thanksgiving chaunois style!

Friday, I had yet another frustrating experience with the class that has three students. Two of the students came, but I could not get the key to the room anywhere! The loge (where I normally get it from) was closed. So I go ask the surveillants. Someone had their keys already. I looked for another teacher, but had no luck. So no class.  This is getting old.  I don't really care... I'm just annoyed.

In the afternoon, we met up for coffee with an Australian who lives in Chauny and her adorable two year old son. We had great conversation, and it was just really nice. Plus, she invited us over for Thanksgiving leftovers. Sweet! After she left, Natasha and I stuck around for awhile. Good thing we did, because my friend M. came, and we got to have a great conversation in French. Love practicing my French! Especially after speaking so much English! And it's also good because M. likes to talk about things that are going on in the news (like the economic crisis) so I get to really brush up on vocabulary usage and such.

Saturday, we had Thanksgiving in Chauny! I was the only American. There was a Brit, a Scot, a Spaniard, and a German (who's an assistant in Tergnier and La Fere). I made stuffing... only my favorite food ever! We also had mashed potatoes, gravy (which I successfully found a recipe for and made after Maria clearly had no clue what gravy was even after promising to make it), corn, and chicken. Yes, I know it should have been turkey, but finding a whole turkey in France... not easy. Plus, Maria offered to make it. Everyone enjoyed the meal, so I was quite happy. After the meal, we drank delicious sangria that Maria made before heading out to the bar. All in all, we had a great night.

Today, we went over to Kylie's (the Australian) for lunch. It was like a real Thanksgiving! Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin and apple pies! I was in heaven. Yum yum! Her American husband is super nice, and her son was so cute and entertaining. And we talked for hours about the differences between France, the US, and Australia. The time just flew by. Such a great day! We're definitely going to do something with Kylie again soon. Seriously, she is so sweet.

Tonight... St. Andrew's Day meal.  Still scared at the prospect of haggis...