more time to post updates on my blog!

Happy Holidays everyone, and Happy New Year!

Thanksgiving in Tianjin

I was fortunate to be able to spend the holiday with my very good friend, Anthony. We all call him 'Panda.' I lived with him for about seven months in Nanjing before he received an offer to manage a classy foreign restaurant in Tianjin, a large city near Beijing. He has been there and doing well ever since.

His Thanksgiving menu included: turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberries, and a very non-traditional pumpkin pie! Everything was delicious and guests were allowed 3 refills on each item! I could only eat two platefuls, but I also ordered a quesadilla before the feast began.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

All treats, no tricks

I had to ask the cashier two times if what I was looking at was some kind of trick of the eyes, but she assured me that it was real, a real American treat: Ben and Jerry's in China!

I stopped by my favorite foreign goods store to buy ingredients for Muddy Buddies. I left with so much more! They have started stocking my favorite ice cream, an ice cream that I've only been able to enjoy outside of America when in Hong Kong or on my visit to Shannon's cruise ship last spring.

So my Halloween was plenty sweet with ice cream and homemade Muddy Buddies!

Happy Halloween!