My Birthday in Laos
Today it was my birthday.
A Me Party
Today I celebrated my birthday at my apartment. It was a pretty normal day. I didn’t have anyone over since most people were travelling since it’s school break. (The semester ended on February 9th and will resume on March 18th.)
I had a pool party by myself, which I’ve never been able to do since my birthday always falls in winter in the U.S.! I went to the pool for a while and enjoyed the water. (Don’t get me wrong– it was still kind of cold since it’s not crazy hot here yet.)
I went to Joma café later for dinner (a BLT and taco soup) and dessert (a piece of cake). I told the staff that it was my birthday because I wanted to let someone know since I was celebrating alone. In Lao, this was: Munee wahn-guh khong-khoi. The staff were really nice and they asked me my name and age. I just thought it was because they were surprised that I knew some Lao. I told them that I was a teacher at the National University and that I taught year 1.
They surprised me with a piece of coconut cream cake, which was so nice! It might have been because I come here every Saturday, German book in tow, and they recognized me. This was such a heartwarming thing to do, especially since I’m so far away from home. This truly was the most special thing to happen on my birthday in Laos.
Courtesy of Guerra, C. (2024)
I tipped enough to cover the cost of the cake and then some. How nice of them!