Eso, Eso!

I finally started packing for my flight tomorrow at around 9:30 tonight. It has been a busy week and I had no motivation to be productive when I got home from work. The packing didn't last long however.

I stepped outside to get something from my car and saw that Fernando and all of the ELI kids were having a party upstairs. I went up with intentions of saying 'hello.' Fernando turned 27 at midnight so I hung out for a while. They are such a great bunch. They are from Venezuela and Japan. And of course, there are the gringo groupies. It is always a very jovial, relaxed atmosphere with this group. It really is a different feel than one would get at a gathering of Americans, where everyone is networking, gossiping, seeing how drunk they can get, and flirting.
I tried sake for the first time while I was there. I was surprised by how much I liked it. I was expecting it to have that sharp bite that you get when you drink cheap vodka. It was quite the opposite. In fact, it was about the smoothest alchohol that I could ever imagine drinking neat. I look forward to trying it the next time I have sushi (which will be soon, I hope).

Fernando gave a very endearing speech at midnight in three languages. He talked about how glad he was to have so many friends here and how much we all meant to him. He said that it was his best birthday ever. His broad smile said more than any of the languages could have told.

Good time all around.