The Week's Tales, Part 4

And now for Wednesday, my birthday! A few months ago when I knew I'd be in London for the summer, I wasn't sure how my birthday would work out. Would I be working? Would my flatmates care to celebrate with me? What if nothing happened? By the end of the night on Wednesday, I was blown away.

First off, I didn't have to work. Fantastic! I spent all morning and afternoon reading the twenty (Yes, twenty!!) ecards from my family, webcamming with Mom, Ben, and Ellen, and figuring out what to do about the broken computer. It was nice just to sit after many days of running around. Katie Beth, my friend from the BSU at Truman, was arriving for Session II that morning, and we had planned to meet up at 6 PM. I was so excited to see her! Finally, someone I knew!! She brought me a birthday card and some earplugs and a little American flag to put on the wall by my bed next to my collection of postcards from all the places I've been. We chatted for a little while about her trip and then went off to the Tube station to get her an oyster card and tube map (oyster cards are pay-as-you-go cards for riding and reduce one-way fares from £4 to £1.50).

And now for the birthday bash I had planned! You see, on my second day here, we went on a coach tour of central London and as we passed Piccadilly Circus and kept driving, I noticed a thoroughly awesome restaurant called 'The Texas Embassy', which was especially cool because we had passed so many other embassies during the ride. I decided then and there that I wanted to eat there for my birthday having been born in Texas after all. So last weekend, I made reservations for 7:30 and anticipated the awesomeness to come.

And come it sure did! As we sat down to our table, Jenni, one of my flatmates originally from Dallas, said she felt right at home with the decor and atmosphere. And I decided that although we were technically in London, the Texas Embassy was on Texan soil as far I was concerned. And the menu! Tex-Mex with a little barbecue and Southern thrown in. Because I can make Mexican food at the flat, I decided on something I definitely can't cook in our kitchen-- barbecue spare ribs and brisket! Ahh, very nice. With a side of mashed potatoes and Tex-Mex corn, I was good to go. I even ordered my first soda in a restaurant since being here! Yeah, Coke! With lots of ice!! And free refills!!! Glory!

Katie Beth was getting pretty tired since it was her first day and all, so I wanted to accompany her back to her flat (which was the same one my professor stayed in for the last three weeks...awkward...). But before we got the ticket, I noticed lots of looks going from flatmate to flatmate and what looked to be something changing hands under the table. Lo and behold, two cards appeared! Aww! It was a wonderful end to our meal.

As we got back to the flat, they shooed me away from the kitchen while Michelle kept me occupied with the UK's version of The Apprentice. They finally let me into the kitchen where a birthday cake with twenty lit candles was waiting. !!! I was so happy! We closed the kitchen door so the smoke alarm wouldn't go off, and it took me a few tries to get through all those candles. I cut the white raspberry cake into six pieces after our group picture (which will be up on facebook), and we all chowed down.

Such wonderful friends and family! I wasn't expecting much for this birthday because I'm abroad, but it turned out far, far better than I had hoped. In fact, it was probably one of my more favorite ones because everyone worked so hard to make it special. And I've only known these girls for (then) 3.5 weeks! Thank You, God!

And so my birthday ended on a wonderful note. I was full (stuffed, really) for the first time since being in London, and it was probably the happiest day I've had here so far. It was so great, I loved it so much!