Feliz Cumpleaños!!!

For all you folks who didn't take Spanish until high school... that means Happy Birthday.

No, it's not my birthday.

And I don't speak Spanish.

But, this past Saturday I did go to a friends house to celebrate her sisters birthday with a cook-out. Mmmmmm!

A really close girlfriend of mine is married to a Brazilian guy and they used to have cook-outs all the time - however, they moved to Charleston last year and my taste buds have been sad every since.

So, when my home girl - who is Puerto Rican - told me that she was throwing a party for her sister and they were getting on the grill, I practically did a gig right in the middle of Target. (And actually, that wouldn't be all that different than any other time I'm in Target seeing as how every time I find something good on clearance I dance) Yay! A baby step for my new adventures.

So I roll to the party and there was one car outside. And I made it a point to arrive fashionably late. Mainly because I always arrive on time and I'm usually the first person there. Me and the host. Looking at each other. Making small talk over pretzels and a cheese ball. Anyhoo - when I get inside, no lie, there are like 10 people there lol. You know I had to ask! So after all was explained, I was satisfied and able to get the party started.

I asked my girl if she needed any help and like a good hostess... she said yes. I was given a glass of wine, cutting board, a knife, 4 tomatoes, an onion and a head of lettuce. I was now in charge of burger toppings! Anybody who knows me knows that not only do I LOVE to cook, but I love to have parties. And prep work makes me happy. So does wine. I was officially in kitchen heaven.

After all the toppings were prepped, I was then added to team pico de gallo :: side note - I didn't know how to spell pico de gallo so I Googled it. One of the links says pico de gallo is Spanish for "rooster's break". Ummmm... WTF???::  As more people began to arrive, the less English was spoken. It was great! And because I grew up in America and wasn't even required to study a different language until I was 15 and it was entirely too late, I was totally lost but loving every minute of it.

Whenever I'm around people who speak Spanish, I play a game in my head as to how many words I can pick up and it makes me feel smart. My own personal goal is 1 out of every 137 words. I get 2 points when I detect a string of words and 3 points when they say a word in English! So basically the whole night sounded like this: "Wonk wonk wonk wonk, wonk wonk mi amiga Kim. Wonk wonk wonk Blackberry wonk wonk wonk wonk wonk. Wonk wonk Google wonk wonk". Yes! 8 points!!!

There were all kinds of cousins, grandparents, uncles, nieces, nephews, husbands, wives... just everybody. It was really nice. I love family functions. And I really enjoy mixing with other cultures. Especially eating their food - which was SO good - and joining in on their customs. Like... lighting the candles and singing Happy Birthday 4 times!!! Once in English, once in Spanish and 2 versions were Columbian birthday songs. I think...

*shrugs*