I'll admit, my birthday started out a bit shaky. With a restless night in the top bunk (which included two descents to go to the bathroom) and a sub-par run, the day only improved. Apparently, when you have facebook, everyone remembers your birthday. I've never received so many well wishes on July 3 (unless you could the 200 boys who sang to me in 2004 and 2005). We went on a tour of some churches in Leon and got to go on the roof of the Cathedral. It was so beautiful up there. I never knew that Leon had so many trees. From the roof, we could see all the churches in the city and about half a dozen volcanoes.
Lunch today was a great. We went to my favorite place--La Olla Quemada. They served the vegetarians (it's just easier than trying to figure out how to be kosher) spinach and cheese quesadillas (they probably have another word for this) with a huge slice of avocado and pina jugo (pineapple juice). I was in heaven.
After lunch, I started the family phone calls. Skype really is great if you're abroad. At 2 cents a minute from here to the US, I got a lot of good talk time. After dinner, everyone sang "Felix Cumpleanos" and there was a big tres leches cake (the only dessert I've had here, so hence, it is my favorite) with 28 candles. Thankfully, I was sitting under a ceiling fan, which blew out 26 of the candles before I had the chance.
After dinner, we had a cultural performance scheduled. It was the best thing we've done so far...lots of Nicaraguan dancing and singing. It made my birthday end on a great note. When all the Nicas were done, some of our kids got up. One of our girls did Tihitian dancing. She pulled me up on stage to dance with her. I definitely have hips more suited for Chubby Checker. She was awesome at it though. Then a few girls did Irish dance and some people sang and beat-boxed (I don't think that's a verb). It was too much fun. I am off to bed...hopefully I get a good night sleep and a better run tomorrow. Thanks for all the fun birthday notes today! You all definitely made it easier to be in Nicaragua on my birthday.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
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1 comment:
YAY what a fun day full of new memories. It goes down in the books because it was so distinct from the rest. what i love about birthdays abroad is that everyone does such an amazing job of making you feel special even though you are away from home. I think it's probably just as fun for them to put a smile on your face, too. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Maestra!
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