Thanksgiving came and went, and I did what I do every year in France: put up Christmas decorations and pretend that not celebrating Thanksgiving doesn’t bother me. Now we’re in the “3 weeks left of school before vacation” period and I’m trying to keep busy with planning what to do during my month off between semesters. We don’t have big plans for Christmas this year since we’re staying in France, and I’m sure the weather will continue to be gray and rainy. A few friends are staying with us for 2 days after Christmas, but other than that, we have absolutely nothing planned. I’d like to go to Paris for even just one day to take pictures of the decorations and/or visit DisneyLand since it’s the closest thing I’ll get to an American Christmas experience. Plus I’d really like to see some people who are moving back to the US soon.
I actually got all of my Christmas shopping done online last weekend, mostly because the US dollar is so weak right now that buying things through American stores is like a permanent discount for me. Plus I didn’t want to deal with shopping in France (stores are busy enough when it’s not Christmastime!) or the post office, which keeps going on strike on random days so I never know when they’ll be open.
People keep asking me what I want for Christmas and I really don’t know. The only thing I need right now is a haircut. Everything else can’t exactly be bought. Oh, but if someone could pay off my student loans for me, that would be great too.
I was looking at pictures of the last time I was in Michigan for Christmas, and the dogs lying in front of the heater (notice how they are not on their beds) make me extremely homesick. Maybe next year…
