Saturday June 17th

On Saturday, my plan was to take Tiarnach to the airport, go to a family friend’s house for lunch and to watch the Iran-Portugal game, rest up at home and finally go out to dinner with my big bro who was back in town for the weekend. Sleep deprived, I tried to skip the soccer game and go home for a nap, but my father bizarrely refused to let me go and insisted that I take a nap at the family friends’ house! Odd, to say the least, but I didn’t have the energy to argue. After the game I woke up and was excited to go home to my bed for a better nap, but apparently there was no hot water at home so I had to go take a shower at my dad’s. I didn’t even want a shower! Again, I didn’t have the energy to argue. Finally, post-shower I am ready to go home for a nap (I became obsessed with taking a nap at home, I admit) but my mother came to pick me up to take me to my godmother’s house across town to say hi. I was fuming! Not to mention that the clothes my mother had picked out for me made me feel like Little Bo-Beep (see photo above right)! At long last, I make it home. I walk into a suspiciously dark and quiet house and see my brother dressed all in white. In theory, the plan was to go out to a country pub for dinner, so his style didn’t match up at all! And sure enough, I was asked into the sitting room and SURPRISE (see photo above right again)! Some 40 people were crammed in there waiting for me, to welcome me back!!! It was amazing. The crowd was a mix of my friends and my brother’s friends, and the party was a blast. Went on to the wee hours of the morning, and on Sunday we continued with a brunch that extended to tea and finished with a movie viewing. Being a hostess for 24h is exhausting, but a lot of fun.

Lex (my brother's flatmate) and three Bolivian beauties - Daniela, Viviana, and Daniela's younger sister whose name currently eludes me (oops).