Buddhism and surprise birthday party

January 17, 2011 20:52 Thai time

What a day!  We started off the day with a lecture on the overview of the history of religion and Theravada Buddhism as well as religion in Thailand.  It was an informative lecture that created a lot of invigorating discussion.

This afternoon we had a monk chat session planned.  I missed this session due to illness.  Yes, the traveling has caught up with me.  I have been in the room sick all afternoon.  Please keep me in prayer for a quick healing.  These beds are too hard for me to be stuck in all day.

The last thing to happen was my surprise birthday party.  They got me good.  On our agenda it stated that we had a group processing session for 7:30 pm.  My roommate drags me along stating that she will take the notes.  That we are getting updated travel information for when we leave later on this week.  I did not think anything of this because she normally takes the notes when we have these types of meetings.

Everyone is there when we show up.  There is a huge cake and champagne.  I was so touched.  I expected birthday well wishes but never expected a party.  I was told that they have been planning for a week.  I am so thankful for this group.  This makes being away from family so much easier.  They have become my family on the road.