Housewarming Party at Cara & Clay's in Wanyan, Gagil, Yap, Micronesia
Saturday afternoon brought the chance to go out to Cara and Clay's house on the beach. They finally got their possessions all moved in and have everything set up to host guests, so they invited a large part of the American community over for drinks and tacos.
The early star of the party was Dharma Perkins. So much has been happening the last 3 weeks that I haven't mentioned that our friends Ross (the American former PCV who teaches and DJs the radio show) and Sandy (Yapese raised-by-Japanese family) had a baby girl on the day after Christmas. Sandy was having contractions for 3 DAYS before they finally got her going. Dharma was premature (about 6 weeks) but perfectly healthy, and has grown from 5 lbs, 1 oz to 5 lb 8 oz in 18 days. She is still very tiny and cute. Sandy looks wonderful and was happy to show her off. Ross is thrilled, of course.
So the house is perfect for hosting now. They played bluegrass and roots rock mp3s on the stereo. They set up a dart board in the dining room, lots of couch and floor cushion space, a dining room table, 3 rooms, etc. Rick and Cindy and their 4 teenagers were pitching horseshoes and footballs down on the beach. We were on the second floor 15 feet up, so even though we were under a Tsunami Warning from an 8.4-magnitude Japanese earthquake, we didn't worry much.
Cindy made homemade fried corn chips and chili dip, which we all ravaged. A little later, Chas, Cynthia, Hannah and Shawn arrived with Larry, a new divemaster for Traders' Ridge from San Diego. He and I got along and I may get to learn some deep diving from him. Tracy was the last to arrive before we ate the delicious tacos. Cara laid out a full spread, featuring fish tacos (from large chunks of wahoo) and beef tacos with all the toppings (even Monterrey Jack cheese); I had one of each. Cindy also brought a couple of pies and cupcakes, which were consumed eagerly. I ate a huge bit of pecan pie. Most of us gathered around the table swapping stories for a long time.
Great party. We were exhausted when we got home after the 35-minute drive.
The early star of the party was Dharma Perkins. So much has been happening the last 3 weeks that I haven't mentioned that our friends Ross (the American former PCV who teaches and DJs the radio show) and Sandy (Yapese raised-by-Japanese family) had a baby girl on the day after Christmas. Sandy was having contractions for 3 DAYS before they finally got her going. Dharma was premature (about 6 weeks) but perfectly healthy, and has grown from 5 lbs, 1 oz to 5 lb 8 oz in 18 days. She is still very tiny and cute. Sandy looks wonderful and was happy to show her off. Ross is thrilled, of course.
So the house is perfect for hosting now. They played bluegrass and roots rock mp3s on the stereo. They set up a dart board in the dining room, lots of couch and floor cushion space, a dining room table, 3 rooms, etc. Rick and Cindy and their 4 teenagers were pitching horseshoes and footballs down on the beach. We were on the second floor 15 feet up, so even though we were under a Tsunami Warning from an 8.4-magnitude Japanese earthquake, we didn't worry much.
Cindy made homemade fried corn chips and chili dip, which we all ravaged. A little later, Chas, Cynthia, Hannah and Shawn arrived with Larry, a new divemaster for Traders' Ridge from San Diego. He and I got along and I may get to learn some deep diving from him. Tracy was the last to arrive before we ate the delicious tacos. Cara laid out a full spread, featuring fish tacos (from large chunks of wahoo) and beef tacos with all the toppings (even Monterrey Jack cheese); I had one of each. Cindy also brought a couple of pies and cupcakes, which were consumed eagerly. I ate a huge bit of pecan pie. Most of us gathered around the table swapping stories for a long time.
Great party. We were exhausted when we got home after the 35-minute drive.