The Birthday Boy!

Tim's birthday was lots of fun at school, and the German chocolate cake was indeed a huge hit.  A bunch of the gals want the recipe, which is always a good sign of appreciation.  We made sure all the secretaries, administrators, and the custodian each got a piece of birthday cake before the teachers devoured the rest.  I saved a few pieces for our adult English students that evening too.

These gals all sang "Happy Birthday" to Tim -- in English!!  :-)

We absolutely adore the Slovak tradition of bestowing good wishes
on the birthday celebrant.  Everyone gathered around Tim, and then
one by one, each shook his hand, holding onto it as they looked him
in the eyes and extended many kind words of blessings for the coming year.

Tim also received many gifts from colleagues throughout the day - boxes of teabags,
chocolates, cookies, a towel embroidered with EGJT (our school's initials), a lovely leather planner book for 2013, and even a bottle of wine.  And students were wishing him Happy Birthday all day long in the hallways and in classes.   He was overwhelmed!  

These are some of our wonderful colleagues, all with desks in our
teacher workroom/office.   Katarina, Janka, Danka, Edita, Alenka,
(who gave Tim the bicycle to use), and Dushon.  

Lute gave us a quick Skype call from school, and his class of Wapsie Valley students all said on camera, "Happy Birthday Mr. Olson!  Have a magical day in Slovakia!!"  Then several asked if we remembered teaching their parents, many years ago!  Beth Facetimed us for a while too, to wish her Daddy a Happy Birthday.  :-)   

After school, Patka (our deputy headmistress for the English Dept.)
and her daughter, Rivi, came over for Rivi's English lesson, and
they brought wonderful gifts too - an African violet, and homemade
 lokše!!  We sampled it the Slovak way, with melted butter and
sweetened poppy seeds that accompanied the "Slovak lefse"!!
(P.S. to Curran --- Did you notice your Slovak flag on the refrigerator door?)

Today we only had classes for the first 3 periods, because the whole school attended the monthly worship service starting at 11:00.  (Guess who got to teach all 3 periods - yes, me - while Tim only had 1 class - yes, Tim!)  

Tim at his desk today, wearing the new tie that the kids sent in his
birthday package.  He's drinking birthday tea out of the Wartburg
Castle mug we got him in Eisenach.   :-)

Volleyball was at 5:00 this afternoon, Tim is at basketball now, and I'm home from my grocery stop on the way back to the flat from the gym across town.   A load of laundry is going, and it's a quiet evening.