Tyler's 24th Birthday

During the past month, we've been doing two things: (1) patiently awaiting the long, frigid winter to burn off, and (2) recovering from sicknesses. Perhaps it's the changing seasons, but both of us have experienced several bouts of fevers, flus, and food poisonings between mid-February and now. Hopefully that all is behind us as we finally greet the warmth of spring. Yesterday was 72° here in Busan! 

The most exciting and report-worthy thing that's happened between our last blog post and now was Tyler's 24th birthday. We celebrated on March 2nd with friends and also on March 5th, Tyler's actual birthday. 

On the Saturday night before Tyler's birthday, we went out with friends to a local pub called Who? Brewery. I don't really understand the name, but then again, I've learned not to question titles here in Korea. Tyler sported a trendy pink and blue child's birthday hat most of the night as you can see below. 

Tyler got a chocolate cake surprise after we'd all had a few drinks. However, not knowing the cake was coming, he ordered a huge ice cream/garlic bread concoction (yes, ice cream and garlic bread) seen in the second photo below. Our abundance of goodies kept the guests happy and satiated. 

A few days later, we celebrated Tyler's actual birthday. Even though we had to teach that day, Ty got to open presents in the morning and go out for an evening of fun after school. 

Among other presents, Tyler received a sports bag specifically made for ping pong (his current obsession). 

After school, Tyler received his first Thai massage at a place aptly named Traditional Thai Massage. Although we paid for an hour of services, he received an hour and a half from an experienced Thai masseuse. In addition to the customary rubdown, a Thai massage includes being twisted and turned into yoga-like positions. It includes pulling of the fingers, toes, ears, and cracking of the knuckles and spine. Painful as it might sound, Tyler walked out of Traditional Thai Massage born again. He kept describing it as a transcendental experience. 

Relaxed and pliant, Tyler's transcendent state became even more metaphysical when he realized that our next stop was at a buffet for dinner. The buffet featured food from around the world including everything from carbonara to a cereal that resembled Captain Crunch. Since we rarely eat American or international food (other than Korean), our taste buds were in for a treat. 

I think that Tyler had a pleasant 24th birthday despite our distance from family and friends back home. I don't think that this birthday will ever go forgotten!