Mary-Est-En-France

Tuesday

Progress in the bank account saga! Mme Bodet texted to let me know I should expect to hear from Catherine J (my neighbor who works at the bank) about receiving a RIB. If I wanted to receive an advance on my salary, I would need to get the number turned into the rectorat by the end of the day. Sure enough, Catherine texted me when she got home from work to say I could come grab the paperwork and I headed over after my lunch.

When I arrived, she invited me in for some tea and explained her son Théo was having some friends over for raclette later that evening. Paperwork in hand, I told her that I needed to get the copies to the rectorat as soon as possible, but would love to come back for some tea. I scurried back to my computer, sent out the email, and notified Mme Bodet that it was time to cross our fingers. We hoped that we would know soon whether or not I would be paid before January. With nothing more to do, I returned to the neighbor’s house for tea. Catherine, Louis, and I enjoyed some hot beverages with delicious honeyed snacks on the couch. We chatted about some of the things I’ve been missing from home that I haven’t been able to find here- cheddar cheese, buns, and peanut butter. Honestly, it’s the little things that make the biggest difference!

Catherine decided that it was time we take another shopping trip together, just the two of us. Remembering that I didn’t have a yoga mat (because apparently I’m a yogi in France), she insisted that our first stop be at the Decathlon sporting goods store in Bron (a Lyon suburb). The store was huge! They had an entire section devoted to repairing bicycles! I found a lovely blue yoga mat in the back of the store, a tiny water bottle perfect for hiking, and one of the little 3 euro backpacks that I had gotten for Grace the last time I was in France. A day of deals!

Our next stop was the Galeries Lafayette, which turned out to be more of a Macy’s style department store with a mini-Monoprix inside. Just a few days before Christmas, at times it was a struggle to get through the aisles. Inside the Monoprix, we were able to find cheddar cheese, some of the sauces I needed for Pad-Thai, and buns for sandwiches.

We ventured into the the store beyond to pick up some Christmas gifts for the boys. We looked over the shoes and found some snazzy green sneakers for Louis. Bruno is getting a nice over-the-shoulder bag by Calvin Klein. Théo will be getting a cool patterned shirt.

I really enjoyed the shopping trip. I feel like I learn a lot of new French when I have the chance to hangout with Catherine. She knows English, so she can offer words if I really need them, but I really appreciate how she introduces and explains new concepts to me in French without being condescending. In the car, I got the chance to get to know her a little better! I learned her family immigrated from Greece and she grew up in the area. She got certified in English and worked as a teacher for several years before leaving to work in the bank. Teaching was not a satisfying pursuit for her and she enjoys her current work to a greater extent.

Night fell as we returned to Anthon. The air was crisp and refreshing. Catherine insisted I come inside the house for some snacks and tea once more. The little family and I gathered around the fire to enjoy each other’s company. We talked about our family origins, interesting connections between our two countries, and different customs in France. I’m always interested to hear about the French love and respect for President Obama and Michelle. The family absolutely GUSHED about the pair. Catherine wanted Michelle’s book for Christmas! They were so impressed by her school lunch program because they had heard bad things about obesity in America. They thought it was especially impressive she had managed to stay so fit while she was First Lady and that their daughters went to elite schools in the US. It’s just funny because I hear all of these compliments frequently from the French.

Before I left for home, Louis invited me to join his friends on the 28th for raclette. We exchanged numbers and I said goodnight.

Monday

I got up early to make a trip into town with Mme Bodet and her son. While they were at the optician, I went to the grocery store to shop. This was my first chance to be in the store alone, so I took the opportunity to wander slowly up and down the aisles to find everything I wanted. It’s strange what is available and what isn’t. What items are placed in what spots in the store differs too. I’ve been searching for baking soda for weeks and couldn’t find the baking supplies. In the US, they’re all located next to the spices. However, I found them next to the cheeses today. By the way, did I mention that there’s an entire refrigerated aisle designated for cheese? I was also searching for some mozzarella, but the one options I could find came in bags that seemed to be filled entirely with liquid.

I’m really bummed because I’ve been craving something salty and crunchy, like salt and vinegar chips. When I finally found the chips at the back of the store, none of the flavors appealed to me. The BBQ chips don’t taste like BBQ, mustard chips don’t seem right to me, and I didn’t want to snack on “salt chips.”

