Alles Gute zu (meinem) Geburtstag!

This post is gonna be another one about how lucky I am so buckle in, y'all.

 So anyway, on March 15, 2018, I turned 22. Hooray! But that's not important. What is important is that my birthday was another reminder of how much I am loved. And in the midst of a cold, stupid, stressful March, I needed that.

It started with my dad coming to visit (I will elaborate more on this later). It was really, really good to see him, and he bought me a wool jacket as a birthday gift! LOOK: 
So hip! So trendy! Very warm!

 Now, of course I know that my dad loves me. His visit was expected, though. What I didn't expect was walking down to breakfast on my birthday and seeing this:


😍

Directly translated: "Heartfelt good wishes!" Basically, "Congrats!"

Before I could even get out "Dankeschön" my host parents busted out into the Happy Birthday song in German and English. It was 10000% the cutest thing ever.

I mean, I suspected that my host parents would do something for my birthday, but I didn't expect this level of celebration. I was ready for a Torte and a card, not a decked-out breakfast table and presents!! This is what they got me in all their never-ending wonderfulness:
The little red thing is called a Brettchen and is what we normally eat breakfast on. The book is a guide to Hamburg's Wahrzeichen, or landmarks, in German and English. The mug is full of Hamburger Speck (Hamburger Bacon), which is a sugared combo of gummi candy and marshmallow, and there are also two marzipan pigs off to the side. Last--but far from least--the cake was made by my host mom and is full of chocolates, cherries, and oats.

 Also, in case you've got an eye for detail and were wondering about the little piggies on the coiled-paper table decoration and the marzipan pigs: pigs are a sign of luck in Germany. When something lucky happens, you say "Schwein gehabt!!" which translates to, "I had a pig!!" but actually means, "What luck!!" and I think that's adorable.

Throughout the course of the day, I received many, many more well-wishes from my family and my friends, providing me the reminder I needed that I'm not alone, even if it does feel like it sometimes.





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