It will be hard for Alex to forget where he became a teenager. In addition to his 13th birthday, today is the final day of the Chinese New Year three week festival and known today as the Lantern Celebration. Tonight, hours and hours of constant fireworks rocked the neighborhood and I nearly convinced Alex it was all for him.
He celebrated his birthday by having a sleepover with his best school buddy, Phaleon. Phaleon was born in Canada but is a ‘third culture kid’ and has spent most of his life in Malawi and South Korea in addition to his year in China. I took them to dinner at Alex’s favorite western-oriented cafe, Deja Vu, where they feasted on popcorn chicken, fries, and chocolate chip cookies.
Today, Alex was thrilled with his fancy new headphones, less so with new clothes. We ate chocolate cake and ice-cream to round out the big day.
Travel the World Over 