During the dental lecture the guys had the audience sing happy birthday to me. They failed big time, but it still succeeded in being very embarrassing. Not only did the Tchadians not know the "Happy Birthday" song, most don't even celebrate birthdays. Chad is ranked the 4th highest in child mortality so many Tchadian women don't bond with their child until they turn two years old because they fear the child will die. The child grows up without a name for the first two years of their life, and will never know their birthday. Most of the Bere boys don't know their birthdays. Parents aren't worried about those things. I was told that only the educated families know how old their children are.
The Bere boys were given birthdays when they were "adopted" into the Bere family. That means, they each get to have an awesome birthday party like I had. It was small, but a lot of fun. There was a ton of chocolate, including the cake, and other finger foods. I didn't realize how much I missed listening to music out loud until my birthday party. I listen to my iPod all the time, but the music seems to have a different effect when played out loud. There were also games that we played late into the night. Actually, only until 8pm, which is late for Chad.
It was funny while they were trying to plan the party though. They didn't want to tell me the details of the party, but no one knew me well enough to plan effectively. I would overhear them ask Josh or Daniel what foods I liked. I chuckled to myself every time I heard them reply, "We don't know. We just met her a month ago." You feel like you have known someone for a long time here. However, instances like this remind you how little you know each other.
No comments:
Post a Comment