My Birthday!

Thank you all for wishing me a happy birthday!  My birthday here was an extended celebration.  Saturday night we had a joint party at a friend's house.  The joint birthday party was for me and my friend Sujin who happens to be almost exactly the same age as me.  I was born in the afternoon of  March 11 in the US, and he was born March 12 in Korea.  They're the same day!  And the house we were at has an oven!  A real one!  As a treat to myself I baked chocolate chip cookies!  My first batch was gone before it cooled down.  The birthday cakes you buy here are interesting.  They have a whipped cream based icing (they don't have cream cheese icing here!) and its topped with fruit.  There is fruit between the layers too.  They come with candles and streamers that pop.  My friends here gave me a pretty bag, a neck pillow, and little cacti!  Sujin gave Riley and I a good luck charm for couples from China.

My actual birthday on Sunday was a normal Sunday, but it was a nice Sunday.  I opened birthday cards from home (Thank you Laura and Grandmother and Grandaddy!).  I had another cake at a bible study we go to. 

Monday I got a present from home!  Thank you Mom and Dad!  Hershey's is expensive here, and grits are impossible to find. 

Tuesday started normal, but Riley had told me not to make plans that night.  I have to admit he succeeded in surprising me.  He took me to a basement Indian restaurant.  There were cloth chandeliers, and we sat on big, purple couches.  It had atmosphere and the food was delicious!  I have a theory that ethnic food tastes better the closer geographically you are to the country of origin.  Afterwards we went to the Olive Garden, except the one they have here is a locally owned pie place.  I had apple and Riley had pumpkin with Ginseng Tea.  So ends my 4-day birthday!