I turned 29 last week.
I know what you are thinking...how can someone so vibrant and full of energy (and immature) be so old? I have no answer to that other than...time flies when you are having fun and the more fun you have the younger you seem.
But what does my birthday have to do with that horrible picture of my sunburned leg posted above? Well, last Friday, the day after my 29th birthday, I went to the beach with a whole bunch of the Young Single Adults here in Brazil. Friday was a big holiday here in Fortaleza...I think it is in honor of a Saint or something...and so the YSAs invited me to come with them. I decided that I still qualified as a YSA and so I was legit to go. We had a super fun day at Futuro Beach. The weather was perfect and the water was warm. We ate crabs and drank coconut milk on the beach. (I would love to share some pictures with you all but I didn't take my camera that day...I know, bad blogger.)
During the course of the day however as I got to know the other YSAs I found out that they were mostly between 20 and 23 and the oldest one in the group besides me was probably 24...maybe 25, and there were probably some in the group that were only 18 or 19.
This is where I get off on a tangent:
I don't know why but for some reason I had forgotten that usually where there are fewer members of The Church people get married younger and faster. (So the Young Adults that are still Single are usually younger.) I won't go into this in too much detail because I could write a whole book about this phenomenon, but in areas where there are many choices for a Mormon spouse (such as in Utah, Idaho, California, Arizona, big East Coast cities, etc) there are more people who take their sweet time in getting married (not everyone...some get married super fast but there are plenty who wait). Because why hurry and settle down when there are a million choices of people to marry and there just might be someone prettier, smarter, richer, more talented, more like your mom(or dad I guess), etc. who might show up later on?
But when you live somewhere where there aren't what feels like an unlimited choice of active LDS spouses...people just seem to find someone active, good, nice and fun and they fall in love and get married and make lots of little Mormon babies. Kind of how our grandparents did it before the days of Internet dating, Singles Wards, and commercial airplanes...just find someone near you with similar beliefs that you enjoy being with, fall in love and get married. Easy.
End of tangent
So there I am feeling like a GRANDMA as I'm basically hanging out with kids my youngest brother's age when one of them asks me how old I am. Here's the little conversation that transpired with myself as I processed the question...
'You're 28 Becca'
'Wait, wait, wait, no, you're 29...remember your birthday yesterday?'
'Oh, yeah, I am 29...but I can't tell them that I'm 29...I'm already so much older than these kids.'
'Well your birthday was just yesterday and you don't need to seem any older to them.'
So, I totally lied and answered "I'm 28," in my Sportuguese (Spanish+Portuguese) that I speak here. It just sounded so much less worse than 29.
Why am I lying already? Aren't people supposed to lie and say that they ARE 29? So, not a great start to my new year.
But I did have a great birthday here in Brazil with my parents. It wasn't hard to beat last year's bawling on my long drive back to SLC from Idaho...not wanting to go back and not wanting to be 28. But this year was better. Even though I am one year older and am still going back to SLC in a few days I am happy as ever. A few months ago I chose an apathetic approach to life and it is really helping me be more happy. You should try it sometime. Just stop caring. Anyway, here are a few pics from my B-day.
Oh yeah, and the sunburn picture is my attempt to get a little tan on my legs so that they wouldn't remain the bluish purplish white hue I've been sporting all summer. But I can never seem to tan my legs and not burn some places and not still be totally white in others. I should just give up, but NO, I just keep trying every summer. So instead of getting tan legs I got burned ankles and knees and nothing else in between. And the burn was pretty bad. I didn't peel or anything but on my right ankle I had some weird reaction to the sunburn and now I look like I have a skin disease...you know the one where all your pigment clumps up? Yeah, I look like I have that. I hope it isn't permanent.
A cute picture of my mom at the mission offices. She totally looks like she's faking that smile but it was real.
On the morning of my birthday my parents had four missionaries that finished their missions that were going home so they had a brunch for them at the mission office. Normally they have dinner the night before at the mission home but these missionaries were leaving on an odd transfer (because they needed to get back before school started) and flying out at a different time of day so they did a brunch for them instead. I made banana bread because that was always such a hit with the Argentines and my mom made some cinnamon rolls. Then we had stuff for little sandwiches and fruit with fruit dip (my mom even found marshmallow cream here to make her dip although it is expensive and weird like most the other food here), and fruit juices. It turned out pretty nice I think.
Just enjoying brunch.
Me and my mom and dad on my B-day. Oh, and Elder Coelho hopped in the picture to give my dad bunny ears. Coelho is the Portuguese word for rabbit so I guess it is fitting that he hopped in the picture to give my dad bunny ears.
Later that night my parents took me out to a Churrascaria for dinner. It is just a place like Rodizio Grill but had way more choices for food and was really nice. They even had a sushi bar so I had a little. I'm not a huge lover of sushi but it does just seem so much less disgusting when you are actually really close to the ocean so you know the fish is fresh...so I figured I'd rather eat some there than in Utah or something.