On the other hand, I was really excited to find ground beef. I don’t know why this has been so difficult to find, but I’ve only seen it at two stores here. I can’t wait to make some burgers or sloppy joes. I’m bummed I haven’t been able to find American cheese or cheddar cheese, that would really complete the struggle meal.

Last week I was able to buy some of my first international stamps! I sat down today to write some letters to folks back home. I hope that everyone will enjoy the fun stamp they get! I can’t send Christmas gifts this year, so this will have to suffice.

It rained steadily throughout the afternoon, dashing any hopes I had to go to Lyon. Instead, I focused on updating my blog and making plans with the other American assistant I recently located. He lives pretty close to me and it’s been fun chatting with someone in my own language who is having similar experiences.

I went over to the Bodet house for dinner tonight. We had roast potatoes, duck, and a salad. For dessert we had Christmas pudding and a coffee. Throughout the meal, Yanza kept asking his mom if he could come to the airport tomorrow to pick up their Danish cousins who are coming in for the holiday. Though Mme Bodet insisted there was not room in the car, Yanza was so insistent that he asked her if he could come in English. Daniel made a game out of getting him to tell me about their family in English because he refuses to practice any other time. We had a good laugh. After dinner we sat in the living room and talked about the size of our families while Yanza debated a new hairstyle and the TV played a movie from the 50s.

I returned home to have a call with my family and watch some Netflix.

Sunday

I woke up to another invitation to go spend some time with Catherine and her family. She asked me to stop by around 14:00 for lunch. I was excited to spend some time with other people so I said I would be happy to come visit. I spent the morning catching up on my favorite YouTube channels and listening to The Daily (yes, my favorite podcast).

I moseyed over and knocked on the door at the appointed time. Bruno, Catherine’s husband, greeted me along with their adorable shih-tzu, Frimousse (which means “little sweet face”). Catherine was in the kitchen preparing our meal with Louis and Théo. I awkwardly hovered and observed as they worked their magic. Apparently, their family hobby is making delicious foods together! I thought that was so wholesome.

Bruno had to leave to pick up a family member from the airport, so we started eating without him. We had a salad with fresh greens, a cheese and veggie tart, chicken with cream sauce over rice, and a pineapple tart for dessert. I was so full I thought I might die.

As we ate, I got to learn some more about the family. Louis is studying engineering at a school in Bretagne, but came home to quarantine with the family. He’s completely a program with the military which seems like the French version of the ROTC. Théo is taking the Bac at the end of the year and has to decide what he wants to pursue after high school. He is considering also going into engineering, but there is a very difficult exam that students have to prepare for before they are allowed into school. Students typically spend 2 years after high school studying for this exam before they are allowed to enter their degree program. If they quit in the middle of studying, they are left without a degree. What a frightening concept 👀

When Bruno returned we cleaned up the table and moved to the living room to play some games. This was daunting to me. I hate playing new games before I’ve had a chance to read through the rules because they can be difficult for me to understand- this time I had to do it in my second language. We started with Code Names. There were 25 cards with French words on them and the team leader had to get us to guess which words belonged to our team. The boys and I were on a team and the parents were on a team. My team ended up winning three times! It was very exciting and I got to learn a lot of new words along the way.

We moved back to the table to play Dobble. I’ve seen this one in the US before, but I’ve never played. There are a few different ways to play, but we focused on the version that required players to match the images on their cards to those of their opponents and to discard as soon as possible. I actually won once!

After we played, Catherine invited me to help her make some desserts. I really wasn’t much help, but it was fun to chat with her and to get to know each other. At one point, she asked if I liked to exercise and what I liked to do. While I genuinely love hiking, I couldn’t think of the word immediately. Instead, I said that I enjoyed yoga (even though it’s really not my favorite). She lit up! She loves yoga and had a lot of questions as to how I was doing it in France. I told her that I used YouTube to find guided sessions, but that it was difficult to do because I don’t have a mat here. She insisted that we leave the house immediately to go buy a mat. Louis, Bruno, Catherine, and I packed into the car and zoomed into Tigneu to visit the sporting goods store, only to discover it was closing in ten minutes. She sprinted into the store, determined to find a mat for me. We couldn’t find any, so she said we’d just have to come back another day. I was amazed by how passionate she was about finding me a space to do yoga. It was so sweet. When we got back home, I said goodnight and headed back to my place. I think spending a weekend solely speaking French has really stretched out my little brain.

