Christmas in France!

Salut!

Well yes, I did survive the french version of christmas. Actually it was really good, rather different but good. My host family and I went to my host brothers step brothers girlfriends moms house. ... get that? lol ... Yeah we didn't go back to Villars unfortunately, or go to Brigitte's family. It was cool all the same though. We actually went on the 24th and spent the night. And in general french fashion we ate A LOT and had the normal insane amount of wine and champagne; but honestly you know that did not bother me...I was quite content. So anyway I guess french tradition is to celebrate the 24th and then stay up until midnight to 1 or so and then open presents. So that was cool, very different though; maybe I am just used to being SOO excited for christmas day and mom and dad saying NO! you can not open a present before christmas...I felt like I was cheating ha ha ha. (Well I guess Mom always lets Jason open one on the 24th...but he's the baby! he he)It was pretty sweet anyhow, just another christmas.....I think what I missed most was the hard coreness, there was basically no decorations here and a severe lack of family for me. But there's always next year and the year after and so on.



What else? Oh yes, here apparently according to my host mother and the other exchange students families, christmas and presents are for the children. Therefore the vast majority of people I gave presents to were rather shocked, because apparently I am just supposed to recieve presents, but like I told them, they were just little thank you's and have a very Merry Christmas. .... Definately a different attitude, hey and plus, I don't consider myself a child and I still like presents. ha ha

Anyway, as an exchange student put it; It was good!!... not great but because that is only reserved for real family, back home.

Speaking of exchange students, me and the three other exchange students who go to my high school with me, known as the Sisterhood. (Hannah, Maria, Julia and I) So we had our Secret Santa gift exchange on friday the 21st, It was SOO much fun, what a blast! First we went to Carrefour to buy the "provisions" otherwise know as some good wholesome junk food! ....Oh man I knew at the point I was going to feel sick, but in the Spirit of Christmas I just didn't care!Next we met Hannah and set off for Julia's house (on the bus that is, and honestly!! she has the slowest bus in all of france..Hannah and I swear it! lol) So we got the Julia`s house and low and behold we had already dug into the candy!... so I started making the KD!!! yeah baby!! ha ha ....they all insisted that I make because apparently I was the best cook...I really don't know how they figured that one, the only thing they'd eaten that I'd baked was Pancakes; and really how hard are those? lol but anyway I made KRAFT DINNER for all of us. I figured that we may have to share it with Julia's host familly some, but she wasn't having any of that! ha ha ha , she said that the one chance she got to have KD was all for her...and us 3 of course. So by about 8 or 9 or so we were feeling SOO sick from eating a ridiculously gross amount of some very sweet food!! We watched Superbad, in english with spanish subtitles..yes we cheated, but hey as Hannah put it: "this was our AMERICAN night"; that being North America of course lol. We also watched 16 Candles, which was really sweet too....I didn't even realise it, but we stayed up talking and all until 3am...

The next Morning we got up a 7:30 because we wanted to go for breakfast in Paris, and Julia lives about 45min by bus from the Train Station. So we missed the first bus...of course, I don't know how I assumed anything else!lol... Finally got the the Gare and took the train to Paris, again missed the first one lol....But they come very often so not a problem. When we got to Paris we took the Metro to the Jewish quarter of the city...which is just SOO cool!!.... Hannah wanted to go to a cute little american restaurant called "Breakfast in America" .....First we walked about 15 minutes in the wrong direction until we got er straight, turned around and Voila!! we found Breakfast in America, where I ordered a 2 x 2 x , which was 2 pancakes, 2 eggs and 2 pieces of bacon!! SO sweet, kind of expensive, but hey it was our "american" morning, where we could speak english and be like tourists, but not because we live here......THAT is just SOO cool to say sometimes!! Anyway, afterword we did some shopping, went to this sweet little vintage shop not the far from the restaurant and then came back to Chelles and Maria and I finished some of our Christmas shopping. Went home and watched a movie....ahhhh that's the life! lol..It was a really really great time all in all.



So now for some pictures. I'll apologize right now for the complete lack of good photo's, I forgot to take my camera out...he he sorry. Also they don't take any pictures, like of anything, so I always feel like a tourist in someone else's house. Some kind of weirdo who's photographing them for some odd reason lol.


Yeah!!! Our Christmas tree!...ok it was fake (a 1st for me) and it was about a metre high (another first) But hey!! It was a Christmas tree with real Christmas presents! yeehah! lol



Me with my Christmas presents in my room!





Hannah (I was her Secret Santa) with her present, in Julia's "rec room" in her "basement"
( in " " because it is all relative to here..not like the basements and rec rooms you know back home)









Maria with the Socks I gave here...we all have matching fuzzy warm socks but in different colours.



Random side profile of me at Julia's for our Fete de Noel.





Maria and I on the train to Paris for "Breakfast In America"! (looking oh so very fatiguer!)





Ahh yes...the "Christmas Cooking" (again relative lol) ...This thing you see with me in the picture, honestly have noo idea what it is, but I was supposed to cut it up and boil it in some water and then we ate it the next day. Now I know what your thinking, that thing looks like the part of the corn plant you give the pigs...don't worry I thought that too!...But to my grand surprise, if you put a little salt on the soggy,boiled plant looking thing it is rather edible!






Oh dear?! I have to eat this thing...I am such a fool!






My partener in crime...the crime being killing the tradition of Christmas dinner! ahhh!....I think he coordinated his outfit quite lovely..don't you? ....the carrot matches the hat rather perfectly! lol