Il Mio Compleano!!

The thing that I was the most sad to leave behind in the States when I came abroad was not my friends. It was not my school or my pets. It was getting to celebrate my 21st birthday in the United States (note: this was tied with missing my family..because come on, I still have a heart). I knew that when I went to a place where the legal drinking age was...Oh who knows. It's Italy, apparently there are 14 year olds drinking wine over here. But I did know that while Birthdays were still important in Italy, turning 21 was no where near as exciting as it is in the United States. I was fully prepared for an uneventful birthday and I had my standards set pretty low.
Now with all of that being said, thank goodness I've made some pretty amazing friends abroad, because turning 21 was no where near as sad as I thought it was going to be. In fact, it was probably the best birthday I've ever had.
My wonderful roommates had decorated our apartment while I was asleep, so I woke up to streamers, banners, and "Il Mio Compleano!" (It's my birthday!) balloons. After skyping with my parents-- (Thanks for the birthday care package, Mom and Dad!), I went out to dinner with "the family" My apartment (Grace and Christine), Sam and Dana, and our RAs, Camilla and Giusi. After dinner we came back to our apartment, where I found all of my IES classmates waiting to surprise me and homemade miniature cupcakes that Sam, Dana, and Grace baked. Life's always good with cupcakes around, and birthdays are even better.

So again, thank you SO MUCH for all of the dear dear friends who made my birthday so incredibly special. Who knew 21 was still exciting in Italy?
Also, thanks to Freddy, my favorite bartender who let me go behind the bar and make a drink. I will probably never feel that cool ever again.

Too busy perfecting my bar-tending skills to fix my crooked birthday tiara