A French Birthday Party

So remember the volleyball fan and his daughter who picked us up from the airport when we first arrived in France? Well, that night, the daughter- Celine, told us her 18^th birthday was in two weeks and invited us to her birthday party.

The night of her party came and it happened to be the same night as Rusty’s first scrimmage. I thought we were going to have to miss it, but Celine told me to message her after the game and that her boyfriend, George, would come pick us up. So, at 9pm George and Celine’s sister Claira showed up at our apartment and chauffeured us to the party, which was about 15 minutes away. I had imagined a small gathering at their house, but I was so wrong. We arrived to a local hall they had rented out. Celine was wearing a floor-length, formal gown with her hair in an up-do. There were name cards at the dinner tables (including ones that said “Rusty L.” and “Kaity L.”), a DJ was playing music with fog and lights, and Celine gave a speech, which she had typed up. Courses were served throughout the night- and by ‘throughout the night’ I mean until the wee hours of the morning! The hors d'oeuvres were handed out at 11pm, and the main course was served at 1am. Apparently this is normal here in France. Try as I might, I was not able to hold out until dessert; we ended up leaving at 2am without getting to try any birthday cake. If we didn’t have church so early the next morning, I may have stayed just so I could have dessert :)

The DJ organized a game like musical chairs, but before they could grab a chair when the music stopped, they were given instructions to go find something like a pen, a sock, etc. and they couldn’t return to their seat until they had it. They also played a slideshow of Celine, and the DJ went around asking people how they know her and what they think of her (I only know this thanks to a couple from Bulgaria, who translated for us).

So come to find out, Celine’s mom is the leader of the volleyball team’s fan group, aka the Blue Eagles. Celine’s Uncle appeared to be the biggest fan- tracking down his daughter to translate for him, so he could let us know, wherever the team goes, he goes and he brings his drums with him. I’m excited to see the Blue in Eagles in action this season!