18 novembre 2009 (Day 79)
Happy Christmas Harry! Today was my Christmas. It was a great Christmas, seeing as I didn’t even know that it was going to be Christmas today. I woke up happily before my alarm (again why) but cuddled back into my covers until my alarm signaled the start of Wednesday. I got up like usual, did yoga, read my scriptures, showered and made oatmeal for breakfast. Today while microwaving my meal was interesting. There was a boy in the building across the way that kept on sneaking glances at me through the window. He’d go to the window, look, and then leave and repeat. I was going to make a face at him, but when I finally decided to he had disappeared for good.
I went to the Talensac market this morning because I was out of food and I wanted to buy couquettes. I got salad, tomatoes, carrots, and a nice man convinced me to buy some ridiculously giant expensive (but delicious) pears and an avocado. I was telling the bakery lady how much I loved the couquettes so she gave me a discount (15 centime less…woot!). Afterwards I took the tram back to buy my house to go to the grocery store to buy cheese, yogurt, bananas, and eggs. I got 10 eggs (brown) for 1, 08E. I will have to try really hard to eat that many eggs, but it was cheaper than buying six. And technically, I have until sometime in December before they go bad. I bought my 16 pots of yogurt and headed to the post office to get my package. You see, I received a note yesterday saying that I wasn’t there to get my package, so I thought I’d pick up the books that I ordered after my grocery shopping.
I waited in line (just like in the US) and showed my id (okay, I showed 3) to get my package. After looking at every other package in the back room he picked up (with great exertion showing on his face) a giant half mangled package and put it on the table in front of me. It wasn’t really that heavy, so I went to the boulangerie next door and bought my dinner for tonight, a spinach egg and goat cheese tart.
I made my way home with all my goods and put away my groceries. I then turned on some traditional Christmas music (think Nat King Cole, the Andrews Sisters, Peggy Lee, Judy Garland) and opened my giant package. Boy was I in for a lot of surprises. I got some fantastic panda bear thermals (which I am wearing currently because they make me feel like I am six years old), vitamins, contact solution, Gatorade powder, candy, jackets, peanut butter, an awesomely soft bright green scarf from Ambs, some of my shoes, etc. I won’t go into all the details of my wonderful mother, but she even wrapped some gifts and there was a Christmas stocking with US measuring instruments (now if that wasn’t the most random thing I’ve ever gotten). I like Christmas in November, except the sun was creating a greenhouse effect so my room was quite warm for celebrating Christmas. I really felt like Harry Potter having this awesome Christmas away at school not expecting any presents. I even got an ugly sweater, except for mine is even uglier than Ron Weasley’s sweater.
We watched a really good movie, “Entre le Murs” (titled “The Class” in English) in Culture. We ended up talking about it for the entire two hours of writing class. It was a really eye opening movie seeing as how I want to be a teacher.
Besides having no homework and not doing anything in class today, there was another Christmas gift. A FRENCH PERSON HAD A CONVERSATION WITH US. Nana, a nice Brazilian lady in my class, and I were talking about the movie at lunch and how we thought it was cultural, why French people disrespect teachers, etc. There were two girls listening in and we finally touched a soft spot and she started defending the French. So I guess it is that simple, we just need to talk about controversial things and the French people will talk! Also, a boy opened the door for us. That is the first time that has happened here, it was almost weird because I am so used to a complete absence of chivalry.
I had a peaceful dinner boiling eggs and eating my quiche. My lesson with Mathilde went great, and I’m going with friends to see Twilight 2 tomorrow. I’ve seen some trailers of it in French and I am so excited because it is hilarious in French.
