Happy birthday to me! and my dad! and my Japanese teacher!

Yes, we all share the same birthday date! Along with Natalie Portman, Johnny Depp, Michael J. Fox... neat, right? I'm turning 21! My dad is turning... I won't say. And my teacher... I don't know...

But first of all, I want to wish Happy Birthday to my dad. He can be strict at times, and unflexible at others, but I know I can count on him 100%. Since we were kids, he's been our main chauffeur, driving hours each day to Beausejour, Steinbach, and Winnipeg. He does the laundry every day, even after we come back late from judo practice. Now that I have to do my own laundry, I can appreciate what he does. He's helped me with my university assignments and now helps me with my Japanese assignments. And he's the main reason I'm in Japan right now. Thanks to his careful planning and organization, I'm studying and training in Japan, the experience of a lifetime. So thank you Dad, and Happy Birthday!

My dad in front of the baseball field in Tokai University

I thought celebrating a birthday away from home and close friends would be quite lonely. And yes, I would really like to be at home right now, eating a delicious meal and cake my mom would have prepared and opening presents. But, the reality of it is, I'm in Japan. I thought my birthday would go unnoticed because people here don't know when my birthday is. But, this birthday is turning out to be probably one of the best ones I've had. : )

To start, yesterday, at school I received a surprise birthday card and present. Because my teacher's birthday is today as well, I had made a card and was passing it around for everyone to sign. Just before lunch, I handed the signed card to her. Then all of a sudden, everyone starts singing Happy Birthday... not to my teacher but to me! Then, they placed a ring of stapled maple cookie bags on my head. My teacher had bought some maple cookies because well, I'm Canadian : P I was so surprised! All morning, I was trying to get the card for my teacher signed. And I didn't expect to receive a card because my birthday falls on a Saturday. A few weeks ago, we signed a card for another classmate but her birthday fell on a Thursday. So because there's no school on Saturday, I never expected a birthday card. Which made it an even better surprise. I really had no clue.

My beautiful maple cookie hat

My Japanese teacher with the same birthday: holding her card in the front row (first from left)



The birthday card I received from my class



Signatures and little messages from my classmates and teachers

Then, this morning, I wake up to find this beautiful banner made by my roommate Anzu draped to the curtain in our room.

It says: Happy Birthday (in French)

And on my desk, a nice letter with a present: earrings with a moonstone, the stone for the month of June.

After that, I skyped my mom and dad so they could wish me Happy Birthday and I could wish the same to my father. And their present for me, is a brand new laptop, with the latest software already installed. But the only catch is that I don't get to use it for another 3-4 months... lol I've been using this small netbook computer for almost 3 years now, since I started university. It's great because it's lightweight and compact, so it's easy to carry around in my backpack. But the screen is quite small, I often have to scroll sideways to see full webpages, and I can't insert DVDs or CDs. So I've been thinking of getting a laptop once I got back home. But now, there's one waiting for me : )

I also received a nice present from Japan: the rainy season (tsuyu) has officially started in the East region of Japan. From today, until about the 20th of July I'm told, it's going to be raining A LOT. Thank you Japan!

Finally, tonight, I went to eat supper at the Iwasa's home. As previously mentioned, my dad met the Iwasa's during his years at the International Chrsitian University. They've taken me under their wing and make sure I have everything I need.

Tonight, all their three boys were there to celebrate with me, Kenzo, Yoshiki and Daisuke. We shared a great meal of pizza, katsukare (my dad is probably going to be jealous), some miso soup, some vegetables, some jelly with fruit, and a piece of cake. And I've probably forgotten a couple of things because the table was full of food, like always.

With Shigenori, Yoshiki and Reiko

I received some beautiful embroided towels from them as well. They guessed right about the colors. I'm all about bright colors. The green characters are my name, Sayuri. That's something you can't get done in Canada, at least not in Japanese ; )

The day has finally come to an end. It's been a great day. I've had multiple birthdays: with my class, with my roommate, my family, and the Iwasa's. Thank you everyone, thanks to you, this has been one of the best birthdays I've had. : D Now, I think it's time to go to bed... Coming up tomorrow: I'm going to see another Kabuki with my aunt. Good night! And happy birthday to everyone born on June 9th!