June 17 and 18-My Birthday!

Sunday

Today I came into San Isidro from Sabana Larga in order to call my dad for father’s day. I also wanted to catch up with the world and use the internet a little bit. Ubania also wanted to come to the office and spend some time with me. She showed up around 1pm with a bunch of fingernail polish and did my nails in preparation for my birthday. They look almost professional! She is really creative, and we had a pretty good time while she was painting.

My manicure

Monday

Well today is my 22^nd birthday. I got up around 5, which is considered sleeping in when living in the country. My host family fed me a really big breakfast and everyone gave me hugs. They then presented me with a birthday cake to take with me to work. It was one of the cakes that we made together on Saturday, but they had made a “frosting” out of milk, rum, cinnamon, and raisins. It was so kind and unexpected that I thought I was going to cry.

Me with my birthday cake at the office

We all went to San Isidro together because everyone had errands to run. When we arrived, they got me a bike taxi to take the four blocks to the office since the cake was heavy according to them. It was very nice. Unfortunately, I had about a 7 hour meeting to sit through. Every Monday, everyone from the office gets together for a meeting in the morning to plan for the week. However, this one was very in depth (and long winded) and took a very long time. About 3 hours in we took a break for cake, then two hours later we had lunch, and met for two more hours.

Then after work, everyone was still sticking around. I figured something was up when three guys showed up on motorcycles with guitars, and Ubania sent me a message to tell me to wear my new dress (even though no one else was dressed up). Around 6, Ubania and some other people showed up and the party started. It was a party for both of us since it was also Ubania’s birthday. There was a Mariachi band, appetizers, ice cream, and even little gifts. It was a really great time.

Everyone from the office plus Brittany and Ubania

Ubania and I