Edge of Seventeen

Well, I've been waiting 17 years for this day. And let me tell you, it was worth the wait!

Last night, a the stroke of midnight, MB and Ajay and Kirsten (and then Ilga,a when she sleepily dragged herself out f bed and waltzed in the living room) sang happy birthday to me. I video taped the whole thing! MB brought all our stuffed friends into the living room to sing with us; my Joe Bear and Concerned Bear, and MB's Miriam's dolls, Zwei Einhorns, Mr. Gobble the Turkey, and her fluffy teddy bears. Ajay played the drum while MB played guitar. It was fabulous. Then we sang some more songs, and then I danced for Ajay and Kirsten and MB. Then everyone went to sleep, and I stayed up until 2am responding to an email from the Lewisboro Ledger.

I had an amazing day. I woke up this morning and changed my sheets. I brought my tie dye sheets from home, and up until now I was using what MB had put on the bed before I arrived. Then MB gave me a bag of birthday goodies to decorate the room. I put sunglasses on Joe Bear and Concerned Bear and confetti all over my bed. I put the presents from my family next to Joe, and she also had a noise maker thing in her hand. MB set up the chorus from the night before on her bed before she left for soccer today, and put a sticky note on each; it read "Happy Birthday Katrina, Hope You Enjoy Yours Special Day! We Love You!". It was great to wake up to! Then I took a shower and put on my skirt and shirt and necklace, and made some amazing French toast for breakfast.

I uploaded some more pictures to my blog after breakfast (see below!), and hooked up my ipod to a speaker in the kitchen so that Ilga could listen to music while she...BAKED ME A CHOCOLATE CAKE!!!!!

Taura was supposed to arrive here at 2pm with some other volunteers to get ready for a fashion shoot Mark was helping her with. She is going to display the photos at an exhibition to raise money to send kids from her hometown to school. But they didn't get here until 3:30! Eleven of us got dressed in some of Taura's designs. Some were made totally of recycled materials...plastic bags and things. Our earrings were clip on bottle cap rings! You know those little rings of plastic that separate from the cap when you open the bottle? Those! In all different colors!

It took forever for everyone to get dressed, get hair and makeup done, and then finally get out the door...at 5:30pm! We all looked so strange. We walked down the street and through the mall to Independence Avenue. People were staring and of course there were taxi drivers and men beeping and whistling. Ugh. Men.

Mark took the photos. Kenny and a friend of his were helping with the flash. We all posed in different locations. Taura wanted an urban setting for the venue of the shoot, so we really just walked around town. At one point, Mark took a picture of me jumping up on a stop sign! It was pretty fun.

Afterwards, we went home and changed into normal clothes. Then we walked to SPUR Steak House. I originally wanted to go for a cheese burger and to jump in their.... INDOOR JUMPING CASTLE! If you know me at all you can imagine how amazing it was to be in a jumping castle! But when I tried to order a cheese burger off the burger page, the waitress told us that they don't have burgers...I was pretty disappointed, but I had a good steak instead. Before the food came, Ilga and I went to the jumping castle and she took some pictures of me jumping. After dinner, we were walking out and I asked a man for two balloons! He was really nice.l I asked him how old he thought I was...I thought he would say 13 or 14, but he said 16! What a shock. I told him I was 17 today, and I think he realized that I was just having a good time starting the last year of my childhood. Wow. That sounds strange to say. Although, emotionally I really do believe I've already reached adulthood. I guess I'm not so ready to have a number validate that, though.

Before we left, MB, Kirsten, Ilga and I all went into the jumping castle! It was SO GREAT. Highlight of the day! I had a blast! Ajay took some pictures, and I will try to post them soon.

Then Ajay drove us home in his bakkie. Kirsten sat in the front of the truck with Ajay, and Ilga and I sat in the open back. It was really nice sitting in the back, with the stars bright overhead and the cool breeze. Once home, I got on the computer and talked to some friends, and to Genevieve (my sister, for those of you who don't know). Ajay and Kirsten and Ilga began watching Shaft.

I opened a gift Taura had given me earlier. Its vanilla perfume. It smells reallllllly good. MB gave me a little tote bag, perfect for Joe to use as carry-on luggage! Inside was a beaded star, a makalani seed key chain with African animals carved into it, a bracelet made of plastic piping that has been carved into (so cool!), and a really beautiful card. One of the girls at the center, Rozein, wrote me a card on Friday and gave it to Ilga to give to me today. It says:

"Dear Katrina, Happy Birthday. I like you so much. You are like a sister to me. I love you so much. From Rozein"

She is such a sweet and honest girl, probably fourteen years old. I really really like her.

On Wednesday Sha gave me an early birthday present; a red braided bracelet with beads. I absolutely love these kids. Even if every single one of them has a terrible alter ego.

Mom and Dad and Gen and Ronan called me on MB's cell phone around 11:15pm. It took a couple tries to get connected, but we finally figured it out. I opened the two gifts that they sent me here with. One of them is a pair of silver ball earrings, and the other is a silver bracelet that says "BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD", which is a simplified version of my favorite Ghandi quote, or maybe even favorite quote in general. The original, i believe, is "be the change you wish to see in the world".

MB and Ilga and I had vanilla ice cream with Ilga's cake for dessert. I talked to MB about Etosha stuff, and we are trying to figure out how I will get there. It will probably cost about $300 US dollars, and would be a 3-day trip, if I go with a travel company. It's really all so complicated.


And the Groundhog?

"Phil's official forecast as read 2/2/08 at sunrise at Gobbler's Knob:

Here Ye! Here Ye! Here Ye!

On Gobbler's Knob on this fabulous Groundhog Day, February 2nd, 2008
Punxsutawney Phil, the Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of all Prognosticators,
Rose to the call of President Bill Cooper and greeted his handlers, Ben Hughes and John Griffiths.

After casting a weathered eye toward thousands of his faithful followers,
Phil consulted with President Cooper and directed him to the appropriate scroll, which proclaimed:

"As I look around me, a bright sky I see, and a shadow beside me.
Six more weeks of winter it will be!""

Yay! maybe there will still be chilly air and snow when I return home! With all this heat every day, I sure do miss the wintertime.

Well, it's 12:22am here, and so it's no longer my birthday. I had a really special day; I wouldn't have changed a thing. 364 more days until I'm legally an adult. Weird.

Thank you to everyone who posted birthday wishes! And thank your to Aunt Jackie and Brianna for sending me online birthday cards! And Grandma and Grandpa, I loved your email. I miss you guys, and although I truly did have a great day, a little part of me is very sad that I couldn't spend it with all of you.

I'm telepathically sending each and every one of you lots of love. Just letting you know because, in case you start feeling warm and fuzzy, don't worry, it's only my telepathic hugs.

xoxo the Birthday Kids,
Katrina and Joe Bear

:) + 8 :)

p.s. ^ this is my lame attempt at an emoticon with bear ears.