Halloweeeen!

A few days ago, my mother sent me a care package. It had the normal goods within - a card, the shoes I asked her to send me, and some treats for Halloween. Little did I know just how much excitement and fun times this box would bring to my host family's house. Let's recap, shall we? Tonight at dinner I decided to throw une petite soiree (little party) after dessert. Throughout dinner I was so excited that I kept smiling every few minutes. I brought the box downstairs and slowly presented them with each gift. (Now is a good time for another list)
1. Mini bags of pretzels, like the kind used for snack bags or lunches. While this may not seem like a whole lot, my host family got really, reallyy excited. I guess they don't have snack bags here in France, because my host mom kept exclaiming how practical they were. Not to mention my host dad loves pretzels, so he was thrilled at the idea of being able to take some with him to work.
2. Halloween tinsel. This was fun just to see the looks on their faces when I presented them with something as weird as Halloween tinsel. I tried to explain the concept of such a thing, but I don't know if it got lost in translation. Who knows if we'll actually decorate the house with it, but it's fun to have.
3. One of those giant, stretchy, spider webs used to decorate the front lawn and tress. And I thought the tinsel went over well haha! This thing brought weird looks and remarks of "ahh ok". Later Vianney told me I should probably just use it to decorate my room since he thought my host mom wouldn't like a giant spider web in the house. No big deal- my room is now festive :)
4. Neon, glow-in-the-dark bracelets. Huge hit. Vianney got really excited, as did Marie. We'll probably open them for Halloween weekend. I hope they last a long time!
5. A Halloween pumpkin bucket full of candy. Also a huge hit. I made Marie and Vianney try the Reese's Cups, them being my favorite and all. Clotilde wasn't here, otherwise I would have had her try one too. Vianney loved them and it took Marie a minute to figure out she liked them too! Woo American success! After I asked Marie if she wanted another, she responded by telling me that they were too heavy and she wouldn't be able to eat more then a half of one. Funny how Americans eat packs of these things in one sitting right? Then again, jars of Nutella are plentiful here (I eat it for breakfast sometimes), so you gotta take it all in stride haha. The other candies include Whoppers, Hershey's Chocolate bars, and Kit Kats. Amazingly, they do have Kit-Kats here in France, and yes they taste the same.
6. Candy Corn. We haven't tried this yet, only because it's wrapped in cellophane and I don't want it to get stale. Maybe this weekend I'll whip it out. I'm excited to see what they think!
7. Halloween socks! Mom, the kids loooooved these haha. When I first opened the package, Clotilde and Marie were with me so they pretty much got first dips on everything. They had their socks picked out right from the get-go. Of course my host mom and dad aren't going to wear them (I can't even imagine that happening haha), the kids are stoked and have promised that they'll be worn on Halloween day.
8. Halloween pencils. Not as good as the socks, but still cool.
9. Finally, PANCAKE MIX! I am so, SO excited to make pancakes. I told everyone I wanted to make a meal of just American foods I enjoy, along with some of the more traditional things, like pancakes. Other things planned for the menu: PB&J, grilled cheese, and my family's famous Noodle Salad. If you have any other ideas feel free to comment/post! There's a lot that can be made but I don't know what else!

In other words, MERCI BEAUCOUP MAMA! My family says thank you thank you too :)

This past weekend was a lot of fun! Thursday night I went out for my friend Katie's birthday. I had my very first taste of Vietnamese cuisine, which was awesome. I can't wait to go back! Afterwards we went out to the bars. That's all I'll say about that haha.

Friday night I went to my first French concert! Granted it wasn't REALLY french considering all the acts were in English, but as a sidenote I did not know that before I went. One of the lab assistants at IES plays in a band called Astro Senor so a bunch of students decided to get together and go watch. I loved the music and for it being their first concert they were great! The main act was a group called Elderberries. 2 guys from Great Britain, 1 from New Zealand and 1 from France makes for an interesting show haha. They played heavy rock, which I normally don't listen to, but I loved it! They even gave a shout-out to all the American students that were there!

Time is flying by here. I can't believe it's already the middle of October! It's starting to rain too, which means winter is coming. Apparently Nantes doesn't get a whole lot of snow... just rain. Good thing I bought a sturdy raincoat before I left!

That's all for now. Can't wait to update you all on my weekend adventures! Should be a good time - I'm headed to a town called Angers for some sightseeing and for a musical that's playing there. Yaaay traveling!

A dimanche! (See you Sunday)
Molly