This year I knew the celebration would be different. I've only been in the UK for two weeks, everyone in the program is just starting to get more comfortable with one another, and we all had lecture at 9am the next morning. When I got to class yesterday, the class surprised me with a Rahl Dahl chocolate cake with my name spelled out in marshmallows and an eye for detail in the 'Canadian flag' placed directly over the 'i':
Postgraduate students are very crafty! So after the obligatory singing of Happy Birthday we shared cake throughout the lecture. After class I took the afternoon to myself and left the readings at home. I grabbed lunch on campus and took advantage of what was a pretty gorgeous day - we sat down for a tea in the afternoon in a pseudo quad area of campus. After a nap to prep for the evening events I made a quick dinner. We headed to this campus bar called 'The Varsity' (how sporty!) where on Thursdays it is 1£ pint night. Needless to say, our early arrival (7pm, early by anyone's standards) proved to be a wise move as the bar filled up quite quickly. This is the place to be on Thursdays. The other benefit of 1£ pints was that I obviously didn't have to pay for a drink. Now, this is normal birthday etiquette of course but with drinks being merely one quid I didn't feel guilty that everyone else was footing the bill. They had no excuse!
The feature of the birthday for me was that it was the first time EVERYONE in the MAIPR group had come out to socialize. That means I have the honour of saying that 11 countries were represented at the party. I couldn't picture a more interesting way to spend my birthday. The HB song was sung in Spanish by the time everyone had a few pints in them and the girls from Peru and Mexico wanted to share. We played a few 'beverage sipping related games' at the bar which were a new experience for some of the students. The night slipped into revelry and festival while thankfully avoiding a debaucherous outcome.
Now I've usually had class the morning after my birthday and this year was no exception. In fact, I remember two years ago that I had an 8:30am Canadian Theatre class with Craig the day after my birthday. That year the 295 girls threw a big jam as everyone got back from Thanksgiving. My dear friend Emily, being the social activist that she is, decided that it was an injustice that I'd be subject to such an early class the morning after my 22nd celebrations. So, taking matters in her own hands, she sat down and wrote a very professional email to our professor from the party informing him that I most likely not be in attendance. Why weren't you here to write me an email, Em??
In all honesty, this morning wouldn't have been so bad had I been able to wake up at my own pace. It just so happened to be the morning that the good old Heronbank residence staff decided to have our term fire alarm test. Now I'm all for being proactive when it comes to fighting fires (don't hate on Smokey) but a 7:30am fire alarm on a Friday morning is just plain punishment. I wasn't impressed.
Luckily the day was a productive one (class 9:00am -5:00pm) and everyone was really happy to have used my birthday as an excuse to socialize together for the first time. Thank you to everyone back home who sent emails, e-cards, fbook msgs, wall posts, and even a card in the mail from an extremely thoughtful friend. I will get back to all of you soon! Yesterday was the absolute best birthday I could have hoped for in a new land, but the absence of friends and family was a reminder of the wonderful network of people I have back home. I missed you all but took comfort in the fact that you were thinking about me sometime during your day.
Doc's Prescription for the Day: The office is closed for post-birthday recovery.
1 comment:
i almost forgot about that 295 jam! what a great night..
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