Twinkle Day

Twinkle is one of my good friends here. She is a grade 3 student so she is very busy getting ready to take her college placement exam. Grade 3 students don’t have a foreign teacher, but I still get to see her every so often.  Yesterday was her birthday and we named it “Twinkle Day.” Haiden, Emily, and I went to Lengshuitan and took Twinkle shopping. (She may or may not have sluffed classes that day.) We bought her a new coat, scarf, gloves, and a backpack. She was so grateful. It was so cute. She told us this was the first birthday that she ever celebrated… she just turned 17. We also took her to KFC for lunch. KFC is a huge deal here in China. It’s a nice restaurant here. She has always wanted to go but it’s kind of expensive. We seriously had to teach her how to eat a chicken sandwich. Fries and an ice cream sunday were also foreign to her. Twinkle has had a difficult life. She was in to drugs and stuff but then she got adopted about two years ago and it has changed her life. Her dream is to become a diplomat. She has the best English. She can even talk faster than me. She calls us her “sisters.” Later that day she wrote us a note…

“Sister one, two, and three, Today I cried in my heart.  Today is the happiest day in my life. This is the first time other people remembered my birthday. The first time other people celebrate for me. I love you three.  I hope we can become sisters forever. Remember today forever. Today is Twinkle Day.”

-Twinkle

 It was pretty cool to celebrate her birthday with her. It reminded me how lucky I am and how I need to be more grateful for the things that I have. Later that day we surprised Twinkle with a cake. I told her she could invite her friends over to my apartment. I thought it was going to be a simple, innocent party. I wasn’t aware of the Chinese customs for birthdays. I was cutting the cake when one of Twinkles friends shoved a piece of cake in my face. Apparently the Chinese don’t really eat the cake. Instead they have a big cake fight! Maybe that’s why they are so skinny here. It was pretty crazy and within minutes the entire cake was demolished and there was cake and frosting all over my apartment. It was definitely one of the craziest things I’ve ever done. Here are a few pics of Twinkle Day adventures.