Birthday Celebrations

Yes, this post is about 10 days late.  Still worth blogging about it though.

I was talking to a friend in America the other day.  We both have blogs, and have a list of events to write about.  In fact we are both trying to learn a new language using Rosetta Stone.   After working all day, and being busy with after work activities, sometimes its just hard to sit down, put your writing cap on and blog… on the same note, it’s also a little tough to just jump in to Rosetta too.   Some days you just want to veg out to Hulu.   It was a nice observation that I wasn’t alone in that.

Back to bday.

I worked the day before , of and after.   I went to a local bakery that I saw a few days prior on the way to eat dinner at someones apartment.  I went on a mildly raining day (my bday) over lunch to pick up a cake.

Well come to find out the cakes are decorated on the spot, no premade ones available.  I started to use my translator on the phone to just ask for a small cake and this 19 year old said I can speak English.

Enough so to have a mild conversation at least.  He helped me order the cake, and picked the colors (although I wanted some purple in it..i got pink and yellow), and since Catherine wrote my name in chinese and I saved it, I got my name on the cake in chinese.

He said it would take 20 minutes because it was simple design ( no animals or roses made from frosting) and he knew I was going back to work.  I take my cake back to work in this nice round box and offer it to everyone at work.

They declined my cake.  I was hurt to say the least, but Ada the other translator ( now there are 3 of them: ada, Catherine and duan) told me it’s to early for cake, it needs to be a little darker.  So again I’m thinking, we get off at 5:30 and I don’t recall any of us “planning to hang out.”

Anyway, I let it go, and then after work before we all left I brought the cake out and it was a whole other thing.  They lit my candle, turned the lights down and sang happy birthday.  I cut the cake with assistance once I nearly dropped a piece and we all ate it.

Not a very sweet cake at all, which was surprising, because it looked like a drier white cake that I’m used to.  Oh well, still nice.

My buddy Chew Lu wanted to take me out so I text him the day before to make sure he was off work.   We go to one of the restaurants that have private rooms.  He drove us there and it was surrounded by water pond barriers.  I think they harvest fish and lotus at the place.

What was nice too, was that I snuck some sugar in my tea  LOL.  He had members of his family there to eat with and friends.  His niece was a good looking girl and spoke some English but lives in Shanghai doing her law degree. DARN!  And at dinner another attractive women was dining but no English but was a acupuncture doctor at the other hospital.

We had a goose for dinner along with shrimp and about 8 other dishes.  Rice is always served last, because its cheap and they want you to enjoy the expensive food.  They love that I can drink the baijou (white wine that is strong like and tastes like vodka or everclear or something).  You can drink 1-2 cups for a safe buzz feeling but anymore and WHAM you might be helped out.

Luckily, everyone here was drinking beer (my request).  Then we went for a drive through the town and saw some areas that I would not walk because just to far.  For instance, we saw the prison and the road that can take you to Thailand.

The night of my bday, Chew Lu came back to pick us up again.  I was like, hey alright. But since he paid the first night I was like hey, let’s do a small dinner. He said NO of course.

This time we made a detour to a local park and soccer field.  His team just finished placing 3rd place in the league and we watched the first half of the championship.  3 rdplace was 600 rmb and first was 3000rmb.

Right by the field is where we went eat.  These places are hidden and kind of dirty looking and then all of a sudden its like OH OKAY this place, should work out great.  This night it was new people, all ethnic group of HANI…. Chew lu is hani apparently not han.  diversity baby!

Then we met our hospital CEO and coworkers for karaoke. I did a few songs. Some rap, Brittany, dance etc.

Just the other day went eat with all the bosses and other, lots of food. Then back to Kvt. Guys had the shirts off dancing at some point to club music.. not my shirt though. One girl was dancing sexy and I was like wow haven’t seen that yet. Usually you try to dance and they get all conservative. A few people danced on the table and beer bottles were broken.
Anyway, they gave me a great bday overall and for that im thankful.