An Unusual Birthday

Celebrating my birthday abroad is not a new experience for me. Since I turned nine, there have always been trips during or around my birthday. The only difference this year was that my family wasn´t there. Also, it was the first time I´d ever set foot in South America.

I wasn´t sure what to think about celebrating my birthday during a large community service trip deep in the heart of Asunción, the capital of Paraguay. I do know that I was a bit nervous about the whole trip in general. The country of Paraguay has no planes that fly in directly, and based off of my experiences in an Argentenian airport, Swine Flue wasn´t unheard of, either (don´t judge me- the flu is scary!).

The LearnServe group was quite enthusiastic once I announced my birthday, however. They enthusiastically sang Happy Birthday and did an encore in Spanish. I was very touched by the whole thing. Several hours later, after we were introduced to our host families in Carapeguá, I told Amanda, my host-sister, about my birthday. Afterwards, word spread and I got many “Felicidades!” for rest of the night.
For my birthday dinner, I enjoyed pizza with corn on it and a huge bottle of coke. This may not sound very spectacular but the coke was in a glass bottle, something which commands much respect in my mind.

The new experience of being on my own for the first time and being introduced to a very welcoming and unique community made this a very memorable birthday. My only regret is that I didn´t get candles for my birthday pizza.

Diana, a student at Georgetown Day School