What a great day! I spent my Birthday celebration with my South Asian family. It was so much fun. We started with my language lesson and then afterwards the family gathered in the family room. Papa Ji, Mama Ji, Auntie from accross the street, and all my new brothers and sisters. They all call me their big sister, which is true in many regards. Not only am I older than all of my brothers and sisters, but I think they are all under 5ft tall. They come up to my chest when we hug. In South Asian tradition you buy sweets to give out to everyone, and I think if you go out for a meal etc..you're expected to foot the bill.
I bought some sweets called Gulab Jaman- they're the brown and white balls, and they are VERY sweet. It's almost like eating a smooth sugar ball. They're not bad though. We also had some other snacks like Samosas and sweet carrots- I forget the name, but it is also very sweet.
So the celebration was started by them bringing in my Birthday Cake (brownies that an American friend made) with a candle and singing "Happy Birthday". Then it was my time to cut the cake, so they could feed it to me. It's kind of like in a wedding, only your parents feed you the cake and then you feed them the cake. I was fed numerous brownies as everyone wanted their picture taken feeding me the cake. We were then able to start eating. The food was really good, although I did try to stay away from the Gulab Jaman and sweet carrots for as long as possible, because they're sweet enough to give anyone a headache.
However, I was only able to avoid them for about 5 minutes before they were forced into my lap, along with presents. I wasn't sure if giving presents was part of South Asian tradition, but I was very thankful for the new watch and new bangles/earring set I received! After the sweets were eaten and the chai had been drunk, it was getting pretty dark so we decided to go, but before we did, we of course had to sing and dance one last time. Papa Ji is a GREAT dancer, I could watch him for hours, and I think he could dance for hours. What a wonderful day!
What a great day! I spent my Birthday celebration with my South Asian family. It was so much fun. We started with my language lesson and then afterwards the family gathered in the family room. Papa Ji, Mama Ji, Auntie from accross the street, and all my new brothers and sisters. They all call me their big sister, which is true in many regards. Not only am I older than all of my brothers and sisters, but I think they are all under 5ft tall. They come up to my chest when we hug. In South Asian tradition you buy sweets to give out to everyone, and I think if you go out for a meal etc..you're expected to foot the bill. 
I bought some sweets called Gulab Jaman- they're the brown and white balls, and they are VERY sweet. It's almost like eating a smooth sugar ball. They're not bad though. We also had some other snacks like Samosas and sweet carrots- I forget the name, but it is also very sweet.
So the celebration was started by them bringing in my Birthday Cake (brownies that an American friend made) with a candle and singing "Happy Birthday". Then it was my time to cut the cake, so they could feed it to me. It's kind of like in a wedding, only your parents feed you the cake and then you feed them the cake. I was fed numerous brownies as everyone wanted their picture taken feeding me the cake. We were then able to start eating. The food was really good, although I did try to stay away from the Gulab Jaman and sweet carrots for as long as possible, because they're sweet enough to give anyone a headache. 
However, I was only able to avoid them for about 5 minutes before they were forced into my lap, along with presents. I wasn't sure if giving presents was part of South Asian tradition, but I was very thankful for the new watch and new bangles/earring set I received! After the sweets were eaten and the chai had been drunk, it was getting pretty dark so we decided to go, but before we did, we of course had to sing and dance one last time. Papa Ji is a GREAT dancer, I could watch him for hours, and I think he could dance for hours. What a wonderful day!
2 comments:
Sounds like you had a wonderful day. It stinks I missed wishing you blessings so please accept them now. Happy Birthday my friend. I hope you have a great year with many opportunities. Smile much, laugh often, and love whole heartedly.
Love you Beki B!!!!
Donna
Happy Birthday Beki. I like the dancing picture.
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