Birthday

My birthday this year was amazing. It started out a midnight knock at the door from my wonderful friend Soojeong, who had made me a cake, lit the candles, and delivered it to me. That meant so much to me, and I will always remember that night.

Later on in the day, I met with my good friend Jake for a run along the river. Exercising always makes me feel like a better person, especially when I have been lazy during the holiday season. After our run, Jake treated me to a hot spring visit for my birthday gift. It was so relaxing, and it was great to just sit and talk with my friend about life and how things are going. I am lucky to have such wonderful friends here in Japan.

While I was at the onsen, Soojeong had filled decorated my apartment for my birthday with balloons. There were a ton of them! It must have taken her a long time to do all of that, and that meant a lot to me. Later that night, she fixed me a full course Korean birthday meal that was delicious. I was very spoiled that day with birthday wishes and gifts from friends (delicious chocolate from Bregt and a really cool little red Daruma from Suzan) here in Matsumoto.