The fun began at 12:03 last night. Since we were all awake, J and M stopped by my doorframe to wish me a happy birthday. J brought me pralines and a big decorative gingerbread cookie from his last trip home to Germany. It was completely unexpected and really very nice. When I got up super early for the final day of youth work training, I ate the cinnamon toast crunch cereal that mom and dad sent in my birthday box. Then the assessment morning at youth work training, which wasn't too painful...and coffee at a nice little cafe in the city. It's a place I had never been before (and won't go again because it was way too pricey) but I finally had that feeling of sitting in a small European city, feeling sophisticated and grown up. I have to remind myself that this is my life. A bit of browsing in a gormet food shop and a bit of buying in the metro tesco and I headed home for a quite afternoon of reading, cleaning, baking, and opening the gifts from home.

Part 2 started around six when N and F joined us (me, M and J) for tacos (thanks mom and dad). N found me the poptarts that I have been craving and a box of chocolate and F brought a home baked marble cake. M, F, and J gave me a card they made with a photo that M took and a picture F drew, and to top it off, M said that his gift to me is a trip on the Belfast Wheel. It's a bit overwhelming, I suppose. It's easy to forget how many people really care, and today I am just blown away by their thoughtfulness. Thanks, friends.

And Part 3, which was the only real intentional piece on my end. We all went to the Lyric theatre to see Truth in Translation. It was an amazing musical that showed the reconciliation process in South Africa through the eyes of the interpretors who translated the Truth Commission proceedings into the local languages. The music made me want to dance, clap, cry and sing, the topic just made me plain curious to learn about the reconciliation process. I realize that I was around 11 when it all began and I have no recollection of any news from South Africa...I think it was a brilliant way to present such a sensitive issue since the audience can identify with the interpretors as characters (as opposed to perpetrators or victims) and through them, work through the things they did: taking on the identities of those they interpreted for, their identity of white or black and their roles in the community, their understanding of what was going on while they were safe at home in their middle class homes. It's a very cool project, check out the link: http://www.truthintranslation.org/

So thank you everyone, for the emails, phone messages, gifts, cards, facebook messages, and the thought you put into making today special.