Brad had his big 24 this week and decided that an All America Birthday Bash was the only way to go. A quick rundown of the drama that ensued and then the final outcome.

He informed his school of his intention and got permission to use the school’s kitchen provided he bought all the food. He teaches at a non boarding elementary school which is deserted on the weekends. His original guest list included 30 odd people, why else would he need a cafeteria sized kitchen for preparation.

Come Party day, or rather the hour before the party was to start, his school was shocked to discover the number expected and refused to let him have that many people on the school grounds. Mind you this was after all the food was bought and prepared. After a rather heated discussion, the school agreed to pay for a restaurant close by. We got permission to bring the American food and set up the BBQ on the restaurant’s roof to grill the hamburgers.

After a million texts and rearrangments the group who had already arrived at the school headed to the restaurant sending instructions to the rest of the group. We were a lively bunch and trucking all the food up three flights of stairs was no small feat.

Real American BBQ food..delicious! The Birthday Boy! Hamburgers anyone?

 

 
Brad and Christine spent all morning making the BBQ classics.
Fruit Salad — Check
Potato Salad — Check
Coleslaw — Check
Potato Chips — Check
 
Yup it was all there.
 
 

Plenty of pasta salad

 The Chinese guests who came were not fond of the American food. Luckily for them the school purchased a round of Chinese dishes that they feasted on.

'all the fixin's

 

Large thick homemade hamburgers with all the fixings. Not too many things can beat that.

The ultimate Chinglish shirt

Okay I’ve got to explain the Chinglish Shirt. So you know how in America its cool to get tattoos of Chinese characters, well in China it’s cool to wear clothing with letters on it. And just as the Chinese characters most people get permanently tattooed on their bodies make little sense the lettered clothing here makes even less sense!
 Brad is trying to accumulate a collection of Chinglish shirts to sport during his summer home in California. This shirt contains a string of incoherent misspelled words that I’ve yet to see topped!

Firecrackers inside...where were the waiters to stop this?