Holidays

The holidays were kind of bittersweet. I got to spend a really nice Christmas at home with my family and I came back just in time to spend New Years Eve here in Lille. I got lucky- the morning I left for Charles de Gaulle airport it was snowing, thick gorgeous flakes, and people were stranded everywhere, for days at a time, but I made all of my flights. And there is something really nice about speeding through northern France on a TGV when all you see around you is blustery white. Anyway, after a week or so of recharging, sleeping, eating a lot and spending time with my mama, I was looking forward to going back to Lille.

One of the best things about the fall semester was the close group of friends I made. So it was kind of sad to say goodbye to everyone as they left, slipping away one by one over the first weeks of January. I returned to Lille on New Years Eve, and contrary to what we might have thought at the time, I think we spent a rather satisfactory night. We made it downtown just a little too late and found that the usual clubs were charging amounts that nobody had in cash. As midnight approached we found ourselves standing on a busy street next to some trash cans, watching the revelers pass and replying to everyone who wished us "Bonne année les filles!". I rang in the new year laughing in the heart of Lille with friends I love. I am definitely okay with how the evening worked out. I don't have pictures to share, but you will just have to imagine the streets full of young French people setting off firecrackers and brandishing silly string.