Nov. 11 2006 - Charlotte's Birthday BBQ & Friday Night

Another afternoon of eating!!! Just got back from a BBQ for Charlotte's birthday. The BBQ scene is different here (of course). Everything on the BBQ (except fish) is cooked on kabob sticks. At home, kabobs are always a mix of meat, veggies, etc. Here it is one item per stick. There was chicken wings, lamb, pork, green beans, eggplant, corn on the cob and on and on. Very tasty. Here people hate eating with their hands (although they don't seem to mind the sketchy cooking conditions). There were some students BBQ'ing close to us and a few of them were wearing plastic gloves. (see picture).

I have also included a group picture from today. Maria and Anna are mother and daughter from the Philippines - we had hot pot dinner with them last weekend. They have been in China for 2 years teaching English. Steven and Jodi are Australian and have been in the city since around February - March of this year. They also teach English, but at different schools in the city. Smart is a teacher at my school, as are Charlotte and Jason.

Last night, everyone headed over to Max's good friend Gabriel's house for dinner. He is from Slovakia, but his wife, Lucy, is a local to Zhangzhou. They are such a generous couple. And they have the biggest television in the city!! I think it is as long as I am tall - 63 or 64 inches. Beautiful picture. Their apartment is incredible - two floors. I think it would be similar in size to a large condo back home. Even though the tv is more than gi-normous, it seems to fit well in the livingroom. The dinner was incredible - Gabriel and Lucy have an oven - something that is rarer than rare around here. I believe he said that he had it brought here from Shanghai. Dinner was roast pork stuffed with corn & peas, oven roasted potatoes, chicken wings and spare ribs. I had a bottle of Great Wall red wine - not too bitter and not too dry for a red. They also gave everyone chocolate - both dark and white. Not just a small bit, but the size that you buy for baking. Another wonderful and rare treat. Even I had some!!! Max has known Gabriel and Lucy for almost as long as he has been teaching her, so close to 4 years. Because they had prepared so much food, Gabriel told Max to bring everyone. So Jason, Charlotte, Anna, Steven and Jodi all came over for dinner, drinks and to watch the giant tv.

p.s. I don't know about the oven, but the fridge and the washing machine were Siemens brand!! Good to see the company getting around!