birthday princess

I just had a perfect birthday weekend after coming back "home" from Hongkong.
I'm gonna write some details about that amazing trip the next days, but now I really have to tell you about my birthday here in Korea.

After a long sleep and a laid-back saturday afternoon after arriving in Seoul again, my wonderful friends took me out to dinner - Korean BBQ. You all know how much I love BBQs and Koreans invented a BBQ you can have every day or nighttime throughout the whole year. They just made a hole into the middle of a table and put in some flamy coal onto a gas stove. You just need to order the meat you want to grill and get some lettuce and other korean fixings besides. A small hood above that hole prevents the room getting fumy so you actually can enjoy your BBQ inside.
They made sure I get a good base to start drinking, because I guess that was their goal for the night.
Next we went to "drunk bar" which is our regular's bar and we named it like this cause nobody of us ever exited that bar dry. Same this night!

My birthday crowd made me wear a birthday cap and we had lots of beer and lemon/peach soju. As the bar staff already knew us we got fruits and korean food to eat for free. Some other guest was celebrating his birthday too and as I didn't have any birthday cake at that point he gave me a big pice of his delicious icecream cake. Half of it ended up in my face thanks to Philip, the mean Dane. So I went to the bathroom to wash my face, when Steph suddenly blocked the door and made me stay there for a couple of minutes. As she finally let me out again they had arranged some presents around my personal birthday chocolate cake. I got that fancy pyjamas, the most asian purse I ever saw and Hello Kitty post its. And my buddy who was also joining us gave me an olive handlotion. They started singing "happy birthday" in korean, denish, finnish, english, swedish and spanish.
Later Sean and John, two other buddies showed up feeling sorry for being late. They had another (heart-shaped) birthday cake and some bodylotion for me.
I could have cried cause I was so touched by all the nice friends I found here in Korea and that were making such a big deal out of my 21 birthday!

Finally, after filling me up enough, they tugged me to Noraebang (karaoke) where we were dancing, singing and jumping around till we had no more energy.

My birthday just started perfect and I thought it couldn't be better till I got back home and Betti was standing in our room, having made a big Happy birthday banner that decoreted our room and some presents for me lying on my bed.
She played a german birthday song for me and gave me a big hug. And guess what she gave me: a mirror because I always used hers and a hillarious blue wig I wanted to buy in Hongkong but then finally didn't.
I was just speechless and finally flopped dead tired and happy into bed.

That night I just was the luckiest birthday princess in the whole world!!!

The next day, my actual birthday, started with a happy birthday call from my parents at 7am. Nice but far too earlie! I fell asleep again, got up at 1pm and went to the river with Susanna and Kate to lay in the grass and enjoy the warm sun and Gimbap (korean sushi: steamed white rice (bap) and various other ingredients, rolled in gim - sheets of dried laver seaweed - and served in bite-size slices). Before that I got a birthday cake (my 3,5 one) from my sister who instructed Betti to get me one. The perfect food to cure a hangover!
To make my birthday perfect Kate and Susanna took me to a Dr. fish cafe to have a footspa were little fish are nibbling the dead skin from your feet. I know it sounds disgusting and it is the first few minutes, then its just tickling and after a while you get addicted and don't want to stop anymore.
A late dinner, many birthday calls from Vienna, Steyr, India and Sweden and so many nice messages on my facebook wall made my birthday perfect!

check out all the wonderful presents I got

And I just received a package from my parents....they sent me a handmade scarf (my mom did it) for colder days!!! Fortunately I don't need it yet, but I will in a few weeks and I just love it because its green and blue and so cuddly.
....just got another package from my siblings and my brothers cute girlfriend...yipee!!!

How else would I want to start my 27th year of living?

Thanks a lot to all of you, especially all the fab people who celebrated birthday with me, in person or at heart.