Hello dear friends! Happy Thanksgiving! I'm so very thankful for you!
This month has been extremely busy, but thankfully full of days off school. The first weekend of November, we had a 5 day weekend for the Moroccan Eid el Kabir. I spent the weekend in Melilla, Spain and had such a relaxing time (see previous posts for info on that). Last weekend we had a 3-day weekend for the Moroccan Independence Day. Unfortunately, there was a lack of barbecues, watermelon-shaped fruit bowls, and fireworks displays. Thankfully, there was an abundance of laziness, tv/movies, and junk food. I spent two of the three nights at my friends' apartment, and I think we weren't out of bed for more than an hour on Friday; instead, we snuggled in for a day full of catching up on our favorite tv shows and enjoying our day off! This weekend we had Thursday and Friday off for American Thanksgiving! It's definitely interesting experiencing the holiday in another country.
I was invited to eat with some wonderful friends. We had delicious turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes (made by your truly :) ), homemade biscuits, apple crisp, pumpkin bread, and homemade toffee!!! I was stuffed!! It was so wonderful to be surrounded by friends, but it was bittersweet to miss , the parade, the dog show!!, all the Black Friday advertisements, and my dear, sweet family. I was able to skype with them for a bit--the computer was set at the dining room table and it was ALMOST like I was actually there. . . I actually spent most of the day trying to image the day as any other typical Thursday to keep myself in the here and now, and not dwell on the fact that I won't be back home anytime soon. Here are some pics of our splendid feast!
Update on the fabric fiasco from a million blogs ago: In August, I overpaid for fabric in the Medina in order to have a chair made. Well, the tailor didn't have his paperwork or something in order, so he told us the police closed his shop and there was no way we could get in to get the fabric out. That was 2.5 months ago! Mark was going to get some papers legalized last week and just happened to be close to the shop and stopped by. Lo and behold, the shop was open!!! Apparently the owners of the building decided to take the store back and open it themselves. And, it seems to have been open for a while!!! Thankfully, they still had my fabric!!! Yesterday, I went out with Amy and Michelle and found some additional solid-colored fabric for accent pillows. Now I just need to find a trustworthy tailor to make my chair before Christmas!! I'll keep you posted--and hopefully pictures will follow!
Today I'm going out again to buy fabric to make scarves! So fun! When am I to plan lessons for school you ask??? That's a great question! :)
I thought I'd end my blog with some things I'm thankful for right now:
1. I'm thankful for the internet that lets me keep in touch with so many back home.
2. I'm thankful for the many coffee shops within walking distance of my house.
3. I'm thankful for Mark and Amy, their friendship, and their willingness to go above and beyond to make me welcome here and feel like family.
4. I'm thankful for the awesome care package my aunt and uncle sent me!
5. I'm thankful that I can still talk to my parents multiple times a week.
6. I'm thankful for the awesome teachers at the school & that so many of us have become such great friends in just a few short months!
7. I'm thankful I was able to get my fabric (& hopefully a chair soon!).
8. I'm thankful for all the cheap bananas and oranges in season right now.
9. I'm thankful that this weekend has been full of sunshine and 60 degree weather!
10. I'm thankful that Christmas in Paris is in only 25 days!!!! :)
This month has been extremely busy, but thankfully full of days off school. The first weekend of November, we had a 5 day weekend for the Moroccan Eid el Kabir. I spent the weekend in Melilla, Spain and had such a relaxing time (see previous posts for info on that). Last weekend we had a 3-day weekend for the Moroccan Independence Day. Unfortunately, there was a lack of barbecues, watermelon-shaped fruit bowls, and fireworks displays. Thankfully, there was an abundance of laziness, tv/movies, and junk food. I spent two of the three nights at my friends' apartment, and I think we weren't out of bed for more than an hour on Friday; instead, we snuggled in for a day full of catching up on our favorite tv shows and enjoying our day off! This weekend we had Thursday and Friday off for American Thanksgiving! It's definitely interesting experiencing the holiday in another country.
I was invited to eat with some wonderful friends. We had delicious turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes (made by your truly :) ), homemade biscuits, apple crisp, pumpkin bread, and homemade toffee!!! I was stuffed!! It was so wonderful to be surrounded by friends, but it was bittersweet to miss , the parade, the dog show!!, all the Black Friday advertisements, and my dear, sweet family. I was able to skype with them for a bit--the computer was set at the dining room table and it was ALMOST like I was actually there. . . I actually spent most of the day trying to image the day as any other typical Thursday to keep myself in the here and now, and not dwell on the fact that I won't be back home anytime soon. Here are some pics of our splendid feast!
Update on the fabric fiasco from a million blogs ago: In August, I overpaid for fabric in the Medina in order to have a chair made. Well, the tailor didn't have his paperwork or something in order, so he told us the police closed his shop and there was no way we could get in to get the fabric out. That was 2.5 months ago! Mark was going to get some papers legalized last week and just happened to be close to the shop and stopped by. Lo and behold, the shop was open!!! Apparently the owners of the building decided to take the store back and open it themselves. And, it seems to have been open for a while!!! Thankfully, they still had my fabric!!! Yesterday, I went out with Amy and Michelle and found some additional solid-colored fabric for accent pillows. Now I just need to find a trustworthy tailor to make my chair before Christmas!! I'll keep you posted--and hopefully pictures will follow!
Today I'm going out again to buy fabric to make scarves! So fun! When am I to plan lessons for school you ask??? That's a great question! :)
I thought I'd end my blog with some things I'm thankful for right now:
1. I'm thankful for the internet that lets me keep in touch with so many back home.
2. I'm thankful for the many coffee shops within walking distance of my house.
3. I'm thankful for Mark and Amy, their friendship, and their willingness to go above and beyond to make me welcome here and feel like family.
4. I'm thankful for the awesome care package my aunt and uncle sent me!
6. I'm thankful for the awesome teachers at the school & that so many of us have become such great friends in just a few short months!
7. I'm thankful I was able to get my fabric (& hopefully a chair soon!).
8. I'm thankful for all the cheap bananas and oranges in season right now.
9. I'm thankful that this weekend has been full of sunshine and 60 degree weather!
10. I'm thankful that Christmas in Paris is in only 25 days!!!! :)
