Well, this weekend one of the other girls on my floor found out that I was having troubles finding a replacement charger for my camera. I had been planning on searching the electronics market that day for one, but didn't really know where it was either.
She (Christiana from Belgium) lent me hers! It's a universal charger that she is allowing me to borrow until I can get of my own. =)
That same day, our floor on residence was having a floor BBQ, and so she invited us to help prepare and attend it as well.
Aly-Shah and I went with Christiana and a friend of hers to the Market to buy the meat and vegetables. We went by riding on their electirc bikes. On the way, one of the bike's kickstand fell off and we had to stop and ended up having to remove it all together.
When we got back, we met a lot of the other people on the floor and decided that we should have the BBQ on the floor's balcony. The 'balcony' was really just an area outside of the elevator window that overlooked the street. We were not really sure if we were allowed to go there, but it seemed unlikely that anyone would see us and it seemed fairly safe. One guy said that one time they thought about having a BBQ on the 12's floor balcony, but unlike ours, it didn't have a moat and wall before the ledge, and although no one would see them, it didn't seem very safe.
At this time, it started to rain.
However, most of us didn't think that the rain would last very long and began to move some chairs and tables out onto the balcony via Christiana's room window as it also led to the area. We covered the furniture with some bicycle covers to try to keep the water off and then we went to the kitchen to cook.
Aly-Shah and I decided to help, but we didn't know what they were cooking or how to cook any of it, besides cutting and preparing the kebabs, luckily everyone was very nice and explained it all to us. =)
I ended up cutting up the eggplant and then Aly-Shah and I deep-fryed them in a frying pan to make eggplant chips. They were covered in a flour batter and then dropped into the oil until they browned. At first I was worried that I would spill the hot oil on myself or others, until I realized that as long as I kept a lot of oil in the pan at all times, it did not splash much at all.
While cooking we were able to meet and learn about our floor mates and try some of the other foods that were being prepared. One girl was making a lemon pie mixture and let us try some.
After we finished cooking the chips, we went to the balcony into the middle of the thunder storm. During the time we had been cooking the rain had gone on and off, but had been gradually becoming worse. We had more or less ignored it as the sentiment had been that it would be better if it rained really hard for a half hour and then stopped, as it often does. However, it did not do so this time.
Aly-Shah and I climbed back into the building were we met Myung and Sean, two other members of our cohort group who had just returned from a sight-seeing trip around the West Lake. Mathew had gone with them as well, but had already gone back to his room.
We told them about the BBQ and since it was for all members of the floor they could attend as well. We chatted for a while, and then helped some others bring the food and BBQ back inside from the rain.
The BBQ was moved to the kitchen, which was not nearly as well ventilated, and quickly filled with smoke. The fan was already on, but it was not helping much.
They started to play music and we started to eat. There was a lot of food, and it was very good. =) Eggplant chips, salad, brocolli salad, kebabs, pork burgers, BBQ chicken wings, lemon pie and rice and bread.
The BBQ was a lot of fun, and I managed to get quite a few pictures of it. At one point a guy across the street in his room was watching the party for a while and due to people waving at him from the kitchen window he ended up coming over for some food as well.
After a few hours, when everyone began to disperse and go back to their rooms, me and Aly-Shah headed back as well.
Thanks for reading!
Pictures:
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| Furniture on Balcony | Cooking Eggplant Chips | Floormates Cooking |
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| Kitchen | Window to Balcony | BBQing in Kitchen |
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| Food | BBQ Chicken | Raining |
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| 12th floor Balcony | Eating in Smoke Filled Kitchen | Aly-Shah, Myung and Sean (Left to Right) |
Huh.. I guess there isn't a smoke alarm...
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