09 / January / 2007 -- 21 Years Old... in Bangkok

I was expecting my 21^st birthday here in Thailand to be pretty depressing. In addition to the increasing contact from people I’d rather forget about and the lack of the close friends I always spend my birthday with… everything I should be celebrating, I've been doing for the past 5 months here in Thailand. I was ready to forget the day existed and go to my four classes without mention of it.

Stupid me, I forgot to take it off my facebook.

Monday night I moved into my new apartment (which is, by the way, extremely SWEEET… so you should all come visit me) and after forgetting my backpack (that had my glasses in it) and Michael left, I was feeling a bit lonely. Chiho isn’t moving in until the 19^th-20^th so I’m roommate-less. I sat there eating cup of noodle and watching Sex in the City.

Luckily for me, Diego called and asked if I wanted to join Carolina and Aerin for dinner at the barbeque/grill buffet place.

Coline was the first to wish me Happy Birthday. She texted me when she boarded her plane back to Paris.

“Happy Birthday Monica! I just got in the plane and miss Thailand already… See you soon!”

I like how she said, “See you soon!” As if she wasn’t going back to Paris to graduate and apply to graduate school while I’m back here in Bangkok. No more May Kaidees for vegetarian food every Wednesday. No more catching up and bitching about classes and planning trips for the weekends while sipping on mango shakes, as I pick at her tofu pieces, and we both laugh at how she STILL does not know how to use chopsticks.

I love the French and I love Coline. We’re going to meet up in New York City. Maybe she won’t go to grad school in Paris… maybe we’ll both end up in NYC. It’s half way.

Anyway, we finished dinner right at midnight and they wished me a happy birthday… Before going back home, we bought some huge beers and went to Diego’s to watch Borat. We felt incredibly “ghetto.” The four of us, each drinking our 40s of cheap Thai beer while watching an incredibly politically incorrect film.

Already, the birthday was off to a good start.

Class was great. I like. I think I’m only going to have class Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. WHOO HOO! And I’ve realized, I’m better off taking classes taught by Thai professors. They’re the cream of the crop as opposed to the American/British professors who are mostly just expaths who teach here because they don’t want to be in the states. For example, my Cold War professor, who was a conservative American, from last semester was still working on his PhD dissertation while my Economy and Society professor, who is a Thai woman, has two Bachelor’s Degrees from USC, three Masters Degrees, and one PhD.

For dinner, I made reservations for 15 people at Cabbages and Condoms. The most politically correct birthday dinner I’ve ever had. Cabbages and Condoms is a restaurant that is part of a non-profit who promotes family planning and HIV/AIDs awareness. It was really good and I had to up the reservation from 15 to 25 because all of a sudden, I realized all the international students heard about it and came. After that we went to Bed Supper Club… my favorite.

All in all, it was good. It’s definitely not spending it with Angela in Vegas or the usual dinner I had with Felix… but I think that’s a good thing. Especially because I’m running out of anti-depressants and I don’t want to ask Malisa to send me some more. Maybe it’s time I REALLY try to ween myself off of them.