la reconnaissance

Thankfulness~ Yes, it was a bit strange to be away from the United States on the purely American holiday of Thanksgiving.  I couldn't believe that I had four classes that were not cancelled for the day and that there were no mashed potatoes at our Thanksgiving dinner (prepared by a French restaurant).  But it was also a moment to recognize all of the things that I am thankful for here in France (in no particular order)...

definitely not my family's thanksgiving dinner, but there are a lot of other things to be thankful for...

1) a beautiful language that I slowly but surely am beginning to master
2) a group of friends of many nationalities, including my church in Rennes, who support me and give me the opportunity to support them
3) snow...yes, it snowed a bit ON THANKSGIVING!!!
4) the directors of our program who answer at least two of my questions every day and who decorated their office for Thanksgiving, periodically provide us with Reese's cups that seem to materialize out of thin air, and are there if we need to laugh or cry or just say "bonjour" to someone familiar
5) my family who has helped me enormously before and during my time in France, has taken care of some of the important logistics in the U.S. regarding next semester in Africa, and who did the best they could to make me part of their festivities by showing me their mashed potatoes via skype
6) my host family, who has given me a roof, a taste of french food and family life, and the opportunity to read lots and lots of children's books

completed human body

7) the eccentric frenchman who sat next to me at our Thanksgiving dinner and contented himself by showing me pictures and business cards of everyone in his life, including his nephew (who I'm pretty sure he wants me to go on a date with)
8) chocolate...and French food in general
9) my human body magnets (collected from boxes of French cookies..and completed on Thanksgiving)
10) my salsa class..taught in French
11) the professors of CIREFE (the part of the university here for international students), who are ridiculously patient with our errors and sometimes feeble attempts to speak their native language
12) the familiarity of Thanksgiving day, even in a foreign country
13) the unknown