Birthday Party!

Tripp has a natural gift of making friends with everyone he meets, so it didn’t really surprise me to hear we had been invited to a party at one of his student’s homes last Saturday night. We arrived at the rooftop terrace apartment to find the kids were already asleep—we had actually been asked to the mother’s birthday! I was very excited and flattered to be included. All the apartment complexes in their area are low rise buildings, because the old airport was located there. I have seen pictures of jets landing between buildings, and it is amazing to think how narrow the squeeze was. They say if you were on a plane coming into Hong Kong, you literally could look out your passenger window and peer into someone’s kitchen while they are having breakfast. Now the airport has been moved onto reclaimed land on Lantau Island, leaving the area quiet with tree lined streets and not a lot of the city sounds we are now used to.

The hosts were extremely gracious and kind. They spent time chatting at length with Tripp and I, introducing us to all their guests, and brushing off the incident when I dropped two sets of chopsticks on the patio within a five minute window. Mrs. Tin is originally from Vietnam and created all the food for her party with an amazing array of traditional Vietnamese food. We sampled lettuce wraps with hoisin sauce, chili prawns over cucumber, and two noodle based dishes, one hot, one cold. There were Christmas lights illuminating the terrace, and they were playing the latest American Top 40 hits. All the guests were perfectly fluent in English (some expats there as well) and we had a great time.

After the party, Tripp and I made our way via taxi to Knutsford Terrace, a row of upscale pubs, outdoor restaurants, and unqiue shops. The weather is feeling breezy and starting to cool off, so we had a blast hanging out in the open air and people watching. Only thing that would have made it better is if you all could join us!!