Woke me up yesterday morning. For a moment I thought Galveston awaited outside the window. Then I remembered. Dunkerque. It was high time to visit Sarah and get out of town. So here we are at the beach where the Frogs and the Roast Beefs have battled for ages. That's what they call each other. There are still some battlements and memorials.
We bought pain au mais at the market yesterday. Cornbread? No. Yeast bread with a gentle smattering of corn kernels. Not what we wanted. (By the way, mais is one word that French people never understand me saying. Very vexing.) On the up side, our favorite bakery Paul has started selling Christmas confections, and we ate some St. Nicolaus men on Friday.
It's Christmas everywhere. The Marche de Noel began two days ago in Lille. They have a number of showy snowy house facades, a huge ferris wheel and all the Christmas trinkets you can imagine. But streets have already been decorated for Christmas since before Halloween. I had to explain to the students that in America, we don't deck the halls until after Thanksgiving.
By the way, Thursday all the teachers (save two) loved the pumpkin pie. An easy way to make friends in France is to walk down the rue carrying a round pan. The kids also enjoyed Pin the Hat on the Turkey and learning that we do not eat peanut butter on Thanksgiving.
Food habits that Europeans find strange:
Marshmallows in hot chocolate
Eating Dressing for dinner
Peanut butter and chocolate, together
Peanut butter and jelly, together
Cereal for dinner
Any meal that does not include some form of a potato
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1 comment:
Awwww, Christmas everywhere?? You need to take pictures.
Also- you, as a person, feel like Christmas. Did you know that? It's your joy and cheer I think. Also your voice, which could lend itself well to Christmas carols, as it is already in a singing frame of mind.
I love and miss you!
-Dana
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