Birthdays Birthdays Birthdays.

The beginning of June was a big time for birthdays in my family.

I attended my first ever Quinceañera or Quince. Most of you probably have at one point heard about this type of party. It is like a Sweet 16 party, but for 15 year old girls. In most Latin American cultures it signifies the transition from child hood to early womanhood. This Quince was for a girl, AnaLiz, whose family I have become pretty close with, so I was really excited.

Normally for a Quince the girl of honor wears a fancy, pale-colored dress. However, her party happened to fall on a Friday during an unseasonably cold spell. She pulled it through and wore a cute white sweater and vest with some pretty fashionable white boots. 

Me and the birthday girl

At one point  AnaLiz's grandmother basically kidnapped me. She is an adorable old lady who only speaks Guarani, which makes our communication is very limited. We danced and danced and danced, she was holding onto me so tight at one point I thought she was going to dislocate my thumb. I was very impressed at the endurance of this old woman. Whenever I tried to wander away she would send some little child to retrieve me. At this point she is one of my main motivations for learning Guarani, so we can actually have a real conversation. 

After everyone was fed and full. The real dancing started. It began with the traditional father-daughter dance. However, her father is not in the picture, so she danced with her older brother, it was perfect.

 

Then came the cake! I don't know what it is but Paraguayan cake is so good. Also, they have an interesting tradition with the cake at a Quince. They place these little trinkets which are connected to ribbon inside the cake. The birthday girl and all her friends each pull out one of the ribbons and whoever gets the one with the ring is the first to marry. Don't worry I didn't get the ring!

Getting ready to pull the ribbons

Traditional cake to the face.

Birthday girl with her Mom and brothers and sisters.

The other birthdays I got to celebrate were those of my host father and grandfather, who happen to be born on the same day. Anyone who knows me will find that funny because my real mother and father were also both born on their father's birthdays. It was a fun day of food, family and cards !

My host dad and mom

Playing cards

My host grandma on the left and grandfather in the middle