I had a phone call with my wonderful Little from ZOE and watched How to Get Away with Murder until it was time for bed.

Saturday

I woke up to a surprise text from another one of my neighbors, Catherine. I met Catherine when Mme Bodet took me to open an account at La Banque Postale. She works there a few days a week and had offered to invite me shopping. I had completely forgotten about the exchange until I received her message. She asked me to join her and her sons on a trip to The Village, an outlet mall in Villefontaine. We agreed to meet outside her house at 14:00.

I took my time getting ready and met her outside when it was time. She introduced me to her son Louis (who is my age) and Théo (who is a high schooler). Théo is working on getting his driving license, so he drove us to the mall. It was incredibly crowded because it was the weekend before Christmas. All the stores were offering deals because they had lost a significant amount of business during the confinement.

Though Catherine was an English teacher for 25 years, neither of her sons spoke English so the entire outing was strictly in French. It was certainly a new experience for me to be around younger French people. I heard and learned a lot of new expressions that simply aren’t used by older folks. It’s incredible, the longer I’m here the more I’m convinced that simply studying a language is not enough to learn it. You need to be immersed in the culture and hear from people who actually use it to fully understand and become fluent. While UM prepared me well for this experience, I certainly would not say that I am fluent yet by any means.

It was a struggle to get into many of the stores that we wanted to visit because there were limits on how many people could be inside at one time. As a group of four, we had to wait for others to come out before we could enter. We visited the Levi’s store, Adidas, and some French clothing shops I can’t recall the names of. American Christmas music was blaring overhead for much of the day and it was pretty comforting to be able to understand something so easily.

Before we went home, Catherine wanted to stop off at a factory sale at a leather making shop in Meyzieu. They were looking for a good wallet for her husband. I looked around trying to find gifts for friends and family, but even at discounted prices there was nothing I could afford. I ended up striking up a conversation with the salesman. He told me that he had visited Florida and really liked it. He wanted to return to the United States, but was disappointed because tickets were so expensive. Relatable content, honestly. When the family found a suitable gift, we headed back to Anthon.

I thanked them all for a wonderful day and spent the rest of my night listening to Christmas music and writing.

Friday

Catherine had asked me to come in an extra day to celebrate Christmas with her students and I was really excited to go. I remember all of my elementary school Christmas parties and what a thrill they were, so I was really eager to see what the little French kids would be up to.

Before we went to Charvieu, Mme Bodet drove me over to Pont-Chéruy to fill in some of the remaining paperwork necessary to open a bank account. She seems hopeful that I’ll be able to receive my paycheck soon. This is such an important step in my journey. I’m really excited to have it be complete.

I arrived at MLK collège in Charvieu around 11:00. All the teachers in the staff room were excited to see me back again for ugly sweater day. Catherine gave me one of her sweaters to wear before we headed off to our first class, the 6ème students! I love this group. They are my youngest class, but they’re the most inquisitive.

One of my favorite students, Maxime, presented me with a Christmas card that he wrote himself. It was adorable. If I make a scrapbook, the card is definitely going inside. I shared my little presentation with kids and they were THRILLED with the pictures everyone shared. They were really excited to see everyone’s Christmas trees and everyone wanted to taste traditional tamales. When we were finished with the presentation, we went to the room next door for a Just Dance session. We boogied with Santa for a few songs before it was time to exchange “crackers.” I learned that this is more of British tradition where gifts are wrapped a certain way and then “cracked” open. On the count of three, they rushed around the room delivering presents. I was so surprised when I ended up having a little stack of my own to open. When it came time to “crack” the presents, I had some students help me out because I thought they’d enjoy it more. I got a ridiculous amount of chocolate, so I quietly gifted some to the boys sitting next to me.

I stayed through lunch so I could visit a second class at the end of the day. Catherine treated me to a little prepackaged meal from the nearby supermarché. It was pretty good! I’m always surprised by the quality of prepackaged foods here. They always so much more fresh than things you can find in the US.

I wandered around the break room for a bit during the two hour break and discovered a Secret Santa box. I thought it was really cute that the staff was exchanging gifts.

