Easter Brunch: Urumqi

Your own traditions and holidays often become more important than they would otherwise be when living abroad. Since my age hit double digits, I haven't cared much one way or another about Easter, but this year Logan and I threw ourselves into hosting an Easter brunch and egg-painting party.

We cooked up a huge batch of pancakes and a couple versions of scrambled eggs, along with some local breakfast staples like yogurt, fruit, and nan.
Our expat friends were happy for a leisurely American-style brunch, and our local friends seemed happy about everything except the pancakes. Once the eggs came out, everyone became totally absorbed in egg-painting and it made me wonder ... why don't we paint eggs all the time?

A couple of Logan's local friends were forever confused by our morning party, not being familiar with the local tradition, and every time we held a party at our house after that would ask "Do you mean eight in the morning or eight in the evening?" Good thing they asked, at least.