For the first time in my life, I got to wear a skirt and T-shirt on my birthday with out having goosebumps! I loved it, now I know what it is like to have a birthday in the summer. I’m envious.

The day started with finding the shower full of balloons and little cut-out flowers all over the bathroom mirror. The cut out happy birthday and taped it to the wall for me. I love my team!

One of these letters just doesn't belong...

The boys made me a yummy breakfast and everyone had a little gift for me. I felt so loved! We left to have lunch with our favorite Ethiopian friends. They took us out and introduced us to a traditional Ethiopian dish called kitfo. Sounds exotic huh? It’s raw ox meat.

Ahhh, I'm about to eat raw meat!

Yep, just a big ol slab on a big silver platter. There is a little bit of spicy sauce to go with it, but that’s all. I like to do something a little crazy on my birthday so yes, I did eat some. I could not pull myself to eat a lot since we were leaving the next day and the thought of sitting on a toilet at 30000 feet for 5 hours did not appeal to me. 

After eating kitfo, we went to a cafe for tea. Here, they all said a blessing for me, prayed for me, and gave me some Ethiopian chocolate.

We went home, had dinner together, and then my team surprised me with apple strudel from a German bakery!! Who knew there would be a German bakery in Ethiopia! They also blessed me and prayed for me again. A massage from Marichka ended the night. I could not have asked for a better birthday!