Me and the padres at dinner. The wine wasn't ours (of course). It was just on the table I swear. After dinner we walked down on the boardwalk area by the beach and had ice cream. I had tapioca ice cream with acai berry ice cream. It wasn't my favorite but both acai and tapioca are huge in Northeastern Brazil so I had to try the traditional flavors. 
17 comments:
Happy Birthday, Becca! Wait until you turn 30, that seems way worse. It's like suddenly you are an adult and you don't know how to be an adult and so you feel like you are faking it and not doing a good job. But, maybe that is just me. Someday soon, my kids and the Yound Women I work with are going to figure out that I'm not really an adult, I'm just pretending.
Kate, Amy and Corrine...
I just accidentaly REJECTED the comments you left me. What a dummy. I'm so sorry. If it makes you feel any better I did read them before I clicked on REJECT. So sorry. Thanks for the comments though, they were great!
Glad you had somewhat of a fun day for your birthday. If it makes you feel any better, I only have 4 days till the big 3-0.
I forgot to say that I just read that people in Brazil don't normally liked to be asked about their age and when they are, they quite often lie about it. So I think you are off the hook on that one. Who knows, maybe some of them were lying too and they are really 28 or 29 themselves. Don't let your age bother you. You really are immature enough to handle it.
Hey Becca! I've been one of those bad bloggers that reads everyones blogs and doesn't comment or have one of my own, but I am repenting. You are so awesome-there is nothing like your sense of humor to cheer me up. So I'm trying to start my own blog dustemhenderson.blogspot. It won't be as entertaining as yours though. Oh and by the way, this is Emily (England) Henderson from good old Grant! Thanks for sharing your fun life!
Happy Birthday Becca!! Hey I am right there with you. I probably would have done the same thing. You could have just played it off like you are so used to saying "I'm 28" Just like we all write the wrong year during the month of January.
Happy Birthday Becca! I think you can be 29 for several years, if you'd like. Sometimes you may end up lying just because you can't remember!
Good birthday party given by your parents....looks great!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I completely agree with you on the whole 29 thing... It is hard for me to say and I have been 29 for 3 months!! Maybe WE can stay 28 forever instead of 29!!
happy late b-day Becca!
way to go for eating the might-be-a-little-bit-more-fresh-sushi. that's something i cannot do. eat sushi any time, any place.
(& i loved your little convo in your mind. i wondered if i was the only one.....)
Kate, Amy and Corrine...I figured out how to put the comments I accidentily Rejected back on...so here they are...
Happy last birthday!
Becca, you are the coolest 29 year-old I know. Just look at your blog!
It looks like your folks are doing really well. It's good to see your posts and photos about them too. Your mom is so cute!
At first I didn't think your sunburn looked that bad, then I saw your ankle. You've definitely got to tell people you got this weird rash in South America and lead them on to think it is a flesh-eating disease and freak everyone out.
And watch out for the 29th birthday curse...I gained 10 pounds after it! It's either that or my dissertation habits of sitting at my desk all day have got the better of me, but I'm blaming it on the age.
And, another bonus for you: your mom didn't give you 3 happy 30th birthday cards a year early. For all I know mom was telling people "my oldest turns 30 this year can you believe it?"
No, no I can't. I've just had my last birthday ever.
Oh Becca, there are so many things I want to comment on (and you can guess what most of them are). But I'll only leave one. Regarding dating. How about instead of dating in the ward, they decide to date non members and have even come to the conclusion that maybe they'll just marry a non member because they're tired of waiting.
Oh, and you need to get a tan. I miraculously got one this summer and am going to keep it up till Costa Rica!
Happy Late Birthday! I think age is just a number and it shouldn't matter at all. In fact, I may be 28, but I usually feel like I am 43most of the time??? sad, I know. One of my good friends told me that she thinks I have an "Old Soul", so just be glad people think you are young, fun, and energetic! (I didn't know if I should be okay with having on old soul??)
Happy Bday Becca! I'm with my mom. I sometimes say my age wrong but it is only because I kinda forgot for a few minutes and then I add it up in my head and then I am too embarrassed to say that I was wrong. Or, you could be like my sister in law. One year she thought she was a year older all year long and then when her birthday came she realized that she was a year younger that whole year so she got to be the same age for two years. Cool hu?
I say "Yay for 29!"
BECCA! I am sorry that I didn't realize this sooner!! I would have given you a couple bucks off your adorable haircut and color!! Bad cousin/friend/hairstylist I am! Well it did look like you had a GREAT one anyhow. The time in Brazil with your parents looks and sounds like a blast!
I was secretly hoping your moms hair would have turned bright orange so she would wanna fly me out there to her rescue! (not really, i am glad "jill" did a good job)
Well Becca, your life officially makes mine look boring! Sure am glad we get to read about it though!
Good luck with being back at work and at school!
I think you're right on with that tangent. Come to think of it, that's how it always happenend in my ward in Missouri, seriously. Two people the same age with no other choices always get together and get married in a few months. Some of them kind of odd couples. Happened like 4-5 times.
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