Rooftop BBQ

Yesterday afternoon I met a "long-time" friend of mine, Stan, for a mid-afternoon drink in Soho. (Many of you are probably familiar with that name). Anyhow, I really enjoyed talking to him because he is from Paris and my French speaking skills have become very rusty over the years. I mentioned that I would like an opportunity to practice more, and the result was an invitation to his friend's BBQ. Stan only hangs out with French people, so I wasn't shocked to learn that the BBQ was at his French friend's apartment and we would be joined by his French girlfriend, as well as her two French friends. Apparently there is a very large French population in Hong Kong. I agreed to go on a whim. I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams that I would be coming to Asia to speak French! I was genuinely excited about it though.

Like I suspected, I understood about 90% of the conversation, but my speaking skills were a little slower. Consequently, I didn't contribute much. On the rare occasion that I did have something thoughtful to share, I am pleased to say they were most impressed (or at least they feigned like they were). The pressure was off a little later though when three German guys (all from Munich - so awesome!), two Chinese girls, and one Spaniard showed up. Everything switched to English at that point and I was in my element. English really is the international language. A lot of them could speak 3-4 languages though, and I felt pretty guilty at my 1.5 (I can't really say two since my French is a little rough right now).

They all had such interesting stories to share too. The three Germans (Christophe, Stephan, and Teddy) had just returned from a trip to North Korea. They described how everything they saw and did was pure propaganda, which obviously comes as no surprise. From the moment they stepped off the plane into N. Korea they were required to handover their passports, cell phones and return tickets to their tour guide. There were no guarantees that things would be returned at the end of the trip either. The guides only took them to the most beautiful parts of town and each place included images of Kim Jong-Il and the N. Korean flag. They were only allowed to see a small portion of the country and they described everything (and everyone they came in contact with) as having an eerie pleasantness. They also said that government officials checked their digital photos at the end of each day to make sure they didn't capture anything that would reflect negatively on N. Korea. Such a fascinating experience!

Juan (from Spain) and Aurelie (from France) were also fun to talk with. Juan spent a year in Texas as part of an exchange program when he was sixteen. He said his host family lived on a farm and taught him how to drive a John Deere tractor. The father always had chewing tobacco in his mouth and the son always wore a cowboy hat and boots to school. We laughed at how stereotypical it was.

Aurelie is from the French alps on the border of Switzerland. She's been living in Hong Kong for three years working as a lingerie designer, and is in charge of the sketches and fabric selection for each design. I think that is SO cool! I forgot the company name, but they deal mostly with European shops. She said their stuff has ended up in Target once or twice before though.

It turned out to be a really great evening! Stan's friend, Nicholas (the host), rents the apartment on the 32nd floor of his building (a.k.a. penthouse... they're all bankers in HK), which includes a private rooftop patio. Let me paint a picture for you: giant table for entertaining dinner parties, candles, a warm grill, delicious food, beautiful palm trees and a view to die for. The night was so clear that you could see straight to the water and from every angle you were surrounded by the glow of neon lights from nearby skyscrapers. It was a very memorable scene!

Aurelie invited me to go to the beach with her on Monday since it's a public holiday, so we'll see how that goes. Should be fun. I love making new friends. :)