My Birthday

When I mentioned to one of my teachers that my birthday was coming up he informed me that his was the same day. I told him that in America we celebrate birthdays by eating birthday cake. I told him that I would try to make him a birthday cake, without having an oven it would be somewhat difficult but I ended up putting a smaller pot with a cake batter inside a larger one and putting it over the fire creating a make shift oven and it turned out fairly decent.  We decided to have a joint celebration at my house. I got my hair braided by a local girls in my community then,  I invited a few teachers, some neighbors and some friends of mine from the community. My friend helped me cook a rice and meat mixture and we ate, drank and listened to music. I was surprised by the amount of people that came and was overjoyed by the kindness they showed me. My neighbors along with some of my friends bought me presents; clothes, food, and a woven basket. I was surprised by their generosity and kindness to buy me something when they have next to nothing. Everyone ended up dancing toward the end of the afternoon and fun was had by all. I think the most important thing that touched me about the day was the realization of the friends I have made in this small community and how many people have opened up and invited me into their lives and families.