Not a ton went on these last few weeks. I finished my paper and sent it to people at work...
On the 15th I had my work Christmas party, which was so fun! First we had champagne in the lounge and exchanged grab bag gifts where were so funny. I got a guide to Paris restaurants and bistros which was perfect!
After everyone put on skits. Me & the 2 other americans put on a sketch making fun of how french people see Americans... very funny! The germans had a cool drinking game, since drinking songs are part of their culture. The french did a lot of funny ones about work...
after we went out to a traditional french restaurant in the Latin Quarter where there was unlimited drinking and eats. I had escargot and duck. Others had racclet (a cool thing where you melt cheese and eat it with different meats) and fondu (I didn't realize real fondu had no cheese involved! You get raw food and dip it in boiling oil and cook it yourself!) We were sooo full! apparently some of the other people went out after and were out til 3 or 4! I left at 12 b/c, unlike them, i had class at 9am :( Thres pics, but for "security reasons" I cant put them online! haha!!
On Sat I went with a bunch of friends to a creperie for dessert and after we went to a jazz bar near by! also fun... Coincidentally, Mary Beth (the girl from Grenoble who I knew in High school)'s flight got delayed til the next day so she stayed in paris for the night... unfortunatly, but the time we got everything together, we were no where near e/o and didnt see eachother :(
My friend Maddie left Friday, Connie left Monday, and Julian left Wed... It was really sad! Now the dorm is like a ghost town!!!
I'm so glad I left on Wed for England and got to be with a family. For those kids who stayed behind w/o family it was really weird and they didn't do anything...
ENGLAND WAS AMAZING!!! I met Gemma's whole family!!! And I really got to relax which was awesome, I really needed to just veg out...
If I described what I did in England, you would think it was boring, but it wasn't so I'll leave it to your imagination... Everyday there was some lunch or dinner with a different family member at Gemma's, and I think we watched 5 movies.
cool highlights: I went to a real butcher and saw real sheep. Went into Manchester for going out one night and shopping the next.
Gemma's family was so welcoming it was amazing!!! I even got a few presents on Christmas!: candy, socks, underwear (haha- very traditional), a scarf & shirt made by Gemma's sister Ellie who makes clothes and has her own store, a wallet with british things on it, a cool butterfly necklace, and cards from her grandparents! too sweet!
I got them wine, hand made dark chocolates, brie cheese, rochefort cheese (they asked lol), and french soaps... I think they really liked it!
Now back to the grind... I don't know what's up for New Years... I would rather just hang out in the dorm, but something tells me everyone else is going to want to go out and its going to be really lame haha
xoxo