21 Weeks and A+ Guests

Dave and I hosted a BBQ at our home for some former students yesterday. The students, 12 in all, just finished secondary school in February and took their college entrance exams in May. Now, they're working at part-time jobs and interviewing for university. They finally get a few precious months to relax and enjoy the summer before they jump back into Hong Kong's competitive academic jungle.

The day was exhausting, but rewarding. We got to know this group of students really well last school year as guest teachers, but both Dave and I have been teaching the junior subjects this year, so we didn't have as much time to spend with the senior class. I have to say, the graduating class this year was exceptional. So many mature, caring students that brought a lot of cheer to the hallways.

When we moved to Lamma last year, they really wanted to come and visit. I think they're pretty curious about the "expat" way of life, and we were eager to share that not all Americans live in mansions. In HK, some of us live in tiny 450 square foot shoe boxes. Still, the students loved our home and, wow, they were exemplary guests. Dave and I made the house "Better Homes and Gardens" before they arrived, but after 8 hours with a dozen teenage guests, it looked just as immaculate, if not more so, when they left! We barbequed enough meat and veggies to feed a gross of guests, but ended up with just one piddly tupperware of chicken wings to eat today. If I didn't already look 5 months pregnant, I certainly would have after all that food.

I think it's worth explaining HK style BBQ. It's more like campfire cookout - everyone gets a BBQ fork (one of those two pronged numbers, about 2 feet long) and huddles around a small fire pit. The edibles include: chicken wings, fish balls, sausages, mini hot dogs, pork chops, chicken kidneys, etc. All foodstuffs are brushed with "honey" (really - honey flavored syrup) and all BBQ-ers are absolutely wringing wet from crouching next to open flame in 90 degree heat. Cooking time, as you'd expect, is lengthy as each morsel is individually roasted. The students very much appreciated US style BBQ. One brave soul mans a fully stocked gas grill while the rest of us sip cold beverages in the shade/air conditioning. Being pregnant, I was treated like a queen. I just sat in the most comfortable chair and everyone brought offerings. It was fabulous.

We ended the day with a walk to the beach and played in the surf. The students wanted a "sweetie" photo:

Hung Shing Ye Beach, Lamma Island

Guests on our roof:

2013 Student BBQ - Lamma Island Rooftop

Lucky for us, after almost 9 hours of entertaining, we got a day "off" on Monday. It's exam week at our school, so students are only attending half days. We had our twenty week scan scheduled for this morning, so we took the whole day to recuperate! The ultrasound doctor was really fantastic. She narrated each step and pointed out the femur, stomach and even cerebellum (it looked pretty big to me!). All is developing according to schedule, though Chickpea is looking a little cramped. He/she had her arms and legs crossed for most of the photo session. Lucky for us, since we are still in the dark regarding gender. If you can interpret the grainy photo below, don't spoil the fun.

Chickpea - 21 weeks