When You're 23...

My birthday in China was totally awesome. Even though the rainy weather ruined my plans to go to Xuanwu Lake, I still had a wonderful day. I got a great massage then went out to dinner at an amazing Italian restaurant (I would argue it’s the best Western restaurant in Nanjing) and the owner gave us free champagne. Afterward, we did KTV karaoke and I may or may not have come home close to sunrise. Of course, we sang “What’s My Age Again?” by Blink 182… nobody likes you when you’re 23… I hope that’s not true.

Natalie and Lela

Singing "Lady Marmalade"

I'm not a huge impulse buyer (except when it comes to clothes, of course) but my friend has a Polaroid camera and it's awesome so... I bought myself one!

Champagne

Drake and Liz at KTV

Somehow many of my students learned it was my birthday, so they were sweet and gave me cards and one even gave me a little gift! It's a little stuffed animal keychain. She told me it was named "number 7" (七号) because it's from a cartoon TV show? Whatever. It was so sweet.

The Monday after my birthday, the officials at NDFZ had a fancy going away/birthday lunch for me (and Sophie.) Fang Laoshi bought me an enormous, extremely heavy cake. How do I know it’s so heavy? Because I held it for what felt like hours through all the ceremonial pictures that were taken after I blew out the candles.

The cake

All I wanted was one picture!

Then we took a thousand

Then a vice principal thought this background would be nicer
(me and my tutor)

My cheeks (face-cheeks, of course) were a lot of pain

Cake and crayfish, a delicious combination!
Not.

The meal was incredibly delicious, and since Sophie and I were the guests of honor, food kept magically appearing on our plates as the officials kept encouraging us to eat more. This became a problem at the end of the meal (after the cake) when the final “soup” came out (sometimes its noodle soup, I’ve also had mushroom soup.) At first, the waitresses passed by me and gave the small noodle bowls to everyone else. I breathed a sigh of relief. Little did I know that I had been passed over because I was getting a giant bowl of “long life” noodles, a Chinese tradition in which the birthday girl or boy finishes a large bowl of noodles so that they can live a long and healthy life. I only at a few of my noodles, I hope that’s not a bad omen!

Long life noodles

Our banquet table

Me, Fang Laoshi, Sophie

In China, newborns are considered to be 1 years old, so technically by Chinese standards I’m 24. So, a very Happy 23^rd/24^th Birthday to me!