My Birthday in Another Country....

In 1970, on my eighteenth birthday, I was in France for the very first time. Our high school sponsored a trip and my parents decided I should be the first one in our family to see Europe. I will never forget that wonderful experience. We stayed in a faded hotel in Montmartre that had big brass beds and worn claret-colored velvet drapes. I had my first alcoholic drink....my first date with a man from another country (England!)...I saw "Hair"...but,most importantly, I learned to love exploration.

It took a very long time for me to start traveling again. I didn't go to Europe again until 1988, when Ken and I honeymooned in England, Scotland and Wales. But after that, Ken and I began to see the world....most of the United States, Canada, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Morocco, Germany, Belgium, Holland, France, Spain, Costa Rica, Luxembourg, The Czech Republic, Hungary, The Slovak Republic, Ireland, Switzerland, and Mexico.

We came here for the first time on our tenth anniversary. After that, we couldn't stop. It was the people, mostly....their warmth, their way of welcoming us, their love of their children, their strong work ethic combined with their ability to have fun every single day. Surveys have found that Mexicans are the hardest working people in the world and second only to Puerto Ricans in "happiness".

Living here makes up for all those years when I was too frightened, or sad, or lonely to travel. With Ken, I have a traveling partner who shares all of my curiosity and willingness to try new adventures.

And so, for the second time in my life, I am celebrating my birthday in another country. I am alone for a while today, as Ken is in school here in Mexico City. Right now, I am at "The Green Corner" having the best pancakes in the world, with organic strawberry jam, freshly squeezed orange juice, and coffee. Later, Ken, our friend Juan, and I will celebrate at dinner. I will hear the lovely "Las Mananitas" instead of "Happy Birthday".

I wish I still had that shining dark hair, beautifully arched eyebrows, size 5 figure, and white linen suit I wore on my 18th birthday in France! But every day I am so thankful that I can walk all over this great city...that I still have the desire to learn and explore...and that hair dye and makeup were invented!