My 24th Birthday

First off, thanks to everyone back in the States who took the time to wish me a happy birthday. I really appreciated getting those notes.

I had a great 24th birthday here in León with my friends. I was a little afraid they might get ¨Hayden´s birthday fatigue¨ since we celebrated it ten days ago, but we still had a very nice time.

After two special phone calls, I spent some time roaming around the city, shopping for the feast. Harry, Adam, Rufus, and I decided to cook up a paella. So I researched a recipe and bought all the ingredients. To this we added the bottle of red wine that I won at the trivia night at Via Via the night before. We gathered at the house in the evening and cooked up the meal. It was really delicious, a richly seasoned plate packed with shrimp and vegetables.

Then we headed up to the poker game, which featured seven members of the Quetzaltrekkers/Las Tias family. We played for several hours, drinking mojitos all the while. Luckily, or gracias a Dios, I was the top winner at the table, bringing home C$255.

To me, it was just nice to eat and play with my friends here. And I look forward to continuing the celebratory month with my friends and family back home in the States.