Ménilmontant

Had a marvelous day walking around the 11th with Philippe and Nathan. We were later joined by others, some new friends, some old friends, and some complete strangers. I really like this neighborhood. Everyone was so nice to me. The guys working construction by the metro even stopped their crane in mid-lift for me just so I could get a perfect shot. In this way, even the construction didn't bother me. In some ways, it reminded me of home, and seemed to go all too well with the soundtrack on my ipod.

It's amazing how music can change your mood. I may struggle to get out of bed for half an hour, but the moment "It's my life" comes on, I'm literally twirling and skipping down to the metro. Everything is amazing. My mind clears of any extraneous thoughts, and I get to live. And living is pretty awesome. Bon Jovi was --shocker-- absolutely right. It is my life, after all.

Some highlights of the afternoon included getting crowned a princess, crowned a pompier (fire fighter), and sliding down a steep hill on a bright red chair in front of a sign that said, "le bon plaisir." It couldn't have been more appropriate.

After drinking a nice cold beer at lunch, I finished printing a lot of photos for my expo coming up. I felt very accomplished to see them all formally framed and nice looking.

Finally, I met up with Sam for a night of Thanksgiving (0r as the French say, "Sanksgeeveen"). We chowed down on all the traditional favorites: mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn bread, stuffing, turkey, and cranberry sauce. Of course, the real star of the evening was the pumpkin pie. Mhmm pumkin.

Now I'm packing up my bag for what is sure to be an awesome weekend in Bruxelles. Before I leave, I just wanted to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there. I have a lot for which to be thankful and a lot of people in my life who deserve my biggest thanks. So thank you. :)