Yes yes, the time has finally come for me to abandon my teenage years and embrace all that my twenties have to offer. My teenage years were good to me, but I am beyond excited to see what this year has in store for me. If the events of the past weekend are any indication of what my 21st year of life is to be like, it is sure to be a year to remember.
The festivities started Thursday evening. I made my Luzbi's house for yet another one of her fabulous meals, and upon entering her house was completely overwhelmed with birthday love. Luzbi is our cook, and we love her dearly, but let's be real...I don't know her super well. I don't speak the language and we never spend more than 30 minutes at a time at her house. During which time, she is in the kitchen and not really out conversing with us. That is why I was so shocked when I walked into her dining room and found it to be completely decked out with birthday fun. She made me a special sign, balloon hats for everyone, and my favorite dessert, Pie De Limon. Mmm. There were princess cups and festive candies spread out over the table. It was a birthday party that perhaps in the States I would have overlooked, but here it sent me straight to tears. I couldn't believe how much work she had gone through to make my day a special one. She made my favorite meal, and when it came time to light the candle on the cake I was in for a serious surprise. It was in fact, not a candle on top of my cake, but a full on firework! My face may or may not have got a little singed, but I'll take it any day. I left Luzbi's that night feeling so much love. It was such a humbling experience and one that thinking back was kind of unreal. I can't believe all that my teammates and Luzbi went through for my behalf.
Friday came and went with a few exciting moments, but overall it was a relaxed day. We were supposed to head to Mancora bright and early, but the farmers decided it was a good time to go on strike and as a result all of the main highways were closed down until late in the afternoon. We hung around the house, playing cards and with no agenda to attend to. It was pretty nice actually. When the highways opened we made our way to the bus station and were off to the beach! It was kind of a sketch ride. Aren't they all there though? At one point we stopped on the side of the road and a bunch of strange men from the side of the road jumped on top of our "bus". We thought for sure we were getting robbed, but alas we weren't. I'm not really sure what they were doing, but we all got freaked out for a second. We made it Mancora safe and sound, and from there we went straight to our hostel. This was my first experience in a hostel, and I'm pretty sure it was out of the ordinary. We stayed in a great little place right on the beach that was full of beach bums from all over the planet. There was a pool, volleyball court, and for typical crowd a bumpin bar. This place was the place to be on a Friday night and full of people having a good time! We lucked out and all got to stay in our own room, where get this... we had REAL beds! I hadn't slept in a real bed in almost a month, so althought the sheets were full of second hand sand and who knows what else, I welcomed them with open arms. It is amazing how much you miss the small things and don't even realize it.
Saturday was the big day, and it was a day I am sure to always remember. None of us slept too well on our nice beds, because the party outside never seemed to end, but I was up at 6:30 ready to start the day. We walked on the beach and played in water until it was time for breakfast. This was the first year in I don't know how many that I didn't eat cake for breakfast on my birthday, but I guess the omlette was a satisfactory substitute. It was fitting actually, I'm growing up and that is definitely a much more "grown up" kind of breakfast. Anyway, after breakfast we bummed around Mancora for a while before meeting the rest of our group in Los Organos to spend the day on our own little beach. We rented out a beach house for the night that not only had real beds ( sand free!) but also had HOT SHOWERS! This place was the real deal. We had a beautiful view of the beach and were quick to find our way there. Like I said, we had our own little beach for the day. Together we soaked up the rays and swam in the unusually warm ocean. It was so relaxed and so fun all at the same time. I couldn't help but to feel so blessed all day. It was yet another "movie-esque" moment of my time here. When the beach festivities ended we made our way to town for dinner, where we hit up a cute little pizza shack. Mmm.. Pizza. It was like everything I missed about home was somehow finding its way back to me on my big day. There I was serenaded by my team and by the cute Austrailan man that ran the place. They brought me REAL ice cream ( which is hard to come by down here!) topped with sparklers in place of candles and again I couldn't help feel like I was home for a second. You have no idea how good that feeling is when you're so far away from all you know and love. After dinner we walked around and surveyed the little beach shops before catching a ride back to Los Organos in the back of some guy's truck. There was a full-looking moon out and in the distance, I kid you not fireworks were going off. Ha it was actually kind of funny, they were really loud so at first we thought they were gun shots. We all got really scared for a split second. The night ended with a hot shower and a clean bed, the best gifts a girl could as for down here.
I had a birthday full of blessings and full of fun. It is one I will remember for always and one that will be hard to top next year, but I can't wait to try!
until next time- lakin
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