Most people know that I'm big on birthdays. I like being somewhere new and exciting—exploring unknown places, tastes, and streets or else relaxing somewhere special with good company. This year, I had been away from my community for a bit and was feeling extra poor, so I decided to keep it simple with a small village celebration. Compared to Malawi where people didn’t really acknowledge birthdays, Liberians have certain traditions depending on where you live. If you live “in town,” you might go to the ice cream shop or out to a nice dinner after taking a bajillion ‘bluffing’ pictures in a new birthday outfit. In the “interior” (the word Liberians use to describe the bush), the celebrations are more tame and limited. If you decide to have a ‘party,’ the whole community expects you make popcorn and juice for everyone . Adult birthday parties may substitute cane juice or palm wine for sugary juice powder. Then music is played and people dance (I assume…I’ve neve
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