My Big Fat Chinese Birthday

Fun fact: I am officially an adult. 

At least, that’s what one of my fellow teachers told me last Thursday when I turned 22. If I had known that I wasn’t an adult until I’d survived 22 years on Earth, I might have made some different choices in the weeks leading up to this day and blamed it on my childish disposition in an effort to escape adult responsibility. Ah well. Maybe next year…

Anyway, this was my first birthday in China, or any foreign country for that matter, and I was a bit nervous in the days leading up to my birthday that it would just be another day that I’d teach, work, eat, work, and then sleep. Well, this was all foolish thinking on my part, because God definitely gave me a birthday to remember. 

The Night Before

Wednesday night, 3 foreign ladies (including myself) had a lovely dinner with 6 of our fellow Chinese teachers. These single Asian ladies hosted us graciously in their dorm, cooked an amazing dinner for us, and then gave me my first birthday surprise. 

After dinner was served, the hot tea was brought out (cause it’s China…duh). One of my friends asked if she could have some hot water and was told, “if we have electricity, you can have some.” Another Chinese lady mentioned that she hoped the power wouldn’t go out. As soon as these words were uttered, the room went dark. 

So, maybe I’m just slow, but my first thoughts were, “of course it would happen just as they are talking about it” and “I’m glad this doesn’t happen at our dorms.” Still dark, the door to the room was opened, and one of the women was in the hallway holding a tray with two lit candles that gradually bathed the room with light. My next thought was, “oh wow, she was prepared. This must happen all the time.”

It wasn’t until they started singing happy birthday to me that I realized that the tray held cupcakes and my first birthday surprise. I didn’t know these women too well and had met most of them for the first time at dinner that night, which made this special treat all the sweeter. If I was more of a female, I would have cried. (Note: this is a phrase that I will repeat at least 2 more times as I describe my actual birthday.)

My Birthday

The morning of my birthday was like any other day: I woke up, showered, got dressed, and ate a light breakfast before work. However, at one point during this routine I was alerted to my neighbor, Britney, in the hallway. She was taking pictures of something. I waited a few minutes and then opened the door to discover a plant of goodies she had left me to celebrate my special day. Needless to say, I walked to work with a smile on my face. 

On my way to the school building I passed several people who wished me a happy birthday, and one of Chinese teachers gave me a small blue bag and card from her and the other Chinese teacher (these talented ladies have the, often, arduous task of teaching me some China talking). 

Thursday is my busiest day. I teach 4 classes and have club after school, so I wasn’t expecting too much when I got to work that day. Boy, was I wrong. My middle school office desk (yes, I have two. One in the high school department and one in the middle school department) was littered with flowers, food, delicious muffins, and cards. Shortly after I arrived, one of my 8^th grade students appeared with a gift from her class. It was a beautiful silk scarf with Daniel Boone-esque characters all over it. (A bit strange? Perhaps. But I loved the gift and the thoughts behind it.) 

All of my kids and fellow teachers (except one) knew it was my birthday. I didn’t tell them. I think my boss spread the word a week in advance, and I was certainly not prepared for the love I would receive this day.  

And yes, I have wings...

 

                                     One of my students drew this...impressed? You should be.

I taught 12^th grade first that morning, and by midday, they had brought me a cookie and a card they had decorated. 10^th grade was my next class, and I always have fun with them…they might have spoiled me the most (at least, emotionally).

I walk into the class and the bring me this…

It’s a cake. They made me a cake out of construction paper. How creative is that?! Then they handed me a pop-up birthday card from the whole class and a square piece of paper. This square piece of paper had the date on it, and they urged me to write my name. I probably should mention that they have a birthday wall in their classroom where each student has a card with their name and their birth date. Yep. They made me my own card on their birthday wall. If I was more of a female, I would have cried.

I also received some notes from one of my students. When I was learning their names a couple weeks ago, I couldn’t remember hers and she made pantomimed “cute,” so I guessed that her name was cute. Note: her name is Nancy…not cute. Since then we’ve had a fun relationship, and she’s always urging me to smile. She drew me several pictures and wrote me a note (half in English and half in Chinese because she couldn’t fully express herself in English). 

 

Guess which one I am. 

I always have fun with the 10^th graders, and Thursday was no exception.

Both of my 8^th grade classes made me cards, and some of them wrote me notes in addition to the class card. It was adorable. If I was more of a female, I definitely would have cried.

Some other birthday blessings I received included cheesecake from a high school teacher and even more cheesecake that evening with two lovely ladies I had the pleasure of hanging out with for dinner. 

One of my musically gifted coworkers who lives on the floor beneath mine even serenaded me with the birthday song from the stairwell that night. It was so sweet! If I was more of a female…yeah, you guessed it. I would have cried. 

I was definitely blessed on my birthday by everyone around me. In addition to it being my favorite birthday in China (so far), I have to say it ranks as one of my best birthdays so far in my young life.

In fact, I even got a date on my birthday.