This weekend was the Duke Alumni Reunion for Shuwen's entering class (2002), so we spent much of yesterday in Durham and around Duke. Lillis (Shuwen's maid of honor) arrived just before noon, so we got her at the airport and had a lovely lunch together at a hole-in-the-wall Jamaican place. Spring is usually a beautiful time of year around Duke campus, especially the Duke Gardens with its rows of tulips and the dogwood in full bloom. We noticed that probably due to the recent cold spell, the Wisteria, which typically canopies the gazebos and let off their strong floral scents, were absent this year. It was a bit of a pity because even though they are rather invasive plants (and are not native to NC), they are at least beautiful. The three of us then met up with a huge group of friends from Shuwen & Lillis' freshman dorm for coffee. It was fun to see so many familiar faces and catch up with them again. People really haven't changed much!

Oh, and earlier yesterday, both of us ran in the Girls on the Run 5K. Marc won in ~15:15 (the official results haven't been posted yet). After removing his chip & getting a drink of water, he proceeded to turn around and ran the race again, in search of Shuwen who had started 14 minutes after him with the recreational runners. Shuwen finished in exactly 27 mins, with Marc (& Brent) running with her for the last 12 mins of it. It was nice to have some company. So we both accomplished something: Winning for Marc, and completing her first 5K run for Shuwen!

We were in the car a few days ago, with NPR's Back Porch music playing when Shuwen exclaimed :"Are they singing in Chinese!?!" We started to listen more intently and as it turned out, it was a Chinese bluegrass song about braised fatty meat! We found the lyrics online but haven't been able to find a mp3 clip of it. Anyway, it's funny song, especially since neither of us had heard Chinese bluegrass before!

Streak o’ Lean, Streak o’ Fat (a.k.a. 红烧肉 Hongshao Rou)
(Music traditional, Words by Abigail Washburn & Jon Campbell, arr. Uncle Earl/© 2005 Smokin’ Granny Music, ASCAP)

Hongshao rou (Braised fatty meat)
You ren xhuan, you ren shou “No!” (Some people like it, some say “No!”)
Wo, wo ri’ai hongshao rou (I love me some braised fatty beef)
Ye bie wang le he xiao jiu (And don’t forget to drink a little liquor)
Yi bei, yi bei he zui le (Cup by cup we all get drunk)
Oh, tiaowu tiao dao da tian liang (Dance til the break of day)
Ta tiao de xiang ge feng poniang (She dances like a crazy mother in law)
Ta zhen niu (She’s freakin' crazy)
Ta qinkaui de yaoming you (She plays that thing like she’s starting a revolution)
Kuai lai yi wan hongshao rou (Bring on the braised fatty pork)
Dan bie wang le he xiao jiu (And don’t forget the liquor)
Yi bei, yi bei he zui le (Cup by cup we all get drunk)
Xiang zheyang zenme huo xia qu (Living like this, how can we go on?)
Jinzhao he jiu jinzhao zui (Today we drink, today we're wasted)
Hongshao rou wan sui (Long live braised fatty meat!)
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Lastly, we saw our latest netflix DVD, "Children of Heaven" a few days ago. It's an amazing story of how two siblings who live in a poor part of Tehran have to share a pair of shoes after the brother accidentally loses his sister's shoes. The children in this story work to solve their own problems while exhibiting an incredible level of determination, and love and care for their family. It's a really touching film with some interesting running scenes which only made Marc appreciate the film even more.

~ Shuwen & Marc