Birthday Bothers

It's been over a month now; and still I find it the strangest thing that I am 20. It feels so unreal to NOT be a teenager any more. Of course, my birthday itself was extremely memorable. Tahlia came down from Munich to spend the week with me; and Margot and Maya were in Hamm, which meant that I hadn't any work. I DID have German classes, which wasn't as nice as it could have been.
Originally I was going to have a party; but through the work of the hideously, lying boyfriend of my host mum, (the only thing about this job that I can't STAND.....) that got cancelled. So, I was just going to rely on the usual Youth Group on Friday- at which Karen had promised to make me a cake. =-D
But as though it were an apology about Dieter from God, everything began to all into place on Wednesday. =-)
Tahlia and I went out to lunch with Celine after class. She SEEMED awesome, but at that point I really didn't know her that well. However, the 3 of us just hit it off. She mentioned that she was going clubbing is Kaiserlauten the next day; and that we should come and make it a my birthday crossover. Done and done. =-)
Later, on the bus, I ran into Vanessa. Boy had I missed her!!!!! I hadn't seen her in 6 months, and now here she was! 2 days before my birthday!!!!! Not only did I manage to convince her to come to Youth Group on Friday, but it also turned out that she is moving to France in a couple of weeks, so it was literally the last chance that I had of seeing her for a VERY long time.
Thursday night was AWESOME. I wore the dress that Celine had got me as a present during our shopping trip the day before. We danced all night, met some amazing people, and didn't get back home until 7am- taking the first morning train.
Friday was equally as awesome. There were a LOT Of people, there was a LOT of cake, and I was most proud of myself for managing, (through perseverance,) to blow out the non-blow-out-able candles.
The morning was great, too. Maya and Margot arrived back and I got about 3 kilos of sweets as a birthday present. Of course, that WAS also the day when our foreign exchange student, Charles, (whom I know fondly as Yankee Chuck,) randomly decided to ditch and move out. Weeeeeirdo!
All in all a great birthday. So why the difficulty in recalling the fact that I am a year older? Every year previously I have been gleefully shouting it from the rooftops. There has been NO doubt in MY mind.

After careful consideration, I think that I have figured it out.
Generally, I have been very careful to top the celebrations of the year before, in order to burn this year's birthday over the lasts in my brain.

Well, the celebrations for my 19th birthday were almost a week long. During that time I managed to:

• Get robbed in Lithuania
• Accidently go to Latvia
• Spend 10 hours in a Russian police station
• Go Salsa-dancing in Saint Petersburg
• Take a 3am cruise down a river, including fireworks
• Eat on my birthday: Potatoes at midnight, pineapple slightly after; and cake at: 5am, 4pm, and 10pm
• Dress up extremely posh
• Go to a classical concert
• Get gifted a rose that was almost taller than me
• Drink melted chocolate at an oxygen bar
• Get lost twice
• Almost sell my hat to (hot) drunk Swedish guys at the Midsummer festival in Finland
• Get chased through the forest by a Werewitch on the longest day of the year
• Run out of money in Frankfurt
• Act as a tour guide
• Get a ride home at 2am in a German Police car.

 I think that we'll all agree that this birthday will never be beaten.
EVER.
I'm going to be 19 forever.....