a birthday

today i went to the first birthday celebration of paris's twin sisters. as paris has been at the beach with his cousins for the past few days and doesnt come back until tomorrow, i had to go without him. paris has a huge family. and when i say huge, i mean we can't go anywhere without him running into at least one cousin. and because of said large family, there are always family parties.

in the beginning of our relationship, this terrified me. i have to introduce myself to all of these people, what if i can't understand them? what if they can't understand me? every time i would think "oh great another awkward family party." and sometimes, when paris was working odd hours at a hotel, i had to go by myself ... without my boyfriend .. to his family party. and i constantly was having to introduce myself to people i didnt know as paris's girlfriend. and then i constantly was having to do that thing where i would give a polite little smile and pretend to laugh as if i had understood the little joke someone had just said. the language barrier was just too much! with paris i'm always saying "wait, what did he just say to me?" but without him there, family parties were not something i looked forward to.

fast forward 8 months, and these family parties are starting to grow on me. now i rarely have to introduce myself because most everyone knows who i am. and people don't stare at me thinking "who is this random gringa girl and why is she not talking to anyone." i now have the confidence to start conversations and ask questions and really laugh at jokes i actually can understand.

so thats what i did tonight. i had a really nice time at a birthday party of my boyfriend's family.... without my boyfriend.