The classiest McDonalds I've ever seen

Last week I had to go downtown to get my camera lens fixed. I left right after I took Babes to school, but ended up getting there WAY before the Nikon store opened. After looking around, McDonald's seemed to be my best bet for a place to sit down and wait without going too far. When I walked in though, I thought for sure I had wandered into a restaraunt or something. This place did not look like any McDonald's I've ever seen. (It was though, and I had an egg mcmuffin to prove it).

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

I do NOT live in the US

I do NOT live in the US.  There I've said it.  Now if only I believed it. Part of the problem with being an expat (as opposed to immigrating) is the feeling of being neither here nor there.  I've lived in China now for over a year and I don't feel like I live here.  Point of fact, I don't really have a "home" (unless you count where my parents live).  DH constantly gets mad at me when I say I'm going "home" for Christmas, or when are we going "home" for a visit, etc., but I have to say I do not feel that China is home.  Yes, DH, Babes, and Honeydog are all here with me, all our crap is here, but it feels temporary.  I don't know how to explain it.  Maybe it's just the mental attitude, as an expat, everything is temporary.  I know that we are only going to be in China for two years, and then we'll go somewhere else.  I also live outside of the everyday life experiences that your average Chinese person would have.  I don't pay local bills, I don't really use local internet (I can use facebook and blogger through a proxy).  I don't think of myself as Chinese.  I'm not trying to raise my daughter to go through their educational system. 
But at the same time I don't live in the US.  Every month we spend away I get a little farther from that culture and what's going on now.  Some of it I'm very happy about.  For instance I am only vaguely aware that there have been some massive panic attacks over plastics.  But it is very weird to not have an idea of what's super hot, or what kind of music is on the radio right now, or even what TV show everyone is talking about.  I'm not following politics or even major news. 
So where does that leave me?  Or worse, where does that leave Babes?  Will she be one of those kids who claims to be American, but has only visited on holidays?  Where will she think of as home?  One of the many featureless apartments that we live in overseas with our Drexel heritage furniture (the brand of furniture that is furnished in USGovt housing worldwide)? 
I know she's getting more life experiences and a much broader perspective than she could have in the US.  And she will be getting a better education (in most cases), but still I wonder if this lifestyle will help or hurt her.  Would she be better off with more stability and less perspective? 

escape plan

The events in the Middle East over the last month has highlighted one of the things that I fear the most about the foreign service.  An unplanned evacuation.  As a foreign service family there are a lot of hardships and difficulties that we deal with on a day to day basis.  Most of them are minor and can be dealt with, or ignored.  You know, not understanding the local language, frustrations over local customs that you might not understand, not being able to find a peanut butter that you like, etc.  Not a big deal.  But as the events in Libya have shown sometimes things can go from unpleasant to serious in a matter of weeks, if not days.  Or they can go from bad to worse in a matter of hours.
Since they evacuated the embassy in Egypt I've been trying to figure out what we would do in such a situation.  We have an emergency bag packed.  It's got a change of clothes, our passports, toothbrushes, Honey's rabies certificate, etc.  But, like in Libya, what if we have to evacuate quickly.  What would happen to Honey?  What about all the pictures and the little things that I've collected over the years that have some sort of emotional significance (like Babes' first pair of shoes)?  Would that stuff get packed up if things stabilize?  Will it get torched by the locals?   And poor Honey, the thought of having to leave her behind breaks my heart.  DH claims it's my fault for wanting a dog, but she has added so much to our lives, I can't imagine leaving her to her fate.
There are so many things to be thankful for while we live overseas, but there is also danger, frustration, and loneliness.  And yes, we signed up for it, and yes, we know it's a possibility that the country we are living in could destabilize under your feet, but it's a price we are willing to accept because we think the work the Embassies and consulates do overseas is very important.