Since our last meeting, the following has happened:

1. I went home for Thanksgiving and the SEC Championship. Hung out with Taylor Hicks, met my new cousin Daniel, had lunch with my SSS at Bottega, had impromptu spend-the-night parties with Allison, Allie, KT, Molly and Mom (all pretty routine), had culture shock over how big and commercial the US can be, etc. I felt like I had never left although I had been gone 7ish months.

2. I went to Prague for Christmas where I learned to like grog (rum and hot water) and stayed with Caroline's Czech family. Prague is beautiful. Unfortunately I forgot my camera and am now waiting for a friend I met there to send me his pictures. As you can see, that is going well...

3. Paris for New Years (where I insisted everyone listen to Alabama while I tried to TEACH square dancing). Also was pretty adamant that all the multicultural guests at aforementioned party listen to the lyrics of "The Night They Drove Ole Dixie Down." The musical selections went well with the foie gras and champagne, I'm just sure of it.

4. I got sick of French men saying "bisoussssssss" at the beginning, middle and end of every conversation. Almost makes me miss emotionally-absent males! I think I will find the happy medium in Ireland. For the non-Francophiles among us, bisous means kisses. And it's just hard to take someone seriously who is saying this all the time...and who "misses" you after one date. Maybe I'm just that awesome. The book "Talk to the Snail" by Stephen Clark that Caroline so kindly and thoughtfully gave me for Christmas has shed much light on French culture and men. I will have some quotes later.

5. I have not had seasonal depression. I realize that winter is not nearly over, but considering that it has been much too cold for my taste basically since the day I arrived (Sept. 5th), this is an accomplishment. There are a couple plausible reasons for this...one being no exams or anything due around December, another being that I'm not in Tuscaloosa, another being that snow has been very much involved...not just dreary, blustery winds...and lastly...fluexotine.

6. I have secured an apartment for the last leg of my journey. In the 1st arrondissement beside the Louvre. I could not be more excited to be a faux-Parisian for a month and a half. Allison will be bringing some Tuscaloosa to my life for nine days, which will be just fabulous. I hope we make it out alive and don't pull any stunts reminiscent of Freshman year at the Blount dorms. After this I will be returning home at the end of March for Molly's wedding festivities which I am seriously pumped about.

7. And my new year's resolution (well, one of them that I wrote on a post-it note 3 days ago) is to blog once a week. Maybe even more.