Tu's Birthday Party - Surprises all around...

Last night was definitely the night of surprises! My neighbor, Tu, had a birthday this past weekend. Since most of us weren't able to celebrate with him, a few of our friends planned to surprise him with a gift. I bought chocolates separately, but then we decided to actually lure Tu to Deyi's place and throw a mini-surprise party... so I decided to make a choco-banana cake to boot.

Here's the cake I made...

(it's double-layer and turned out well - thanks to the Joy of Cooking website - but the frosting picture of Tu-chan sort of looked more like Skeletor by the time I finished. At least the flowers around the sides were edable!! Got them in the fruits section.)

In the end, Tu was really tired when he got home and decided to skip Deyi's... SO, the four girls I was with and myself decided to surprise Tu at his place. I'd say it went pretty well.

The group - our little community :) Deyi made a FABULOUS little book for Tu (far left) in addition to the cake. He is such a good friend and always has the most amazing birthday cards and presents for others... was really happy someone finally did it for Tu :)
Ok, so finally... the other big SURPRISE of the night...

As you know, I am moving back to the States at the end of the summer. I'm actually not alone in this (quite a few people in our area are leaving), which makes it kind of weird for people that are gearing up to say goodbye to a huge chunk of their circle of friends/support network/everyday routine and lifestyle in Japan.  

Unless you're here for the long-run, 2-3 years is sort of the average cycle for expats so this is common.  I went through a big transition when a lot of the people I came with or had gotten close to took off last summer & fall, so I can understand why Deyi, our friend (in the plaid, above), was a little sad and worried about so many of her friends departing soon.

Well, the funny part is that out of everyone - especially her good friends - that she thought was moving... not all of them were. Tu has been playing a prank for MONTHS, telling everyone BUT Deyi that he's staying for a 3rd year here, while Deyi (also Tu's coworker) has been really sad about him leaving.

Tu was in a good mood (and there was cake... haha) and a lot of us where together, so he decided to reveal the secret.  HILARIOUS.  Deyi was pretty shocked, and her reaction was priceless.  The best part was also when she found out that pretty much all her friends (even the Japanese girls that live far away) have known about it and we've all been keeping up the charade since January.  Excellent punk.  Fun evening.  

Let's just hope Deyi doesn't try to get us back ;-)