best. birthday. ever.

I had a great day for my birthday, including a trip to the... wait for it... wait for it... MEXICAN WALMART!



No, but I really did have a great day, despite Walmart.



At work the nurses found out it was my birthday and got the kids to sing to me (cute!!!!) and I passed out candy and refilled the depleted candy jar with some candy I had brought along. Then, one of the nurses asked me to follow her into the nurses' lounge. I went in and all of the nurses and 2 of the doctors (including the Mexican McSteamy) were in there with a cake for me!!! And it wasn't just any old cake, it was amazing cake. They made me cut the first slice, which I am SO bad at, and then we all hung out in the lounge for 20 minutes chatting. It was really unexpected and a lot of fun.



Later, Andy and Peter met up with the 4 of us from Concha's house (me, Emily, Henry, and Raphael) and we walked 20 minutes to Choco's house, which has 7 of our volunteer friends (Jen, Mel, Rachel, Suzie, Sarah, Vanessa, and Julia) and then the 13 of us went over to the very posh resturant, LA, that is near Choco's house. It was such a beautiful restaurant! Very trendy and very upscale. They gave us a table in the back of the restaurant so it would be more private and then we ordered wine and cocktails. Once they came, everyone sang happy birthday to me, which was really sweet! At this restaurant, LA, you order what is called a "plato fuerte" and that comes with a 1-person appetizer, salad bar, and entree, all for the bargain price of $145 MXN ($14.50 USD). After we ordered, a waiter came over and offered me a bottle of champagne. I said no, and then Andy said it was taken care of. Andy bought us a bottle of champagne to toast with!!! So we had a massive champagne toast before our food came. I got an amazing salad from the best salad bar I have ever seen and then for my appetizer I got the asparagus dish, which was asparagus, pesto, and goat cheese on top of pita bread. It was amazing. AMAZING. And the, when I thought my body couldn't hold any more food, we got our entrees. I had ordered the pepper filet, which was a filet mignon in a black pepper sauce and served with potatoes. Honestly, the best filet I have ever had. Cooked to perfection, medium rare, and with a great sauce. One of the best meals I have ever had. As we were all waiting for the check to come, I see the waiters parading over with Andy and Peter out of the corner of my eye, very suspiciously. They bring me a mini-cheesecake with a candle and sing the Mexican birthday song, Las Mañanitas. Then, as I am already embarassed enough and full of plenty of alcohol, the head waiter reaches around me, puts a napkin on my face, and forces a shot of tequila down my throat before I even realize what has happened. Thankfully it was tequila and cranberry juice, so it was cut a bit, but it was still foul and unexpected. Shocking to the nervous system, really.

After dinner, because we hadn't had enough fun already, we went to a bar down the street called Nude. It too was super posh. We got a couple bottles of wine and some people got other drinks but we all just sat around talking. It was a Tuesday night so it was virtually empty except for the big table next to us that was full of Americans (random) from Indiana. They heard it was my birthday and we all talked and it was funny because they were all at least 30, many of them 40s and there I was, young and 20. But Nude was a really neat place with a really awesome looking bar.

We dragged our tired selves home far too late and then had to get up for work early this morning, which was a chore. But work was great, so that made it bearable!

All in all, it was the best birthday I've had. I was in a foreign country, traveling with interesting people, and we all had a very mature, adult dinner with smart cocktails and wine. It was perfect, just they way I wanted it.