23?!?!

Well it's official, I'm somewhat of a grown-up. July 15th I turned 23. I don't know why, but 23 just seems like an adult age, 22 was too close to 21 to be taken seriously I guess. 

Since July 15th landed on a Wednesday this year, so I found myself at work at 8am decked out in my Star Wars t-shirt and some cargo shorts, because for some reason I have a serious aversion to adult clothing. 23 or no, some things will never change. 

Now, I don't know how they figured it out, but I swear all my kids knew it was my birthday. All my classes sang to me, and about 300 kids shouted "ELLIN! HA-PI BU-SU-DAY!" It was cute, but occasionally startling. 

Right after work I grabbed one of my teachers and headed to Oita City (the closest movie theatre 90 minutes away) to see Harry Potter 6 on opening night. 

Before the movie a few of us met at an Italian restaurant for dinner. Whilst waiting for our food, I was presented with a birthday crown, a Harry Potter wand, and an R2D2 with a removable head for all your robo storage needs. 

Danielle and one very happy birthday girl

This is Hunter and Kate. Kate is a bit leery of our dear Hunter, because he reminds her a bit of Jason Van Der Beek.

Meet Saito-sensei and Watanabe-sensei, two of my favorite teachers. 

This was the biggest bowl of pasta I have ever seen. Hunter's a trooper. 

Now, if you don't already know, Winston ordered me a bike!!! Tokyo trains are over-priced and over-crowded, so I've decided that biking is my new choice mode of transportation. Here's my bike: 

Coordination is not one of my gifts, so naturally my friends and family have been a little concerned about my safety. Well fear no more, because Betsy and Darin gave me a very practical present: 

Nothing says "SAFETY!" Like Mega Man. Bets painted this helmet for Darin earlier this year, and rather than haul it home they decided to bequeath it to their clumsy friend. Rock on.