I heard this all day long Saturday. The first time I heard it, I broke into laughter. I suppose that my three previous birthdays in Germany were with internationals or Germans who are so engrained in the American culture that they would've just said "Happy Birthday." I knew that it was a German translation, but I still thought it was funny. I was quickly reminded that I am in Switzerland. After that, I graciously received the warm greetings with the pride that I suppose is due, for having made it to another year. 😊
It was a very early start to the day as I left the house at 7:30 to attend the bi-annual EE Schweiz (that's Switzerland) meeting. It was nice to see some familiar faces and hear different people present what is happening in their region. I got to catch up with Sandro, who is the one who will train the French speakers in May; with Manuela who has been leading a series of French trainings about once a month; and Tabea who I will train in some admin and also share a room with in Tirana next month.
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| Team Sharing |
During announcements, the Swiss team presented me with a couple of gift cards to McCafe, which also made me laugh. They then broke into "Happy Birthday" in English, which was really sweet.
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| I'm excited to see that they have macarons! |
I had only a quick break at home, but being the rare gorgeous day that it was, I made sure to get out and even found a new path along a stream to enjoy. As I walked, I thought back to a year ago when I had no way to get here, and now here I am. It's important to celebrate what God has done especially when it becomes engulfed in the day in and day out that we lose sight of His hand at work.
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| Happy to Discover This Path |
The evening was spent with my boss's family who had a surprise dinner with my neighbors who have become dear friends. They spoiled me with with a Swiss meal of raclette with 5 different kinds of meats and of course lots of cheese and potatoes, salad, two desserts, and some Swiss gifts.
I'm thankful for technology that allowed me to hear from friends and see my family, especially my twin, despite the distance. It was such a blessing and made the day complete.
And top it off, the "Powers That Be" decided to make it Daylight Savings time so that we now have an extra hour of daylight from here on out. The Swiss sure do know how to make a birthday girl feel special. 😉
