Big-Something-Oh

(Apologies for missing my Friday post--have had computer problems.)

The virtue of being condemned to a seven-year old's vocabulary is that big-something-oh birthdays are a laugh--seem somehow anachronistic, surreal, nothing to take too seriously. And so I didn't. Between my language lessons (where I'm the student studying Putonghua) and more language lessons (where I'm the teacher teaching Yingyu), I enjoyed hanging out with both friends and students. Fellow foreigners (waiguoren) Olga, Inge, and Clay treated me to Sichuan cai, chocolate, and red wine (they know my weak spots). 

The landlady, Mrs. Niu, brought me a cake, still boxed (above) on my back-porch kitchen counter. Looking the other direction in my very narrow kitchen, you can see not only the cake, but also my fifteen foot high walls and windows.

And here are some photos (below) snatched from a Powerpoint my students made me after a  four-person lunch exploded into a twenty-some-person awesome feast.  Meanwhile, thanks to Chris, Ben, Nick and other well-wishers form other points on the planet!