if the rest of this year is anything like my birthday...

Today is my “golden” birthday. For those of you who don’t know, that means I turned 28 on the 28th. While my birthday has never really been a huge deal to me, I was a little nervous before coming on this trip that I would be here for my birthday. I pictured myself in some little café ordering a cupcake and signing Happy Birthday to myself. That would have been awesome in and of it self – I mean who spends their birthday in Cape Town, South Africa! Well… a lot of people do, especially the ones that live here, but you get my point.

Originally there was a possibility we would be painting a school in one of the townships, but that got canceled. I was pretty bummed about that, so imagine my surprise when today was the best birthday ever!! I started off the day by celebrating 28s. I took 28 flights of stairs, ran on the treadmill for 28 minutes and then rode the stationary bike for 28 more. I tried to think of all the other 28 things I could do, but 28 bottles of water sounded like a bit much and 28 phone calls home would have been too expensive, so the 28s ended there.

My friends and I met for breakfast to plan out the rest of our time here in Cape Town. After breakfast they asked what I wanted to do for my birthday, hinting that our evening plans had already been made, but that the afternoon was open. We decided on a relaxing day at the beach since I hadn’t done that yet. It was a beautiful day. We laid around on the beach, reading and talking and just enjoying the lazy afternoon. Then we headed back home. I was instructed on what to wear and told to meet back down in the lobby in a few hours. I ended up chatting with a friend from home, so I rushed to get ready in about 15 minutes, just barely getting the sand rinsed off my legs. My friend had called a taxi and told the driver were to take us without giving me any idea. I think the taxi driver took us a backwards route to try to throw me off – little did he know I have no sense of direction in Cape Town, so it was no use. (p.s. he was not scamming us – the price was the same as usual. ☺) On our way there they asked me what I thought they were surprising me with. I explained that I’m pretty hard to surprise – I usually make up such lavish surprises that when the real ones come, I’ve already thought of them. I told them that I’d tossed around the idea of someone from the US coming to surprise me … or maybe even some celebrities joining us to celebrate my big day. They thought that was pretty funny and said they hoped I wasn't disappointed.

We ended up down at the waterfront and walked along the water by all the sailboats. At the end of the row, we stopped in front of a boat. My friends had arranged for a sunset sail in the bay on a cute little sailboat. How perfect!! We had a few minutes to mill around before time to leave, so we walked up and down the water. As we were walking, I saw a man with an earpiece talking into his sleeve. I thought that was odd and looked up to see another one a few feet in front of us. I brought it to the attention of my friends who looked around to see who could possible be that important. Tami spotted Matt Damon in a group of people and tried to point him out. I assured her it wasn’t Matt Damon. We could only see his back, but I was sure it wasn’t him. Then, he turned – totally Matt Damon! Right there in front of us. He’s shooting a movie in Cape Town. I never thought I would be so star struck in a situation like that, but I totally was. We tried to shoot some nonchalant photos, but were blocked by his body guards. We had to walk back by him to get on our boat and the body guards followed us. I know – we look like shady characters. ☺ We still couldn’t get a picture, so we decided to get on the boat. He sat down at a table on the water for dinner and we climbed aboard our adorable sailboat with the cutest old man captain. From our seats on the boat, we had a direct view of Mr. Damon. He looked over at us and we waved. I yelled out – “It’s my birthday!” He said. “Happy Birthday!!” We giggled and smiled and acted like totally idiots. ☺ He let us take some pictures of him and even smiled for the camera. He was very nice. Then as we were about to pull away he looked at us again, smiled, waved and said, “Have a happy birthday!” Caroline says he also said “You look smashing” but Tami and I were a little to excited to notice. We told him to have a great dinner and waved as we drove away. Caroline insisted that he said “You look smashing.” I said he probably said, “You look smashed” because it took me a while to get my sea legs under me and I ended up a bit sea sick, but she’s pretty confident, so we’ll go with what she said. ☺ Anyway…I guess they did surprise me with my celebrity appearance after all. Needless to say, we were pretty excited. I’m sure Matt Damon will remember my birthday for many years to come. ☺

The boat ride was perfect. No one else had bought tickets for the night, so it was like we’d chartered the sailboat for ourselves. There were beautiful views of the city and Table Mountain and we watched the sun set over the ocean. The girls had brought some snacks and even some sparkling grape juice for me. ☺ The waves were huge, so there was quite a bit of rocking and I was just thankful I didn’t topple over the side of the boat. It was my first time on the ocean in a sailboat and I didn’t quite master the skill of walking without having to lunge out and catch myself on ropes and cables along the way. I started to get a little seasick at the end of the journey, so spent the last few moments concentrating on not throwing up, but I loved the experience and the company so much!!

After the sailboat ride, the fun wasn’t over yet. We headed back in to town and ate supper at an Addis in Cape, a wonderful Ethiopian restaurant. We ate with our hands and had a great time. They brought out these long flaming ropes and sang happy birthday to me. I even get a free Addis shirt out of the deal! It really was the perfect night.

I had my first day at the beach, my first sailboat ride on the ocean, my first Ethiopian food…not to mention my first encounter with Matt Damon. But the best part of the day was my wonderful friends that took the time to make this day so special. As many of you remember, I was so nervous to come here and not know anyone. One of my prayers was to make good friends and as always in my life I have been abundantly blessed! Throughout my life, God has continually blessed me with the gift of wonderful friends and this place has been no different. I know I don’t deserve the love I receive, but I am so grateful for it. I can’t thank Tami, Theresse, and Caroline for caring enough for making my 28th birthday the best ever! I love you!!

Thank you as well to all my friends who wished me a happy birthday from far away. Along this trip I have been continually reminded of how much I appreciate my friends at home. I have traveled half way around the world and have officially decided that you are the best. I am by nature a very shy person, and I remember when I was younger specifically praying for the gift of friendship in my life. I have received abundantly in response to that prayer. As I look around at the different friends given to me at different time of my life – whether high school, college, grad school, work. church, and now Cape Town – I am humbled by the love you show to me. What wisdom God has in placing people in our lives in the moments we will need them.

I also received a call from my mom and dad tonight. This trip has also given me an even deeper appreciate for my family. When I came on this trip one of the most common questions people asked was – what does your family think about this? Are they okay with you going? At first I was surprised by this question. Of course they are okay with my going. They are my biggest encouragers and number one fans! It never crossed my mind that they would be hesitant about my leaving. I am so thankful for a family that supports me, prays for me, encourages me to dream big, and assists me in following through with those dreams. I love that you read my blog every day and that you share in this adventure as if you were here. I am so humbled that I was allowed the opportunity to be placed in such a loving family. I love you all!

So…happy birthday to me. If my birthday is any indication of what this year will be like – I am so excited for the adventure!