Our final class for the day was one of the 5ème classes from the day before. I love this group too. They’re a little more rowdy, but I appreciate how engaged they always are. They’re a little loud, but it’s always because they’re jumping to ask questions or make observations. I shared my presentation with them the day before, so instead we did a little Christmas vocab sheet before moving on to dancing. This group requested a lot of Frozen songs, so I sat on the side of the room with some of the more shy kiddos. When the dancing finally slowed, we moved onto the present portion of the celebration. I got a ton of cute things from this group. One of my favorite students, Arthur, got me a scented candle. His friend bought me a Kellogg’s coffee container and one of their other friends bought me a little wind-up car. The girls bought me a lot of chocolates. It was so kind!

I waited with Catherine after class so she could deliver some good behavior awards around the school. As we walked, I noticed a lot of BLM signs hung on the walls. I asked why they were there and what the general sentiment toward the movement was. Catherine explained that MLK was revered throughout France and especially in Charvieu because of his work on the advancement of civil rights. She said that he was especially popular there because many of the families and students are people of color and experience discrimination in France. The students at MLK were interested in the BLM movement because they see it as the rebirth of MLK’s work and they hope to see a similar movement gain traction in France. I was really touched upon hearing her explanation. It gives me hope to hear that students in France are thinking critically about racial inequality in a way that many adults in the US refuse to.

After distributing awards and candies to the students, Catherine drove me back to Anthon. I spent the rest of the evening relaxing and enjoying some peace after a long day with students. I was officially on Christmas break with no solid commitments until January.

Cheers to all the real teachers back home! You’ve made it through the semester, I hope you enjoy break 😊

Thursday

Time to take the trip to MLK collège in Charvieu! I really love going to this school. All the kids are really eager to learn and they all participate. After the kids in my Tuesday classes, it’s relaxing to work there.

I had a possible appointment with the bank later in the afternoon, so at 7:45 I dropped off the relevant papers with Mme Bodet so she could make copies and make a file to bring with us. At 8:00, Catherine pulled up in her little blue car and we zipped away. She drives like a traditional European- so fast that you almost want to grip your seat so you can stay upright.

Thursday was the “day of elegance” at MLK. All the teachers were wearing their best clothes. Men were wearing three-piece suits and women were wearing dresses, jewelry, and makeup. Géraud and a younger man, Tanguy, were both wearing bowties so they had their picture taken together. I wore my floral button-up, my black dress shoes, black pants, and my black blazer.

I only had two classes for the day because some of the teachers were missing. I shared my Christmas slideshow with the students I did have. We had a great conversation about advent calendars. In France, it’s common for even adults to get them! Kids said they had bought ones with perfume and even jewelry for their parents. They were surprised that Americans open their presents on Christmas morning. Apparently, it is common for kids to open all their gifts at midnight on Christmas Eve!

I was invited to stay for lunch because it was the “Christmas Feast.” We went into the cook’s office to say hello and I met Manu, who will be my host on Christmas Eve! Her husband loves Christmas and loves to host people because he creates elaborate decorations for their yard and home every year. She showed me the Christmas hat he made her for the feast (pictured below) and it reminded me of one my mom would wear for New Years!

When lunch finally rolled around, Catherine and I walked around the cantine to say hello to all the students before getting our own meals. I felt like a celebrity! All the students, even ones I don’t teach, were waving and shouting to get my attention and to show me their fancy outfits. I made sure to stop and say hello wherever I could, but I always give a little extra attention to the shy kids because I know they probably don’t get as much attention from their teachers.

Catherine and I sat in the private teacher’s room to eat our lunches. The meal included the option of muscles or baked chicken in a mushroom sauce. There were multiple desserts that I can’t even name (I chose one that tasted citrus-y). They also offered foie-gras with bread and a salmon salad. Everyone got a little box of candies at the end of the line, as well.

I felt like I might pop after the meal and was ready for a nap, but Mme Bodet called to tell me she would be picking me up to run to the bank. When we arrived, we had to sit and wait in the outer room for about 20 minutes past our appointment time. Mme Bodet was NOT pleased. She didn’t seem to think that the woman helping us was the most competent. We spent 30 minutes explaining my unique job situation, where I was working, and where I would be taxed before we were given a series of papers to fill out and sign. I paid 1.50 euro to the woman as some sort of paperwork fee before we left. Mme Bodet explained that I still did not qualify for a bank account, however they had offered me a service that would allow me to deposit and withdraw cash. There was still some necessary paperwork that we needed to send in, but we could take care of that before classes started on Friday.

