Feliz Cumpleaños
My birthday has come and gone and I’ve been 20 for about a week now. I wasn’t particularly excited for my birthday this year because a) 20 is pretty insignificant, and b) I’ve had lots of other stuff on my mind, like my upcoming trip to Scotland (I leave tomorrow)! I kept meaning to post last week but I was busy practically every minute. Insignificant as the number is, my 20th birthday was probably one of the best I’ve ever had. I kicked off the week with pub quiz at Hannigan’s on Monday night, followed by a few drinks at a wine bar to celebrate my birthday exactly at midnight.
My actually birthday was busy but fun. I got to sleep in because I don’t have class until 3:30 in the afternoon on Tuesdays and Thursdays (jealous?) and don’t have to be anywhere before 11 on Tuesdays, which is when I go to English classes at a high school. It was supposed to rain on my birthday (the weather has been HORRIBLE) but I got the best birthday present of all: sun! The half hour walk to the high school wasn’t so bad with the nice weather; plus, the 12-year-olds in my group sang happy birthday to me (in English!) when they asked me how old I was and I responded “20 today.” I’ve enjoyed having conversations with the students: they’re all really funny and nice.
After lunch and class I made time to skype with the familly. It was awesome because I’d received a huge 10-pound package from them that morning filled with Valentine’s Day sweets and birthday cards and could thank them in person. Around 6 I went to a tetería in the Albaicín neighborhood with some friends from the program. I ended up ordering té iraqí, which is flavored with roses! When we finished, a bunch of people decided to go a tapas bar for a pre-dinner snack. It was my birthday so I couldn’t refuse! Finally I made it home for dinner around 10. My day didn’t end there though! I met up with more friends at 11 to go to a really swanky, upscale bar in Puerta Real, called Aliatar. Drinks were a little pricey – my mojito (first ever!) was 7 euros – but it was worth it. Plus there was live music. All in all it was a long but awesome day.
