Farewell to Kiki!

Kiki with her tree of photos

Last night, we had Kiki's 'real' farewell party at Kalina, a European (German/Polish?) restaurant and bar in downtown Wuxi. I say 'real' because we thought we wouldn't see her again but we have all decided to head to Shanghai for one last party night before putting her on a plane back to Germany.

Giving the obligatory farewell speech.

Kiki is the master of meeting new people here in Wuxi and always seems to have new friends found in seemingly strange places. But, we are grateful for the fact that she accousts people in the supermarket, street and yoga classes, because Kiki has hunted down some lovely people, who we were lucky enough to meet last night.

Friends leaving and new friends staying.

While this post is really about Kiki, I can't help but mention an email I had from my aunt, Jen, the other day. She wrote that she really enjoyed reading the blog but commented that it seemed to be mostly about food lately and then suggested that maybe I should find another man?! So, Jen, I'm not going to write about the food we ate last night (pretty damn good though....not Uberfood though!) and will write about the men instead! While I definitely don't need another man in my life (more trouble than they are worth, is my thinking at the moment), it's still fun to look and meet new people. Unfortunately, most of the expat men in Wuxi are (to put it politely), a little old for me, have expanding waistlines and a lack of hair. But, as you can see from the photos, we managed to find (possibly the only) men our age with trim bodies and most of their hair. What a find!

Ahhh, one last photo of the girls together!

The only issue with these men is the fact that they all smoke. Is there a man in China (foreign and local) who doesn't smoke? It was only dinner and drinks last night but I still managed to go home with my hair and clothes stinking of smoke, sore eyes and a sore throat. In fact, I have woken up with a sore throat, so am hoping that it disappears before my gym session tonight.

Mmmmm, new men in Wuxi.

So, it's farewell to Kiki, one less lovely girl in Wuxi. I bought her a 'photo tree' with lots of pictures of her time here in Wuxi (mostly partying!), so I hope that she remembers us with friendly and humerous thoughts, as we all will most certainly remember her!!!

More new men in Wuxi - Kiki's yoga buddy (all the girls have since decided to take up yoga!)