Let her eat cake!
In fact, let her eat 4 cakes!
This birthday past, my 26th, was definitely the cakiest of them all. I had my first cake on Saturday afternoon – a coconut sponge, which I baked with the nieces and nephews who devoured it in about 3 seconds flat! Apparently cake is a welcome respite from nshima... Later that night I went to another volunteer’s place for dinner, after which the lights went out and while I puzzled over the impromptu power-outage, she waltzed in with a candle-clad brownie-cake, singing Happy Birthday! Cake No. 3 came later that evening, when I went out for drinks with a couple of friends at Rhapsody’s, one of Lusaka’s more posh restaurant-bars (located in a strip mall, but that’s the definition of posh here). As we sat sipping a very expensive beer, Happy Birthday started to play and the waiter came out of the kitchen with a huge cake covered in sparklers! I held my breath as he walked right up to our table, and... continued walking right by to deliver the cake to a gentleman on the far side of the restaurant! But the let-down inspired my drinking companions who made sure that the next time Happy Birthday played and a cake was brought out it didn’t get further than our table: my cherry cheesecake arrived right at midnight – a perfectly sweet way to begin my decline into Latetwentiesville.
The next day I had friends over for dinner and deliberately bought only ice cream for dessert. But the Cake Gods were determined to have their way with me, and it wasn’t long before Sam and his little brothers showed up at the door singing Happy Birthday and clutching a heart-shaped cake from their family with ‘Happy Birthday Ashley’ written in pink icing on the top! So I finished off my cake-filled birthday happily dusting the crumbs of my 4th birthday cake off my lap. I think it’s safe to say Marie Antoinette would have approved.
I didn’t receive quite as many presents as I did cakes, but I was given a lovely chipyanga (broom) in honour of the Nyanja name given to me by the nieces and nephews: Auntie Chipyanga. Apparently is has something to do with my hair... Go figure.
Thanks to all those of you who sent me fond wishes for my birthday, and to those of you who are patiently waiting for me to crank something out about my recent travels. I'll get there one day, I think...
Oh, and for those of you who are still curious, I did go back to the real estate agency, and they did waste 3 more of my apparently waste-worthy hours traipsing me around town, but I did not ever get to see an apartment. I did, however, get my money back (eventually) and then I did decide never to step foot in the place again!
This birthday past, my 26th, was definitely the cakiest of them all. I had my first cake on Saturday afternoon – a coconut sponge, which I baked with the nieces and nephews who devoured it in about 3 seconds flat! Apparently cake is a welcome respite from nshima... Later that night I went to another volunteer’s place for dinner, after which the lights went out and while I puzzled over the impromptu power-outage, she waltzed in with a candle-clad brownie-cake, singing Happy Birthday! Cake No. 3 came later that evening, when I went out for drinks with a couple of friends at Rhapsody’s, one of Lusaka’s more posh restaurant-bars (located in a strip mall, but that’s the definition of posh here). As we sat sipping a very expensive beer, Happy Birthday started to play and the waiter came out of the kitchen with a huge cake covered in sparklers! I held my breath as he walked right up to our table, and... continued walking right by to deliver the cake to a gentleman on the far side of the restaurant! But the let-down inspired my drinking companions who made sure that the next time Happy Birthday played and a cake was brought out it didn’t get further than our table: my cherry cheesecake arrived right at midnight – a perfectly sweet way to begin my decline into Latetwentiesville.
The next day I had friends over for dinner and deliberately bought only ice cream for dessert. But the Cake Gods were determined to have their way with me, and it wasn’t long before Sam and his little brothers showed up at the door singing Happy Birthday and clutching a heart-shaped cake from their family with ‘Happy Birthday Ashley’ written in pink icing on the top! So I finished off my cake-filled birthday happily dusting the crumbs of my 4th birthday cake off my lap. I think it’s safe to say Marie Antoinette would have approved.
I didn’t receive quite as many presents as I did cakes, but I was given a lovely chipyanga (broom) in honour of the Nyanja name given to me by the nieces and nephews: Auntie Chipyanga. Apparently is has something to do with my hair... Go figure.
Thanks to all those of you who sent me fond wishes for my birthday, and to those of you who are patiently waiting for me to crank something out about my recent travels. I'll get there one day, I think...
Oh, and for those of you who are still curious, I did go back to the real estate agency, and they did waste 3 more of my apparently waste-worthy hours traipsing me around town, but I did not ever get to see an apartment. I did, however, get my money back (eventually) and then I did decide never to step foot in the place again!
posted by ash at 2:59 PM
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