Birthday Abroad

Two is my lucky number. Last week, I turned 22. That's two twos, double the luck. I had two birthday parties and two memorable nights.

On the actual day of my birthday, I had all my friends from our little town over for dinner. We prepared some of my favorite dishes: a quiche Lorraine, red peppers glazed with sugar and almonds, baked fennel, a chocolate cake, a chocolate and pear pie, and an Italian dessert that literally translated means "chocolate salami." Which, by the way, reminds me that I should mention that my knowledge of the kitchen has exponentially expanded during these past couple of months in France. I've learned so many secret recipes, especially Italian ones, and feel as though I can accurately measure things by the eye now. When I get back to the States, I'll host one big dinner party and invite you all so that you can sample all these things! We also played beer pong and I realized that I'm a bit rusty...which only reinforces the fact that I'm no longer a college student, and that makes me slightly sad.

The weekend after my birthday, I was off to Grenoble with a couple of friends because there's nothing to do in Romans. After a full day of shopping, we had a get-together at my friend's place and tons of people showed up, both French and English speakers. My friend baked cupcakes and glazed them with homemade frosting, which really made my day because I love cupcakes!!! But they don't exist in France. And finally, we hit the streets and I was relieved to experience some sort of nightlife, which is nonexistent in Romans.

I received a ton of presents, more than my last birthday and Christmas combined. And they all came from people I've known only since October or later. They weren't just any kind of presents--thought was put into each of them and that made me feel very special. I now own a couple of full-color books on France and this region, a French recipe book for chocolate addicts, slippers so that I'm not walking around barefoot all the time and stepping on shards of glass, the Spiceworld DVD in French, a pretty, colorful necklace stand, a 250-piece kid's puzzle of Europe, and many more.

My 21st year has definitely been my best so far. In the year of 2007, I legally had a drink (or two...or a few dozen), earned a college degree, gained some experience in my field through the internship I did over the summer, explored the South (of the US) and a bit of the Appalachians, discovered my love for rock climbing, moved to a foreign country, traveled around Europe, made friends from around the world, pierced my nose (it closed up already though, but it was pretty rebellious for a girl like me!), had a few romantic escapades, and so much more. 22 has a lot to live up to!