Happy Birthday, Beth

This evening, Fred and I went to the American Hotel to meet my manager, Beth, her husband, Maarten, and another friend, Vanessa, for a birthday drink. Beth is turning 23 for the twenty-third time. She was mellow and happy. They are spending New Year's Eve in Amsterdam for her birthday/New Year's Eve. Beth is one of those people who is a grandparent who is my age. (We often make and "get" the same Seventies references.) So it's hard to believe she's a grandmother - but she started really early, at 18 (but she was married). Plus, she doesn't act like a grandmother. She acts like...Beth.

It's really nice to have American friends here. I mean it's great to be in a situation where I can be included in really Dutch situations (family things, the dinner group, etc.) but it's also nice to have my American friends with whom I can commiserate about living in a foreign country, people who are going through the same situation - albeit in a different style. I always get a few laughs with Beth and Vanessa, which is why it's nice to work with them both.

Vanessa and I gave Beth some candles, which she is apparently into, for her birthday. Vanessa also gave me a copy of Conversations with God. I've never read it, but I guess I will now. After the drinks, Beth and Maarten headed off to eat, Venessa went to a party and Fred and I went home. It was really nice to get here.

Happy Birthday, Beth!