today is malcolm's birthday! and what did he get for his birthday from me? half a case of beer (robin paid for the other half) and my friendship love. i just liked malcolm up until now, but now that he's 23, things are different. he (and lindsay, even though today isn't her birthday) are part of the exclusive, but ever growing, club of people who i love. no membership fees. no expiration date. mally mally mally.

i have so enjoyed living next door to our asian neighbors during these past few weeks of an apple life. all three of them are inspiring in their fearless forays into english and in their dedication to meeting new friends. their friendship with each other is bravely forged through the muddy waters of accented english and a mutual desire to be in this beautiful country. having them around is like constantly starting a bad joke. a korean man, a japanese man, and a chinese man walk into a bar. . .

i remember during my summer in china how much i loved getting to hear a japanese friend and fellow worldteach volunteer, fumiko, skype her family in japan. the rhythmic quality of the japanese language was nothing i had ever heard before, and i thought it was unusually beautiful. it has been wonderful having another japanese friend to eavesdrop on. a few nights ago we asked kota to read aloud his japanese version of the lonely planet. the cadence of fluent japanese sounds almost like spanish to my untrained ear, and it has the magical capability of making even a travel guide captivating. japanese is the beautiful language i will from now on associate with breathy romance, not italian or spanish.

i was thinking this afternoon how different my generation is from my parents’ generation. remembering the weeks leading up to my semester in ghana both mom and dad commented that going to ghana during a university semester was absolutely unheard of during their youth. europe was their world to discover. i feel lucky that i have been encouraged to greet every inch of this simultaneously big and small planet. every time i take a moment to look around - regardless of where i am - i can’t help but think what a great place it is.

love,
maggie