Alles Gute Zum Geburtstag to Me!

Although it was first birthday without my twin sister, it was better than I could have expected! First of all, I woke up in Germany--which is special in and of itself! (I am trying to continually remind myself that I am in this spectacular place and not to take it for granted.) After I got ready for school, I went into the kitchen to make breakfast and my host mom Irmgart had laid out a pretty white table cloth with gifts and flowers for me! It was such a great surprise! She left me a card, hot chocolate mix, a gift wrapped in beautiful Florentine paper, German candy, and yellow tulips!



School was a normal day. I didn't tell my teacher it was my birthday--you know I don't like attention. haha. Well, during homeroom, she said, "Everyone, I have an announcement to make...it's Miss Terry's birthday!!" (Marianna had told her!) The kids all clapped and then sang "Happy Birthday" to me in English. I guess that's more fun for them than singing in German--since German is most of their first languages. They had all signed a card for me in secret, so that was another nice surprise.

After school, I opened birthday cards from my family and friends and skyped with mom, Sara Beth, and some friends. It was great to get to talk to them. I heard a knock on the door, and Marianna and I were kind of nervous to answer it... when we did, it was a little old German man with a bouquet of flowers for me! I couldn't believe it!! They were from Grace and Caroline! So sweet! The flowers are very pretty--roses, daises, and others. They make my whole room smell wonderful and are a humbling reminder of the great friends I am blessed with!



When Irmgart got home, I opened my gift from her. It was a little floral pencil box. She wants me to use it for all my teacher pens and pencils. Isn't she so thoughtful?! I will use it here and then bring it home to use in my future classroom. We then got ready for dinner. We went out to a local Italian restaurant that Irmgart recommended. (There are so many Italian restaurants in Germany, but that's just fine with me!) Irmgart and Andrea (another student teacher from the University of Kentucky) came with me and Marianna. Irmgart translated the menu for us, and we all really enjoyed our dishes.



When we got home, I got to talk to my dad, mom, Sara Beth and some friends a little more. I didn't go to sleep until 23:00! It was late for a school night, but I loved getting to talk to everyone. I had a great birthday--one I will not soon forget. Thank you to everyone who prayed for my day, sent me cards, talked with me on skype, and wrote me emails and posts. I LOVE YOU ALL!!