joyeux thanksgiving

reflecting back on all the thanksgivings i have had, this one is definitely memorable- for reasons quite untypical. there was no turkey, but that itself has not changed since last year, due to the whole veggie thing. but this time, i did not even see- not even smell- a turkey. nor did i see the pumpkin pie, the mashed potatoes, or any celebratory drinks. i ate what i think was cous cous, as well as bread, a celery/corn salad, an orange, and some sort of citrus fluff. welcome to france. did i mention i ate in the company of two british girls? let alone surrounded by people from france and who knows where else in the world. i think this thanksgiving is one for the books. or at least for this blog.

i also had to go to school today! gasp! en plus, i had to work! [and unfortunately eleanor decided to misbehave- great timing. she doesnt get to go on my what-i-am-thankful-for list, unfortunately. not until she stops refusing to hold my hand when we cross the street.]

this completely flabbergasted me today: i saw the same woman on the metro whom i saw on monday. i know. i mean really though! what are the chances? thats never happened before, that ive noticed. considering that the trains leave every 2-5 minutes, and each train has about 8 cars, what are the chances that i was on exactly the same train and in the same cabin as her twice in a week?! i would have introduced myself to her and attempted to make a friend, but alas, the reason that i knew it was her was because she has two incredibly misbehaved boys...and yet doesnt seem to notice. not friend material. on monday, another woman sitting in the same little group of four seats as the mother and her two sons got so fed up with their misbehaving that she got up, mumbling about how the children were 'savages' and how the mom didnt know how to control her sons. she was completely right. the whole thing was quite entertaining.

i did some walking today [like every day] but tried this time to make some more connections in my brain as to what road links to what. its great when i can figure my way to a destination without looking at a map- or just peeking once. but really! i feel like i am close to conquering the left bank of paris. there is a whole other semester to conquer the right bank, thank god. that one is even bigger. i better get started early.

i was in a couple of used book stores today, and came to a somewhat depressing and yet cool situation. most interesting novels in french bookstores are translations from english, most often an american author specifically. this is depressing because i was looking to read a real french novel, not a translated one. this is cool because...GO America! the creativity is absolutely flowing from our country! [the english-french translators must be busy! potential job??] but i will keep looking for a true french novel. although the french dont fancy writing novels and mysteries, im sure i can find a couple that merit my eager eyes.

i was told by my kind old french conversation instructor that i speak without an accent! whoohoo! if thats not progress, i dont know what is. probably my proudest moment yet.

its raining like seattle here. but cooler. because its not seattle; its PARIS.