Birthday thanks published on 14 November 2025, preserving the photographs and videos from the original post.
These days have been more than birthday celebrations. They have been an embrace, an altar, and compás.
Since the week began, something inside me has been slowly filling. A murmur of footsteps, of flowers, of cups carrying messages, of sweets with soul. And it isn't about the gifts; it's about what resonates in every gesture.
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Every time a student entered the studio with a smile and a “happy birthday,” the day unfolded like a fan. I have felt truly loved. Surrounded by so many people who, without any obligation, have given me their time, their presence, their gratitude.
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And something has touched me even more deeply: knowing that many of them knew I probably wouldn't remember their birthdays… and still came to celebrate me with wholehearted affection. That means so much. It isn't that we don't want to remember; sometimes time simply moves faster than the heart.
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They have made me feel part of a family.
My family here.
Kurosusan, Namichan, Mayumichan, Mayukochan, Ayakachan, Emisan... each has given me more than I could ask for. In small gestures, in silences, in that Japanese affection that never shouts yet fills everything.
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And then I thought:
What a great gift it is to be a teacher when what you teach comes back to you as love.
How lucky to have a birthday in the middle of a class.
What joy when your “happy birthday” comes with compás and soul.
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Thank you for so much.
I will carry it all with me.
And although I may not be able to reply to every message I've received—because there truly have been so many, from everywhere—let this be known:
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Your affection has been the finest gift of all.
Your time, my greatest fortune.
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—Beni