30 years old

I had a very nice birthday yesterday. I gave myself the gift of sleeping in and not going to the office until 12pm. It was the best gift I could have given myself. I did upset the norm here by turning off my phone. I later found out that my Kazakh little brother had tried to call me at 7:00 wanting to be the first to wish me a Happy Birthday. Later, I was out of the office when he brought me his gift. I felt so bad. I later called him to say thank you and he forgave me for turning off my phone.



The caregivers from Saramoldaeva orphanage brought me a gift. The flowers were beautiful and I don't think I have ever owned such a unique clock.




I was also able to attend a concert given by children at a school for children with special needs and a birthday party (with over 100 people) for a one year old. It was definitely a busy, but fun birthday.

Today we had a lunch at the office to celebrate. It was a nice time. We enjoyed a lot of laughter together (most at my expense, as they informed me that the children at the orphanage should start calling me grandma Sara instead of mama Sara).