Last Monday morning, I begrudgingly put on my shoes and wool hat (it’s COLD here), thinking I was leaving to talk to the hotel manager about payment. Instead, I found my whole team PLUS four other squadmates who made the 1.5-hour drive to our little mountain town for the day.
They took me to a park with a series of beautiful little waterfalls WITH a water-powered merry-go-round (that was probably only for ages 5 and under, but they made an exception for us hehe). We all went out to lunch afterwards. The day was full of laughter, good food, and quality time. And the fact that they all gave up their day off was the best gift of all.
The next day (my actual birthday… well kind of, we’re still 12.5 hours ahead), my teammates surprised me with sweet cards and treats. Mallorie brought her iPad to breakfast and showed me videos from my old teammates in Laos. I listened to the lovely musical stylings of my parents and sister over FaceTime. Then, Irene surprised me with a video edited by my sister; this one was a compilation of family and friends wishing me a happy birthday. I watched it twice in a row—it made me laugh and cry all at once.
Then, we rented bikes and rode to a restaurant on a lake. The bikes were rickety and scary but we survived the ride, which included an challenging, trafficky roundabout.
At the children’s home later that day, the kids sang “Happy Birthday” in English and showered me in something I can only describe as soapy snow from a can (maybe Burmese silly string?). On our way home, the staff brought us to a cake and ice cream shop. We tried weird, colorful Burmese treats and it was awesome.
It wasn’t a fancy birthday by any means. But who could have guessed I would turn 23 in Myanmar?! And in the company of such thoughtful people? I felt very loved.
Also, thank you for your thoughtful words and wishes all the way from the U.S.!
