Feliz Birthday A Mi!

21 years on this earth so far, and I still feel like a kid sometimes. In perspective, I have used up one-fourth of my life. But I don't think I have done too bad for myself. And it is exciting to think of the 60-or-so years I have left and all the different things I can do with them. I am already thinking about where I am going to ship myself off to next summer, and hopefully bring my sister with me. World, look out.

So yesterday was my birthday, and it started off with a bang. Literally. At 7:00am, I woke up to the sound of some really loud firecrackers. I thought, "Who in the heck is shooting fireworks in the street at this hour?" There is no sort of noise pollution law here in Lampa, and so I didn't think much more about it. Loudness in the morning is fairly common. I had just rolled over to go back to sleep when all of a sudden, music and singing voices started right outside my bedroom door. Then I remembered that it was my birthday, and this was probably some ploy Dave and Wade cooked up to give me a hard time. So I got myself out of bed and cracked the door open. My entire hostel family was standing outside my room, singing and holding a cake that said "Feliz Dia Yenny." I just started laughing and couldn't believe what was happening. The fireworks were thanks to Senor Mendez, our giddy hostel owner. Then they sang Happy Birthday to me in both English and Spanish. It was great. Everyone came around and gave me a hug, while I tried not to breathe on them with my morning breath. Then the senoras brought up hot chocolate and we all sat around the table and had cake for breakfast. They later told me that, traditionally, Peruvians smash eggs and pour flour on the head of the birthday person during the hug line. I was both relieved and a little disappointed that they chose to forego this part on my behalf. I have heard that raw eggs are good for your hair.

After everyone left to let us get ready for the day, we sat around and laughed for about an hour, and then headed to Moquegache. The ride out was nice and I sang Happy Birthday to myself the whole way. When we got there, the teacher told us to wait because the kids were doing something special and had visitor teacher in their class today. We finally got to read the Jonah story to littlest kids, who really didn't pay a whole lot of attention. We didn't get visit the older kids, and after waiting around awhile, we decided to just head back to Lampa. When we got back to the hostel, the senoras told us that they were cooking lunch for us, which they have never done before. Lunch was green soup with macaroni noodles in it, alpaca, potatoes, and something called pastel de semola which was very close to good ole southern cornbread. Wow, it was delicious, and free! After we finished eating, we packed and headed for Huancane to visit Rick and Kelly.

So now I am here at Rick's computer, hanging out with the coolest little kids in the world, Elijah, Olivia, and Gabriela, and digesting pancakes, lomo saltado, and more birthday cake. It is good to relax and be warm and clean. Only a few days left till more gringos arrive from Georgia. It has been a good summer so far, and even though I am looking forward to going home to Alabama, I still am a little sad about the thought of leaving. Senor Mendez says that Wade, Dave, and I are like a part of his family now. This little life we have made in the mountains of southern Peru, however uncomfortable it may be, will be missed. Maybe I'll come back someday with a family of my own. Wow, what a weird thought. Ok, that's enough for now. I am going to go eat some more cake. Chau!