You never know how much your comfort zone inhibits you until you leave it.

01 January 2011

The Christmas Season

The Christmas Season in Pau found the town decked out in decorations. The town center had lights strung everywhere! They had a Christmas playground for the children and Christmas markets for the shoppers with warm wine and cider. Also, since it only snowed twice in Pau while I was there, they set up a false sledding hill so that the kids could still go sledding!

My host family took me shopping downtown with the kids and they enjoyed playing in the Christmas scene. Note: There is sand instead of snow! There is also a little house with a mailbox where the kids can put their letters to Santa!


The playground


Enjoying the lights before going out to dinner

The university put on Christmas meal, mostly for foreign exchange students, but really for anyone who wanted. It was the first time I tried fois gras (duck liver) and I really enjoyed it! All the food was delicious!


Sitting with my class


Even included Orangina :]

After the meal there was a mini talent show. There were dancers and Christmas carols in multiple languages. A group of USACers sang Happy Christmas and I sang a medley of Christmas carols in French (Vive le Vent, Mon Beau Sapin et Petit Papa Noël) and I'll Be Home For Christmas while playing my ukulele. After that they had a raffle, the prizes were wine and Santa hats. We won a bottle of wine for our class (Which we drank on the last day) and my teacher won a Santa hat, claiming it looked prettier on my head, she gave it to me. 


"So this is Christmas..."

Courtney and I went to a Christmas concert at her church. It was really convenient because I knew almost all the songs that they sang (although I knew the English words and not the French words of course) but still, I knew the meaning, so it was very enjoyable. The cutest part were all of the little kids who played angels and sheep :]

 

My host family put up a real Christmas tree and one night we walked around some neighborhoods looking at all of the decorations! It was weird to see Christmas lights on palm trees without snow, but it's normal there.

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