My Birthday and more...

I had the immense pleasure of celebrating my birthday in the winter this week!  My mom pointed it out to me that this will probably be the only time it will happen (for a while at least).  Indeed, I had to wake up and put on my winter jacket to go to class, instead of the usual summery clothes I get to wear back in Minnesota on my birthday.  Must I say that swimsuits are overrated! J  I had a pretty low key afternoon of skyping friends and family back in the states. Later, I had a little pizza and game party and then had cake with a bunch of my friends!  I learned how to play Jungle Speed…and let’s just say I was not as talented as I normally am (hahaha).  They didn’t even show me compassion on my birthday as I lost quite frequently…good thing I am not a sore loser!!! It’s basically a game of really quick reaction time based on shapes and colors.  Whoa and epiphany right here!  The guy who won that game was colorblind, just goes to show that anything is possible!  Then, several of my friends and I went to this café on the campus for a DJ competition.  It was a very nice way to ring in my 19^th year of living!  I don’t feel so much like the baby here anymore…and everyone reminded me that this is the best year, because next year will be twenty (EEEK!!!).  I still sometimes think that I am in no way mature enough to handle twenty, but I still have 300+ days to come to terms with that.  I appreciate everyone thinking of me on my birthday anyway! 

The lovely chocolate cake Ann made for me!

Take one...group photo.

Much better! Take two.  

I received some mail this week!!! I have been waiting for it to come forever and I told all my flat mates to look out for it.  Chelsea came into my room with a letter and my face just lit up!  My little sister Brynn wrote me the randomest letter ever, drew me a birthday picture, and sent along a quarter (I’m rich!).  I got a little teary-eyed…it made me miss her!  Other than that, I haven’t really gotten a bad bout of homesickness yet.  It’s been almost a month here…so crazy how fast time goes by!  I don’t think I will want to leave here in 4 months.  Time REALLY needs to slow down!!!

Yay! I was so happy :)

My neighbors and I also played some rugby this weekend.  We met up with a bunch of people at the local high school high school field, and I was one of 3 girls so it was pretty competitive.  I had absolutely NO idea what I was doing, but it was fun nevertheless.  Later, we played a game of soccer and my team won. Sadly, it wasn’t because of me!  I am so glad I grew up with a lot of brothers because I got run over right away.  It is safe to say I accumulated quite a few bruises, and new friends. J How heartwarming!

Hmmmm. My life story here continues with another epic story.  I was writing an essay on Friday night (yes, I actually do work here), when my flat mate comes in my room and asks me to go meet up with our friends to see this local musician perform.  I am SO glad I went, as the musician, Jeremy, was an absolute delight (I am laughing at myself for my word choices, by the way).  He played lots of good songs such as Yellow by Coldplay, Hallelujah, When you say Nothing at All, some John Mayer, and more.  Our German friends we met up with had seen him play the previous night and personally requested that he play the song “500 Miles” by the Proclaimers 3 times.  He did, and it was so funny to see how much they got into it every time!  Ahh great night!

It was really rainy this whole weekend and the perfect opportunity for me to write up two essays due this week.  I was slightly bummed that I wasn’t able to hike anywhere because of the weather.  It will be warming up down here in about a couple of weeks, so I am stoked to discard my winter jacket for a while…only to wear it again when I return to the states.  Well, that is all for now.  Oh and the New Zealand All Blacks beat Australia in rugby this weekend as well!  Go Kiwis! In conclusion, relish in the warmth that August brings, and don’t forget to live for the moment!  Hahaha, is anyone else feeling as inspired as I am??!  I am no way in a serious mood right now, so I apologize for the sheer cheesiness of all my expressions!  Way to keep it light, Katelyn!