26 April 2021
This year, I celebrated my birthday in Chernivtsi, Ukraine. It was a great day full of cake, some more cake, and then beer. Those of you who know me might be thinking, "How is this different than any of your other birthdays?" Well, this is true, those are three of my favorite things. What made this birthday different than all of the rest was the people and the place that I celebrated.
I started off the day to my roommate, Ryan, playing an airhorn and getting hyped that it was my birthday. I didn't eat any breakfast because I was saving room for cake. I checked on my phone and already the birthday messages were flooding in. What is great about social media is that you can connect with people all over the world. I read through the messages and replied back, then I got ready for class.
This was the first day that we were going to have class in person. The last few weeks, Chernivtsi was in a lockdown. The restaurants were closed for dining in and the Americana offices were also closed. So we were doing all of the classes online. I was excited to meet all of the students in real life for the first time.
I get to my first class and start talking with the students. The teacher leaves the room and says she will be right back. When she comes back, she is carrying a cake with candles on top. All of the students started singing the Happy Birthday song. It was awesome. I begin to blow out the candles and I blew (almost) all of them out on the first try. They kept on reigniting! As soon as I would blow the candle out, a few seconds later it would light back up. Apparently there were some trick candles on top of the cake. We were all laughing and enjoying the moment as I was trying to blow out the candles. I had to use my fingers to extinguish the candles. The candles gave off a lot of smoke, I'm surprised we didn't set off the smoke alarm.
We eat the cake and have conversation for the rest of the time. It was a really delicious cake called "Prague cake". It was a chocolate cake and very delicious. I shared some of the cake with the class and my next class as well, but there was still half of the cake left. I had a few hours before my next class, so I took the cake back to my apartment and went out to get some food. I figured maybe I needed some nutrients so I ordered some holubtsi, some pork, and a latte.
I go back to the office and I am about to enter the next class, but the teacher told me to wait in the hallway. I was told to cover my eyes and then she put a birthday hat on my head. I go into the classroom and sit down. Then the class starts singing the Happy Birthday song and brings in a cupcake with candles. Once again, it was awesome. These candles were not actually lit, so I didn't have the same problem as with the last candles. It was a delicious cheesecake cupcake. It was so rich and delicious.
I finish the cupcake and then we play games for the rest of class. Americana has two offices in two different buildings. After I was done with this class, I started walking towards my next class. I was already starting to feel bloated from the cakes.
I get to class and the students congratulate me and tell me happy birthday. They tell me that they have a surprise for me. I brace myself for more cake. I was pleasantly surprised when they handed me a bag, and inside the bag was a coffee mug and a pineapple. I love pineapples! It reminds me of Jamaica and its a healthy alternative to cake.
I only had one class left for the day. I head over to the class room and sit down. Immediately the teacher and another student leave the room to get something. I guessed it was probably cake. I was right. They return a few minutes later and they are carrying another cake. It was super nice and I blew out the candles. This time it wasn't trick candles! I blew the candles out first try. It was a Medovik cake, my favorite. The teacher and I both ate a piece, but funny enough the students didn't eat any. So I had another cake to take home with me.
With classes done for the day, I was ready for some beer. The plan was to meet up at the bar called Vyo. My friends Nina and Alona were going to meet me at my appartment and then show me where it is. They called me to come outside, so I went down the stairs and out the door. When I saw them, they shot confetti in the air towards me and shouted, "Happy birthday!" It was awesome. They also had a bag of candy and a superhero Shevchenko t-shirt for me. Inside the bag is a really nice card. I was so very grateful.
We walk to the bar and sit downstairs in the basement. It had a cool vibe to it. We sit in the corner table and wait for everyone else to arrive. We were going to order cocktails but they weren't available that night. It was probably a good thing because I ended up drinking a lot. I started off with a apricot cider. Some more of my friends showed up; Yulia, Tania, Vitaliy, Ryan, Muslim, Bodya, Vadim, and Roza.
Nina asked to borrow my drivers license for a surprise. I handed it to her and then she left the room. She came back a few minutes later and handed my ID back to me. I was confused because nothing happened, but she told me to just wait. The evening went on and I kinda forgot about it. Then, out of nowhere, the Vyo staff came around the corner with a mixed drink and a makeshift band. One lady was blowing on a whistle really loud and obnoxious (in Ryan's ear) and another was banging on a drum. Apparently I was supposed to chug the drink really fast.
The night was full of laughter and good conversation. It was definitely a good night. I am thankful for all of the good friends I have made in my short time in Chernivtsi. I had a few ciders and a few beers. We ended the night around 3am. Luckily it was only a short walk home for me. I was definitely a little hungover the next day. This was the best birthday that I have ever celebrated in Ukraine.
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