So the day started off the best way it could – with me not having to teach a single class today. Chanel's mid-term exams started today and all I had to do was supervise a class for 3 hours (that's right, our year 12 and 13 students have to sit 3 hour exams! I didn't take my first 3 hour exam until university). So once that was out of the way, I had the rest of the day free – so I continued working on fixing up our 4th computer lab. At around 2:30pm, Viv and Tina picked me up to take me to the tutoring session for my Faatuatua kids – little did I know that my true birthday surprises were just around the corner.
Now if you know me – while I'm a little brash sometimes, I really don't like making a big deal about myself. It's just not my style – which is why no one at school knew that it was my birthday today. So I didn't get my first official 'verbal' Happy birthday until I got into the car with Viv/Tina and the kids. On the drive to Viv's house, we stopped by the Peace Corps office to see if there was a package waiting for me (when I checked, they hadn't gone to check the mail yet). The weird thing was when I went into the administration office, everyone told me 'Happy Birthday'. I was like 'What? How did you know it was my birthday?' Teuila (our medical officer) was the first one to say it to me – that would be important later on as to how she knew it was my bday. So I couldn't help but smile because this was the second year in a row that Peace Corps actually recognized my birthday….like I was all special or something!
So I went and did my tutoring session with Jewell and Uati. As we were finishing up, I got a call from one of my friends in the states who was just calling to wish me a happy birthday – this day was evolving into a bigger deal then I could ever imagine. Uati was happy that I got the call because that meant I cut my tutoring session short, but he'll make up for it tomorrow…no worries. So I talked to my friend for over an hour and couldn't help but smile because it was just so cool to actually get a call from someone from home on my birthday. And the coup de jour was when I got a text from my mom wishing me a happy birthday (before now, I could text her but she couldn't text me back). So all in all, at that point the day could have been over and I would have been an extremely happy birthday boy! Heck, even Jorim gave me a birthday 'present' which was just a birthday mask that read 'Happpy Birthday, Marques'. So cute!
So every Tuesday I have dinner at the Phillips (Paul/Viv's) house as part of my tutoring payment. So when Viv was putting a lot of effort into the meal, I thought she was just going to be making something super special for dinner. Then around 6pm, I turned around and saw Sara and Robyn walk by – which caught me by surprise because I didn't tell either one of them about this dinner tonight. So that was my first clue that something was up for tonight – that the dinner might be a little special. But it wasn't until Teuila/Pati and their kids showed up that I was like 'This is a surprise birthday party!' and it was truly a surprise because I had no idea Viv was going to go through so much effort. So in all I had a combination of the 3 family's that have had a big impact on my time in Samoa: The Phillips (Paul, Viv, Jewell, Matilda, Grace and Jorim)/Richie and Tina, The Pati's (Pati, Teuila, Tiffany, Rachel and Elisha) and the Peace Corps (Sara and Robin) – that was just a cool gathering that I just didn't expect to happen. All of a sudden there was a ton of food on the table and I could see that a lot of effort went into this dinner – for little ole' me. If I could I think I would have been blushing from all the attention. There was even a birthday cake and they sang 3 versions of 'Happy Birthday' – sooo much attention.
And when I sat down to have dinner, it just kind of hit me that these folks represented my family in Samoa. I just loved being around these folks and talking and just fellowshipping with them. I was glad that Viv went through the effort because heaven knows I wouldn't have done it for myself – but when we were all there together I was like 'I like this family!' and it just kind of reminded me how much better my experience here has improved since I've become involved with these folks. As Viv/Paul are fond of saying 'You're no longer a guest, you're part of the family' and tonight was one of those nights where it really felt like that. It's funny how I told Viv about my birthday last Tuesday and this Tuesday she was able to pull together a feast – impressive really. And I'll always remember this as being my first big surprise party. All in all, it has been a great day…in case you're wondering, I'm now 26. Funny thing is, last year had you told me that I would be spending my 26th birthday with a Samoan family…I probably would have said 'Yeah right', but my how things change (and people grow closer) in only a year. Lovin' 26 already!!! L8r.
1 comment:
I am really glad that you had a truly wonderful day. Love Mom
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