June 16, 2009
em Thao turns 25!
I met up with em Na in the afternoon at Ben Thanh market so that we could shop and walk around a bit before the dinner party. Em Na bought some flowers for Thao (they met previously at the Jazz club outing) and I had my gift ready (some printed pictures of our recent outings and to Bac Lieu, the Twilight soundtrack, and Oil of Olay lotion) and just needed a card.
We met up at the medical school dormitory and there were lots of people there ready for the birthday celebration. We went to a nearby restaurant for ban xeo, beef hot pot and banh trang, lots and lots of food. em Na and I practiced our Vietnamese, as we were meeting many of Thao's friends, all medical school students or doctors already. I met Thao's roommates (6 girls in the room) and other classmates; everyone was very friendly and spoke English, but willing to talk to me as I practiced my Vietnamese.
Thao said that this was the first time she'd celebrated with friends; normally she goes home and celebrates her birthday with family. Keeping with tradition, Thao paid for the dinner because she invited us all out. Completely different from what we do in the US, but I suppose it makes sense?
After dinner, we all headed to a nearby ice cream and coffee shop for more celebration and cake! There were two beautiful and yummy cakes; one traditional cake has gelatin on the outside, then the flour cake inside, it was so delicious!
Best picture of the night: Tuan sneaks a bite of a cake from Minh...
Thao gave bookmarks to everyone and gel candles that she had wrapped with tissue paper. She seemed to have a great time and it was really fun to share the event with so many people!
all pictures from em Thao's birthday celebration
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