April 9th 1989 will always be remembered as the day my mother gave birth to this guy called Santiago.
I’m not really a birthdate celebration fan but the unpredictability of my life makes me always reflect whenever the calendar hits April 9th.
Before 2012, I always spent my birthdate in Buenos Aires, Argentina surrounded by family and friends. I threw up parties, enjoyed spending the day with my girlfriend(s) or made barbecues for my whole family. Well, actually my dad was the cook while I recovered from my previous night hangover.
But things started changing in 2012. In April I traveled with my family to NYC to spend the Easter Holidays in the Big Apple. Yeah, in Argentina people don’t work during this time of the year!
My first time in that vibrant city which looks more like a jungle full of bizarre animals (and I love it!) marked the beginning of a series of unexpected travels on the following Aprils.
In April 9th 2013 I was in the middle of Kenya’s rural area in a volunteer program with AIESEC. I had an amazing day at my project surrounded by primary school students who gave me some drawings and handcrafts.
In April 2014 I was in Nairobi, Kenya attending my postgraduate degree in Social Innovation Management with people from 16 different countries.
In April 9th 2015 I was doing my 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training in Kenya surrounded by more than 50 yoguis from all around the world. I remember that I didn’t tell anyone that it was my birthday so I didn’t have to deal with all the typical greetings. The reality is that I don’t really care if people tell me “Happy Birthday”, is not going to change my life. Really! The sad part of this day was that my dog was died after being hit by a car in Argentina.
April 9th 2016 I was back in Argentina I remember going to a techno rave with my very best friends and the day after my family came over to celebrate with a huge barbecue at home. Something special about this one was the fact that my Colombian friend that I met while living in Kenya, came to visit me so I invited to the feast.
April 9th 2017, New York again! This time I booked my ticket for the 6th with more than a month in advance with Mega Bus so I got a really good deal. Besides, I asked my supervisor to take Friday 7th and Monday 10 off so I could fully enjoy my birthday weekend.
Something particular about this one was the fact that I celebrated together with two very good friends I made in Kenya. One was the Colombian who visited me to Argentina for my birthdate in 2016 and who is now living in NY while doing his Masters in Public Affairs at Columbia University. The other one is a 49 year-old friend who works for the UN office in Nairobi, Kenya.
Yeah, Kenya, Kenya, Kenya…
There are a couple of unexpected coincidences that made my last birthday even more hilarious:
- I would have never spent this birthdate in NY if I wasn’t living in DC.
- I would have never seen my Colombian friend in NY if he weren’t living there.
- I would have never seen my friend from the UN (who lives in Kenya) if he weren’t sent for that specific assignment to NY at that moment. In addition, that was the first time he was sent to NY to do that specific task and the last time he was sent to NY was 5 years ago!
All this can’t be just a mere coincidence.
Universe? Magic? Who knows…
Peace.