But for me the best part was the cake and ice cream. When you grow up type 1 diabetes and a mother that works in a dental office, my birthday was the one time of year where the sugar and the carbs that I ate didn't matter (well, they did. I still had to check my blood sugar and take my insulin) but for a day I almost got to be a normal kid.
We had a birthday part for Anna and Michael (the father) last Saturday and it was a huge hit!! If you want to experience culture shock first hand, throw an American style birthday party for a Burmese family. My favorite thing of the whole party was watching the baby (1 year old) eat ice cream for the first time. About as funny and as cute as a baby eating cake on their first birthday, but also a huge mess!
We wanted them to experience every aspect of a fun traditional American Birthday party. We had it ALL: construction paper DIY decorations, classic pin the tail on the donkey, ice cream, cake, cupcake decorating, you name it!
Up until this point we have mostly been working on reading, writing, grammar, and money counting with the family so a party was welcomed! While the kids and I sat in the living room making the paper chain link decorations, Anna was in the kitchen showing those interested how to bake cupcakes (from a box, because lets be serious, I can hardly make grilled cheese without burning it. When you are learning something for the first time, baked goods from a box are the way to go).
Os always I thankful for universal facial expressions and laughter. The kids caught on to "pin the tail on the donkey" right away and there was tons of laughter. I don't think I have ever seen anyone so excited to be blindfolded and laughed at! The smiles throughout the whole party were big and genuine.
One of the major things that I have noticed not just at the party, but everyday that I have spent with this family is the in-group collectivism. The textbook definition of in-group collectivism is, "the degree to which people express pride, loyalty, and cohesiveness in their families." This is especially true of the mother. She is always pushing the kids to participate and actively learn what we are trying to teach them, whether it be flashcards, handwriting, or money counting. The birthday party was no different. She watched with excitement and pride while her kids made paper decorations, laughed when the tail of the donkey was put on the nose of the donkey, and smiled when they dipped their fingers in the cupcake batter. I think that pride in the accomplishments of our children, both big and small, is something that is often overlooked or simply shrugged off in American culture. I know my mom is proud of me, because she tells me all the time, but I never stop to appreciate that fact. These kids want to please their parents, they want to help each other out and work together as a family and make each other proud. We can all take a lesson in what the meaning of family is from them!
One thing I know we will be working on next is colors and more specifically how to mix red, yellow, and blue to get all the colors of ROYGBIV. This was a difficult concept to understand when we were mixing food coloring in with the white frosting to get colors that everyone liked!
I learned a lot last Saturday.
- 1 year olds and ice cream are messy
- Nothing bad happens when you forget to add the oil to boxed cake mix
- Pin the Tail on the Donkey is always funny
- Michael, a middle aged man from Burma knows how to work a digital camera better than me
- Smiles, laughs, and parental pride in children is universal across cultures
- We should always remember to appreciate the small stuff and hold on to every moment.
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