I'm So Glad I Was Born.

Yesterday (Jan. 22 or 22/1 depending on where you live) was my birthday. And, as I told my friends numerous times that day, I LOVE my birthday! Not because it's MY day (thought it could partially be that) but because it is an excuse for awesome things to happen. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't need an excuse. But some other people do. So it makes it easier for them.

Also, I'm a planner by trade. It's just what I do: I organize, I administer, I schedule. And I ALWAYS plan something epic for my birthday. However, this year, for my 21st birthday, I'm in France. Which makes this slightly harder. But with the help of my lovely friends - Stephanie, Jeanette, Katy, and others - a party was planned.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. I started off my first day of being 21 by sleeping until 10. I then made myself a cappuccino and did absolutely nothing besides drink that and spend time with Jesus until 1.

My dear friend, Chris, has been in Montpellier since September. We've had a little contact here and there, but now that I'm in Montpellier also, we wanted to get together to catch up. So at 1 I went out for coffee with Chris. I - of course- got a caramel macchiato, though it was the French version. AND IT WAS AMAZING. After 3 hours of great conversation, we decided to call it quits, as we both had a party to attend later that evening. Coincidence? I think not.

So I came home, made myself some food, then called my sister. I was able to talk to her for 40 minutes without being disconnected! It was a wonderful birthday blessing. I also got to Skype with my friend, Chao, for 20 minutes. I had to cut that short, however, because I'd told my friend, Aaron, that I'd be calling at a certain time. And the time had come. Anyway, sorry for all the name dropping. But that's just how I tell stories. Trust me, it'd be way more confusing if I said boy 1, boy 2, boy 3. Maybe. Or you'd just think I was being mysterious. Which I'm not. Though apparently, I'm elegant? According to Chao. ANYWAY.

I call Aaron and proceed to have a wonderful theological conversation for the next hour and a half or so. Now, for those of you that don't know me, I'm going to clue you in. I love talking about theology. I love the tangents that are possible. Ones that may not matter that much, but they sure are fun to talk about. So anyway, Aaron's gift to me on my birthday was a head-asploding (SBEmail anyone?) spiritual talk. AWESOME.

After that, I had to hurry and get ready and walk to Steph, Jeanette, and Katy's apartment. Which I did without incident. Jeanette wasn't feeling well so she was at a friend's place to rest, but shortly after I got there, others started to arrive. Who arrived first? Men. French men. Like 8 French men. What?!? I was overwhelmed. I think Stephanie and Katy were, too. So we sent them into another room. Haha. Actually, Philippe decided to start a game, so he led them into another room graciously. Others (men and women, thankfully) arrived eventually, though, and the party began. Again?

There was a lot of food, a bilingual cake ( :) ), Goo Goo dolls on the stereo/iPod device, and lots of game playing. People played Settlers of Catan, the French version of Mafia (I played. In French. OMW that was hard.), Wanted (aka Bang), Atomic Business (WTHeck?), charades, and this other card game that I don't know the name of. There were tons of people there! Some of them I knew, but some of them I just met last night. They were great, though. Oh, and Adam came! I met him this summer and haven't seen him since. So that was exciting! We were all jam-packed in this tiny little apartment, but I wouldn't have had it any other way.

The last person left around 2ish, and since I didn't want to walk home at that time, I slept in the ladies' guest room. I then proceeded to do the ol' Walk of Shame home early the next morning so I could shower, change clothes, and go to church. I felt judged by a lot of French people. Not really. But it was odd to do the Walk of Shame in another country. Next time, I'm taking a change of clothes with me. Just to be safe.

I loved my 21st birthday. And they'll just be getting better from here on out. I'm sure of it.

Love.