ETA Sam Chen celebrated his 23rd birthday at site alongside his co-teachers in a way that blended American and Javanese traditions, and resulted in far too many cakes.  Leading up to the big day, Sam made note of the fact that his Javanese co-teachers celebrated their birthdays not by accepting gifts and food, but rather by distributing it themselves. Many brought in small snacks for the other teachers; his headmaster went so far as to buy an entire cake for each and every teacher (there are over two hundred at SMKN 7 Semarang).

Wanting to observe the local tradition, Sam purchased two cakes, onto which he wrote “Happy Birthday Londo” (the Javanese word for foreigner). Upon arriving at school, though, he found that his co-teachers had also bought a pair of pastries, expecting to celebrate Sam’s birthday the American way. Ultimately, there was enough cake for all fifty men and women in his teacher’s room (and enough for Sam to eat three pieces).

Sam Chen is currently teaching at SMKN 7 Semarang, Central Java