Hello!

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I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Years!

It's been a while since I have written in here but I hope to get everyone caught up as to what i've been up to. Christmas break was absolutely one of the best times ever!

Saturday December 20th 2008..
I went to Disney Land in Europe!!! Soooo much fun,
I have never been to Disney Land before and I have always wanted to go and who would have known I would have got to in Europe! I went with Cindy and we spent the whole day from like 10 in the morning until 10 at night going on rides, taking pictures, of course waiting in line, and seeing Cinderella's castle and I really liked how everything made me feel like I was inside a Walt Disney movie! It was even extra special because it was around Christmas time so everything was lit up for Christmas and I got to see the Christmas parade! I really had a lot of fun and i'm so happy I got to spend the day with my soon to be host sister =)


Monday December 22 2008,
I switched back to my first host family to spend the holidays with them, and wow did I have a wonderful time spending the holidays the way I did... to start off I actually met a girl from Columbia who was my host mom's friend so that was really interesting to talk to someone from another country (sort of like talking to exchange students) and talk to her about how it was when she first got here not knowing the language very well and it was reassuring to hear that she became practically fluent after a year. Later that night we all went to finish Christmas shopping.

Tuesday December 23 2008,
This day I helped decorate the house and was so happy to see that we got to decorate a Christmas tree! I helped decorate with my host brother, host mom, and the girl from Columbia (Andrea) I really enjoyed being able to decorate the house with the host family it really made me get into the Christmas spirit. Afterwards we had a little early Christmas dinner with the host family (host mom,host brother, host sister, her boyfriend, and Andrea) and it was nice because we got to try a Colombian meal.

Wednesday December 24 2008
This morning I made cookies for the Christmas dinner the next day and finally I figured out the correct sugar to use and the cookies turned out great haha. Later that day I was invited to lunch at the host father's house and I ate lots of good food and I got to play card games and just spend time with the host family. After the lunch I went with the host mother and Andrea into Calais (another town about an hour away) to meet the HUGE family who was getting ready to celebrate Christmas for not only one day but for a few day before and after! I met just about everyone in my host family and it was so nice because even though it was the very first time i was meeting a lot of them everyone was so nice and welcoming and I had such a great night. We all had little name tags as to where we would sit and everything was so decorated for Christmas it was so beautiful! I spent that whole night singing songs and laughing so hard and I even got a present it was a really nice crystal candle holder, so beautiful. When everyone got there presents we had to do a little skit and so with my little group we sang "Jingle Bells" and it was soo funny because no one really knew all the words so they just hummed and I sang along. Then later that night they wanted me to sing silent night, and for all of you have never heard me sing.. that is probably for the best I really dont sing often so i was soo embarrassed to sing infront of 19 people but it turned out good and it was nice because after I learned so many French Christmas songs! and I also heard a lot of funny storys about the family and everything and I just felt so comfortable there and just felt that everyone was so warm and nice and it was just great because at first I was wondering how it would be because it was the very first time i was not with my real family for Christmas vacation but I realized that it turned out to be a very nice Christmas time because of how welcoming everyone really was with me.

Christmas Day!!!!

Christmas morning I awoke to a table filled with typical French Christmas breakfast food and home made orange juice (complements of my first host mom)and a bunch of presents. It was really nice that we all exchanged gifts it made me feel like at home. I got a swimming suit and a DVD and chocolate and a little stuffed animal for my rotary jacket and a bunch of other really cool things. After the gift exchange we left for Calais again (I was so tired because the dinner the night before didnt finish until just about 1 in the morning) and when we got there it was a little bit like the night before but it was even more special because it was Christmas day and I will never forget right at my place at the table was a seashell and inside of it a scrolled up paper tied with gold lace that had a bible verse on it and it was just so nice it was like the true meaning of Christmas inside a seashell! I had so much typical French "Christmas time food" It was all so wonderful and I ate way too much!!! haha. After the lunch I got to go to the beach, who would have guessed I would spend my Christmas walking along a beach! Don't get me wrong though it truly was freezing cold! I picked up so many sea shells and even though it was cold the sun was out and i will never forget just how beautiful the suns rays looked upon the sand. After we had the Christmas dinner and did the "Secret Santa" type of thing and my present was so thoughtful and so nice! My host aunt made me a purse, she spent hours knitting it all together and it is my favorite color blue and I it was just so pretty! Later that night i gave out my "American cookies" its funny to think that cookies are such an American thing. I spent a lot of time that night playing cards and learning games and i even got to hear how different "French" animals sound vs. "American" animals it was hilarious hearing the differences from a American roaster as opposed to a French roaster and a Colombian roaster hahhah sooo funn. Its so strange how the animals make the same noises but different languages interpret them in different ways! So all in all my Christmas was really truly wonderful! It will be a Christmas I will never ever forget =)
This is just an insite to how much fun I have had I will tell you about Paris! another day!!!

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