This whirlwind of an exchange left me with a huge headache. I went home and napped until nearly 19:00. When I woke up, the sun had set and everything was pitch black. Instead of getting up to walk next door for dinner, I decided to open my emails and stall for time. I was absolutely shocked to discover that I had been accepted to my first law school! It felt absolutely surreal. I’ve been dreaming about going to law school since I watched Legally Blonde with my best friend in elementary school. It feels crazy to think I’ve finally accomplished the first step on my road there!

I rushed over and showed Mme Bodet the email and she called her husband over to tell him the news. He hurried into the kitchen and came back with a bottle of champagne, saying it was time to celebrate! It was a great night. We had some delicious cookies for dessert after dinner and relaxed with some tea before I went back to my apartment.

I ended the day with a phone call with one of my friends. I felt absolutely relieved that no matter what, I’ll be attending law school in the fall.

Wednesday

My final mid-week break for the year!

As the end of the week approached I was getting more excited. Catherine invited me to the Christmas parties she was throwing with each of her classes on Friday. She hinted that there would be dancing and gifts. I spent some time arranging my rides for the day and sat back to relax.

It was raining again, so I spent some time updating the blog and practicing on Duolingo. My goal is to start working on German in the new year.

I ate dinner alone so that I could have a call with one of my friends. It is always so nice to catch up with everyone, especially around the holidays. I’m really missing Firestar’s antics! I’d love to have a cat here, but it’s just not logistically possible. Maybe I’ll get a little buddy for law school!

Tuesday

Started the day with my 9:00 class. I discovered almost immediately that it was a dress up day. Nearly everyone I encountered was wearing a Santa hat or reindeer antlers. There was a “photo booth” in the teachers lounge where everyone was taking pictures in their festive outfits. I wish that someone had let me know so I could have worn my green sweater instead of my purple one!

I used the same worksheet with my students that I used with all the kids the day before. Even though the Monday students are a year younger, they were able to complete the sheet on their own in 8 minutes. The Tuesday students took nearly the entire class time (25 minutes). When we were able to start the presentation, it was so difficult to get them to focus that we were only able to get 2 slides in. I’m not sure why these kids are so out of control compared to the rest of my students. It feels like there are a thousand little fires to put out every class period. The teacher I work with tells me to send back all the naughty students, but I can’t really send back an entire class!

In the future, I think I will try to do more vocab work, but I want to frame it as a game. Maybe Jeopardy? We’ll see. These kids really need some help with both vocab and sentence structure. I’m afraid that any games I try will end in chaos because of their lack of English comprehension and their refusal to listen to me explain directions in French.

Mme Bodet told me that she would pick me up around 14:00. She was sharing a lunch with other members of the staff to celebrate the retirement of the culinary teacher. I decided to use the free 2 hours to walk back to Tigneau to buy more yarn! The weather was abhorrent, but I didn’t feel comfortable sitting in the staff room for two hours during lunch. I took the half and hour walk over and enjoyed my audiobook along the way.

On my way back to the school, I stopped at the bakery to get lunch and a cute dessert. The students on Monday taught me that Christmas logs are very popular in France, so I decided to try a chocolate buchette (the mini version).

I hadn’t had the chance to walk through Pont-Cheruy by myself, so I took the opportunity to explore a bit. I saw their old church and some cute Christmas decorations.

I’m still struck by the treatment of Christmas by my students and coworkers. All of them insist that Christmas has no religious ties in France. They argue it is an entirely commercial holiday and therefore, celebrating it in school does not violate secularism rules. This argument seems incredibly weak to me. Though Christmas has certainly been commercialized and has lost religious significance for many, it is not a secular holiday. One cannot liken it to Bastille Day or Martin Luther King Day in the United States. Symbols traditionally associated with Christmas like the tree and holly have religious significance that trace back to their pagan roots. It is frustrating to see France privilege the traditions of Christians over those of the many Islamic and Jewish peoples that reside here. The majority of my students here are not Christian, yet there has been no mention in school of holidays significant in their religions.

I ate dinner with the Bodet family around 19:30. We had some roast potatoes and roast beef with red wine and a baked pasta dish. The principal at MLK (Thursday school) gave Mme Bodet some Christmas desserts, so we enjoyed those after our meal. We agreed that we’d love to bake together over Christmas break, so I’m going to work on gathering some of the recipes that my family makes together. After dinner we watched the news together and enjoyed some herbal tea.

I got to talk with my parents and the cat on the phone when I got home. It’s always really nice to catch up. It’s really weird that when it’s midnight here, everyone at home is just sitting down to dinner. (I do enjoy the excuse to have a midnight snack though!)

