Jaren’s Birthday Season

Jaren’s November 4th birthday this year presented us with a bit of a problem, as that was the day Steve was due in Nattitangou for a conference and for the time being Jaren didn’t have permission to leave Tchaourou for more than a day. We originally planned to have her get permission to come for the conference and spend time with another health volunteer in the area, but Peace Corps policy unfortunately could not make an exception for her so we were stuck.

Far be it from us to let something as mundane as a calendar stand in the way of a celebration. Considering she comes from a family in which birthday’s are recognized in “seasons,” we just started the festivities early. Eric next door originally approached Steve mid-October about wanting to surprise Jaren with a cake, and by the time November 2 rolled around it became a full blown surprise party.


The cake:

The organizer and birthday girl:

As for her actual birthday, Steve returned from Natti with an armful of gifts
(as well as a cold) and we celebrated well with a series of feasts, heralding the arrival of Jaren’s 27th year with great fanfare.