International Party Weekend

Yesterday we celebrated two birthdays. Amelie turned 2, and had a playgroup party in the afternoon. Naranjan turned 3, and had a family party in the evening. Amelie is from Germany, and her birthday party resembled anything I would organize. They had cake, streamers and birthday presents. And the birthday girl ran around, full of energy, with a smile constantly pasted to her face and an endless stream of chatter running out of her mouth. Amelie has an older brother, so there were big boys at the party. Also, Amelie only speaks German, and most of her friends - and their mothers - speak German as well. It was a lovely party.

After eating our cake and playing with her toys, we picked up Daddy and moved on to Naranjan's house. Naranjan and his family are from southern India. His mother shared with me that an Indian birthday party is more of an adult affair, held in the evening. The whole family is invited and the kids play in the playroom while the adults talk. Apparently guests stayed last night until midnight, and the kids led the dancing at around 11:00 pm. Our children did not last that long, but we were able to enjoy the Indian delicasies that were served. And the more we eat Indian food, the more excited we are about the prospects of jumping to Indian next!

Today we hosted an Easter Egg Hunt. Our guests numbered 13 adults and 9 children, including our family. The weather proved quite dreary, wet and cold so we hunted out our eggs and ate our brunch inside our apartment. The company brightened the room considerably, and everyone enjoyed the morning. As it turned out, our family made up some of the only people at the party who celebrate Easter, or who had ever been to an Easter Egg Hunt. I am afraid we disappointed some of the uninitiated, as an indoor Easter Egg Hunt with children primarily under 2 is a pale comparison to what the White House holds on its lawn. Still, each of the children sought out a few eggs and enjoyed themselves immensely. And I love to list the nationalities. Invited were:

Turkish: 1 family
German: 1 family
Brazilian: 1 family
Netherlander: 1 family
American: 1 family
Korean: 1 family
Indian: 2 families
Malaysian: 1 family
Australian: 1 family

I must admit, I'm quite pleased with myself and our life as I look over that list. Tomorrow we will share a more traditional Easter dinner with a Canadian woman, her Chinese-American husband, and their 3 girls who were born in Canada but have lived in China for over half of their lives. Add 'em to the list!