Monday

My morning classes were canceled because students were preparing for their brevet exams. These tests are taken by French students at the end of their collège (middle school) career. Passing the exams certifies that they are proficient in important subjects like history, French, and their foreign language.

It wasn’t necessary for me to be at the collège until 2pm, so I decided it would be a perfect day to test out the bus system and go shopping! I hopped on the 10:16 bus and rode all the way to Meyzieu in the west. The bus to Pont-Cheruy didn’t arrive until 11:23, so I explored the area a bit. Sadly, there wasn’t much going on. It seems the area around the bus stop is primarily industrial. There were no cute shops or bakeries to pop into.

When the bus finally arrived, I hopped on and rode until I reached Pont-Cheruy. Unfortunately, I did not realize that the next stop on the route was the mall I planned to visit. Whoops! I walked about 20 minutes and learned my lesson.

My first stop was the Action store that I visited with Catherine. I was interested in grabbing some supplies for my kitchen and maybe some yarn. I instantly found some delightful blue yarn balls and threw a few in my basket. I was also able to find some great new washcloths and discounted home goods!

I had plenty of time leftover, so I moseyed over to E.leclerc! I was eager to explore their “culture” space. Honestly, it was wonderful. It reminded me of a smaller, warmer Barns and Noble. There was a huge section of books that included classics, history, children’s books, and current event books.

I picked up some copies of classics I had read in English so I could practice reading in French. They were only 2 euros each! What a deal!

As I made my way through the store, I also saw a collection of adorable knickknacks. I was really tempted to splurge and get some, but I decided there were still too many essentials that were more important. They had a wonderful kids section! I loved their display of Harry Potter books so much that I did decide to pick up the first copy. Maybe I’ll end up rereading the series while I’m here!

My time was running short, but I did head to the grocery section to pick up some fresh bread, body wash, and purple shampoo for my hair. I think I will try to shop there more often! I really enjoyed the shopping experience.

As I made my way to the school, I stopped off for lunch at the boulangerie I visited with Catherine. I got a croque-monsieur and a raspberry tart.

My classes were pretty easy for the day. We started class with a vocab exercise. I shared 12 pictures of Christmas items like Santa, a reindeer, a gingerbread house, etc and we labeled them together. The kids loved coming up to the board to write in the answers. I’ll definitely be taking note of that for future lessons.

Later in the class, I shared my presentation on Christmas with all the students. They told me to say thank you to everyone who shared their pictures with us! They loved seeing the traditions that everyone has. Most of the kids were very surprised by the number of lights there are on some houses, our holiday parades, and the variety of foods that are eaten on Christmas. They decided that tamales were their favorite Christmas food, even though I’m confident none of them have ever eaten tamales. They LOVED voting on Christmas trees. Most of the students were thrilled by the idea of having a mini tree. One boy said he wanted one for his room. They were floored by pictures of the Rockefeller center tree and skating rink.

After school, I rode the bus home. I thought it was really strange because at one point, a police officer hopped onto the bus to check that we were all wearing seatbelts. She said it would be a 150 euro fine if anyone was caught without one.

I spent my evening working on my new blanket and decided that I would go back on Tuesday to buy more yarn.

Sunday

Finally a sunny day! I made breakfast, talked on the phone with my friend, and got out of the house for a long walk.

I noticed that the fields here are a lot more hilly than the ones in Michigan. It’s hard to see in the photo, but there were some more dramatic rises on this walk. I saw that there were a ton of huge stones in the fields, as well. Some of the rocks were as big as my hand! I thought that was super strange, I never notice stones like that in the fields near my house.

After my walk I visited the Bodets. We talked about politics for a bit before I headed out. They are not Trump fans. Mr. Bodet had a lot to say about the Supreme Court’s decision to not hear the Trump appeal.

In the evening, I made some stovetop mac and cheese. It was pretty good, but I used up a lot of my remaining food. It seems I always run short in the few days before Wednesday. It’s hard for me to get everything I need when I know there is someone waiting on me to finish in the store.

I got to talk with my cousin and my sister before bed.

Thank you to everyone who sent in pictures for the Christmas presentation! I’ll be sure to update you on how it goes tomorrow. Pretty excited, I don’t have to teach any of my morning classes tomorrow because they have exams. I’m going to try to go to the outlet mall before my afternoon classes tomorrow.