Week 11 Festivities

Week 11 was full of good food and memory making! We ended up celebrating Thanksgiving this week instead of last week, because our instructor was from the States, and we thought he'd enjoy sharing an AMURican meal along with us.

We tried to make most of the traditional dishes, however, turkey did not make it onto the menu (it's crazy expensive here for some reason). We had chicken, mashed taters, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole (made by me...you weren't missing out), cranberry sauce, stuffing, pumpkin pie, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, and apple crumble (also made by me...this, I'm happy to say, got rave reviews).

Some of the other students even decorated our dining room to make things feel more festive, but it was oh so strange to celebrate without my family. Thanks to my sister, Cara, I did get a little taste of Thanksgiving at home. She made a video for me with clips of my family members saying "hi" and sending love during their Thanksgiving celebration. Thank you so much, Car!

After the big meal, we watched Les Misérables (the 2012 version). Man, the theme of forgiveness and mercy in that story is absolutely amazing! We've been humming and singing the songs from it almost constantly since then.

Thursday night our instructor took us out on the town. We admired Saint Paul's Christmas charm; it was decked out for Christmas with window murals and lights in the trees. I have pictures, but the quality is so bad that I am too embarrassed to post them! Afterwards we ate dinner at a little place called L'Auberg Inn. I ordered Salade de Chevre Chaud au Miel and a Banana Split, of all things! The salad had warm goat cheese and honey drizzled on top of a bed of greens. It was simple and delicious. Believe it or not, that was my first eating out experience since I've been in France! 

Friday afternoon a group of us went to a Christmas craft market in town and on the way home enjoyed a gorgeous sunset. Just look!

  I love late fall tree silhouettes!

The festivities don't end there, folks! Friday evening my small group—Peter, Shea, Sam, Anna—and I went to Mado's house for fondue. (Mado is one of the JEM Saint Paul staff members who lives in town). To be completely honest, I wasn't really a fan of the cheese. The white wine flavor was a bit too strong for my liking. Even so, I enjoyed the experience and the company.

So there you have it: a full, fun week of new experiences. I have many other things I could share right now, but this post is long enough as it is. Besides, I don't have pictures to hold your interest beyond this point anyway. Until next time!