It has been two years now that I have celebrated my birthday away from my family in Manila. Although I am not with them, my special day was still memorable because we have friends to share with here in Tokyo.
Celebrating Outdoors with Friends
Last year, we decided to have a barbecue party. It was the first time for me to organize an outdoor event here in Japan. I was very excited because I miss the thrill of planning and organizing an event for some time now. Although it was hot since July is the peak of summer season here in Japan, that did not hinder us to have a great time.
Berries and Flowers for my Birthday
For this year, I wanted to have a more relaxing way of celebrating so my husband and I agreed to just have dinner in a restaurant here in Nishi-Kasai. However, what was planned as a simple, quiet, and almost boring celebration turned to be a day full of surprises!!
First was being woken up by my husband with an ice cream cake on his hand. He made me one all from scratch!
Second, I was had my first gig as an Ikebana teacher. A group of college students from New York came to visit our Ikebana class as part of their cultural summer program. I thought that we will only assist my sensei while she teach the whole group but to our surprise, she assigned us to have one-to-one lesson with the students. And to add to that, she assigned me to the students’ teacher!
After our Ikebana special class, my husband and I together with our neighbor friends headed to a Mexican restaurant near Nishi-Kasai Staion for dinner and then went back to our house for some cake and drinks. It was very sweet for them to prepare something for me but I am mostly touched by the drawing made by Emilija, the 4-year-old daughter of our friends from Lithuania.
