10/08/09 Feliz Cumpleaños, indeed!

Like every day before, I jumped out of bed at 5:59, one minute before my alarm was set to sound a now-familiar island tune. I was greeted with hugs from Marjory and Rafael, and a rousing rendition of "Cumpleaños Feliz" from Eduardo.  Of course, today I got to dress rather casual, because the whole school was bound for Puembo, a city East of Quito.  They had planned a special picnic for the students on a farm owned by the Episcopal Church.  Three volunteers from a university in Quito came along to lead some games.


Before we loaded on the bus, word spread that it was my birthday.  My students were very excited, and very sweet, and greeted me with many wishes for a happy birthday.  Marcia, a seventh-grader, gave me a nice key chain, and Ali, my cousin and another seventh-grader at the school, had made a candle for me, which was accompanied by lots of delicious chocolates.  Camila, yet another seventh-grader, gave me some more candy, while a fifth-grader, Steve, who speaks English fairly well promised to buy me an Xbox game since I told him I have a 360 in the States.  Don't worry though, they're only a dollar here.

After a tour of the farm and some games, the whole school sang Happy Birthday in Spanish and then in English.  I had a chance to talk with the volunteers during lunch.  They spoke English and wanted me to speak it, but I kept using Spanish, or at least Spanglish.  One of them was studying French and continued to speak Spench.  It was quite a conversation.

After some time, we returned to the cathedral where the other professors surprised me with a cake.  They also sang "Cumpleaños Feliz," and had me take a bite out of the entire cake, which I guess is a tradition here.

Eduardo and I went home to another lunch of hamburger (no bun), papas fritas (homemade french fries), avocado and tomato.  I can only assume this dish was picked to make me feel more at home.  EVERYONE thinks that all Americans eat is hamburgers.  We need to do something about this people!

Rosa, my Spanish tutor arrived at 3, but I told her we'd have a brief lesson because another present was coming over Skype at 4:30.  After 8 days of practically no communication, Jude was able to call.  Enough said.

I also talked to my aunt Karen, who shares the October 8th birthday (along with Chevy Chase and Matt Damon).

While I was going through some pictures of the day, Patty and her daughter (neighbors from downstairs) called out "Andrecito" and presented me with a chocolate cake.  We ate it the next morning for breakfast. Delicious.

Pablo and Erika came over with loads of food, and Camila and Amelia, of course.  They barbecued chicken, pork, and two kinds of sausage up on the roof.  I ate all of the above along with corn-on-the-cob, potatoes, and a salad of tomatoes and avocados.

Tomorrow is Rafa's birthday, so I'll return from my first night of house-sitting for Chris and Trish, who are in the United States for a couple weeks, tomorrow for another, probably smaller birthday celebration.