Joyeux Anniversaire!

On the subject of birthdays...

Last weekend was my friend Kaellen's birthday, so we decided to celebrate in a typically French way! Saturday night (the day before) was the Powerhouse service - a great opportunity to worship and hang out with other 18-25 year olds. It was amazing! What a neat experience to meet with other people our own age in a dance club/bar and praise God! Anyway, Steph (who also goes to Hillsong) and I had arranged a small birthday surprise for Kaellen - after the service we sang to her as a group (a little unorganized but still heartfelt!) and Steph gave her flowers and a cute chocolate cake she was generous enough to share. Sunday night the three of us got dressed up and met up with Kaellen's friend Anne who goes to school with her for a "fancy" dinner at a restaurant called Le Petit Villier. It cost more than I would usually like to pay for dinner, but it was well worth it! For my three course meal I had a chicken ceasar salad for my entrée (the best ceasar salad I have EVER had!), for my plat I had veal in a mushroom wine sauce with pommes allumettes (literally matchstick potatoes - shoe-string fries à la Steak-and-Shake), and for dessert a feuilletée aux fraises (multiple layers of delicious flaky pastry topped with a vanilla pudding/custard covered in fresh strawberries). Definitely my most gourmet meal as of yet - I would go back for the dessert alone! After dinner, Kaellen, Anne, and I (Steph unfortunately couldn't join us) went to the Trocadero to gawk at the Eiffel Tower all lit up and sparkly while drinking champagne - the classic French birthday drink. We even timed it right so we were able to see the "show" - at night the Eiffel Tower "sparkles" with additional lights for the first ten minutes of every hour. Absolutely gorgeous! All in all, a lot of fun and a great way to celebrate!

Which brings us to this weekend...another special birthday.....mine! Mother nature decided to be very obliging this year - it was sunny and 70-75 degrees on Saturday for my birthday. The Connect group (small group ministry through Hillsong) that I'm in had already planned a picnic to celebrate the weather, so we decided to add to the celebration! Kaellen and I picked up some key picnic ingrédients - a baguette (the bread kind), some cheese, sliced salami, apples, strawberries, bubbly apple cider, and three varieties of pâtisserie - a chocolate éclair, pain au chocolat, and pain aux raisins. We packed it all up and joined up with our group to sit in the sunshine and relax on the lawn in front of the Hotel des Invalides - which is currently part hospital, part military museum, and also contains the tomb of Napoleon I. We ate, chatted, relaxed, and picnicked in the sun for over four hours! It was glorious - I even got a little sunburned! (Just the right amount...not uncomfortable but you can tell I've actually left the house since November) After our picnic, Kaellen and I went to this cute little creperie near her apartment and the two of us got dinner there before getting some custard from Amorino's for birthday dessert. After dessert, we went back to Kaellen's apartment and watched some James Bond (with French subtitles...you know, to make it French). We ended up watching two movies (Mort un autre jour - Die another Day & Casino Royale) and I didn't get home until 12:55! Needless to say, it's the latest I've gotten back yet by far and my host mom Chantal made sure to give me a hard time about it!

Which brings us to part two of my birthday celebration! Last night, without me knowing, Chantal and her daughter Marjorie organized their own fête for me! Marjorie came over to eat dinner with us and she actually cooked - a lovely cheesy pasta casserole that I loved! Then when it came time for dessert, they both started being very secretive and went into the kitchen together, leaving me sitting in the dark with Katherine (our new student who just got here from Switzerland on Sunday!) Then they came out of the kitchen, Chantal carrying a beautiful tarte aux pommes (apple pie) complete with blue and white candles and a bottle of champagne, and with Marjorie carrying her laptop playing the French birthday song on youtube. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjXxvooa-0g) I'd recommend checking it out - it's very catchy! After all of the beautiful dessert and champagne (which was delicious - very crisp and fresh!) they gave me a box of assorted chocolates and the DVD of La Mome - the French version of La Vie En Rose (a film about the life of French singer Edith Piaf). It was a wonderful and unexpected surprise - what a blessing to be placed in this family!

In between all this birthday excitement and celebration, I've also been receiving all sorts of cards from friends here and at home for which I have to say THANK YOU! I always love getting mail, but it's an even better surprise here because I know it takes more time and effort to get it here. Thanks to everyone who sent me something - I really appreciate it and it makes me smile to know you're thinking of me! All in all, it's been two weeks of fun and celebration (interspersed, of course, with homework and midterms), and now I need to rest and start packing for all the traveling I'm about to do. But more on that later... love to all - à plus tard!