The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. ~ Burton Hillis

The following is a letter to the ones I love and never showed it enough.  You know who you are.

Dearest friends,

There is no such thing anymore as an “original thought”.  So though I may seek to astound you with profound insight upon the subject of Christmas, I know the best I may accomplish is to put into words what is true in my heart and hope that they will touch you.

From the time we were small children, we have learned from Charlie Brown and the Grinch (who stole Christmas) what Christmas is really about.  It’s not the presents or the tree; the lights or the songs; it’s not even getting extra time off of school/work to sleep in.  Christmas is about sharing with those dear to you the joy of having remained united as family and friends in this crazy painful beautiful life for yet another year.  It is a celebration of relationships and the bonds that hold them together.  

And it is for this reason why today did not feel like Christmas.

To clarify, I am not trying to amass a pity party for myself with this statement - in all honesty I feel happy as I write this post.  But the fact remains that Christmas is not simply a date marked on a calendar - It is a state of being.  Of being with the friends that have seen you through the various obstacles of life and who did their best to soften it’s blows.  I have met some fantastic people here in France, and I feel our relationships will last long after I return in the summer.  But they are not you.  And that makes all the difference.

This year I was presented the fantastic opportunity to experience Christmas from an outsider’s point of view, and because of this I value the specialness of the event and what elements make it so in a way I never have before.  I am truly grateful that you make up a part of my life, and I have realized that all I want for Christmas is, to quote Juno, “be an interesting piece of furniture in your weird life.”

So yeah, that’s my awful mushy gushing of the year over with.  Merry Christmas everyone, best wishes and charms for the upcoming year, and take care of yourselves till I get back and we can hang. :)

"If you don't think every day is a great day, try going without one" ~ Jim Evans

A day comprised of dancing, sketching and copious amounts of chocolate are rarely any less than awesome for me.  Last friday:  No exception.  The day just started out feeling good.  Granted, I was running a little late due to the coffee machine taking forever to get going, but this only seemed to get the adrenaline going for the day ahead.  That, combined with the fact that it was the last school day of 2011 and I was wearing a dress for the occasion, had me pretty pumped.

We had regular classes in the morning, but my teachers were more willing than usual to let me do what I wanted, so I spent the morning filling in what little space I had left in my sketchbook.  Not wanting to blow my own horn (that’s a lie, I do), but my classmates were pretty impressed by my Totoro sketches!



At lunchtime a group of my friends had organized a Secret Santa gift-exchange; I gave a notebook and received a glow-in-the-dark keychain bear!  Thanks to Bérénice, I will never again have to worry about losing my backpack in the dark!  (Because naturally, this has been a pressing concern of mine...)


Mid-day there was this school-wide spectacle where various parts of the student body would preform a skit/song/choreographed dance involving pom-poms and vibrant green tights while the rest of us watched from our stadium seats in the rented gymnasium.  It was entertaining, but the best was yet to be :)


Because  the rest of the day was spent at my friend Marie’s, along with Cassandra and Alessandro.  After about two minutes debate about what we should do, we had laptop and speakers set up in the living room and I proceeded to
dance wildly for the following two hours in the small space provided between the couch and the dining room table.  There is quite an embarrassing video of this somewhere on Sandro’s phone, but he’s promised to never let it go public, so as to spare us all 2 minutes 47 seconds of humiliation.  Nevertheless it was a really great way to kick off the Christmas break!!

Top Ten Reasons Why, If My Brother Was Not My Brother, I Would Want Him To Be (In Ascending Order)

If you know me personally, you may know that a) I have a thing for writing lists, and b) today is my little brother's birthday - he's turning fifteen.  So, in celebration of these two points, I have comprised a list of reasons why I consider myself pretty lucky to have Simon as a brother (even though I'd never be able to say them to his face - it's a sibling thing :P)


NUMBER 10!!  THE FRIENDLY COMPETITION!!
My brother is one of those kids that does not have to study at all and still earns straight As.  I am one of those kids that also gets straight As, but has to work really, really hard for 'em.  For this reason, Simon's educational success has always acted as a little extra motivation for me.  He sets a high bar that I have always felt the need to meet or surpass.


NUMBER 9!!  THE TIME WHEN I WAS EIGHT AND HE NEARLY KNOCKED MY TWO FRONT TEETH OUT WITH A BASEBALL!!
Yeah, odd subject to include on this list.  Upon reflection, however, I've discovered the service this accident and the events following has done me.  I used to have a gap between my two front teeth that would probably still be there if the dentist had not straightened them out while re-inserting them into my gums.  Also, I believe my large pain threshold and the fact that I am not afraid of needles spawned from the long recovery process following the incident.  Yeah, it hurt, but thanks anyway, bro.


NUMBER 8!!  THE LIFE LESSONS!!
One of the reasons I think "only children" often grow up a little bratty is due to the lack of siblings.  Especially if they are close in age (as I am with my brother) siblings do so much to teach one another about patience, sharing, compromise, understanding, compassion, companionship...  The list goes on.  These are lessons that can not be taught better than from a brother or sister.


NUMBER 7!!  THE DISPOSITION!!
Simon has this eternal sunniness about him that can be detected within seconds of meeting him - it's one of the first things you notice.  He's one of those people that just exudes happiness, and it's difficult to be down around him.


NUMBER 6!!  THE HONESTY!!
My brother wears his heart on his sleeve, a trait that is becoming increasingly rare in this day and age, particularly among the male half of humanity.  He's not afraid to coo over a kitten, dress up for halloween or spend a lunchhour here and there in the library.  Is it "geeky"?  Yes.  Is it 3 bajillion times better than pretending to be someone you're not in fear of appearing "uncool"?  Yes.  Simon's a geek, I'm a geek, hater's will hate, and if anyone gives him a tough time about it I will hop on a plane and personally... Ask you politely but firmly to stop, because that isn't very nice.


NUMBER 5!!  THE HEART!!
Simon is a caring individual and he'd be friends with anyone.  I've known him exactly 15 years now and so can say with authority that never once has he done anything mean-spirited or cold.  And he loves animals, and he does his best at everything and... I dunno, he's just a good guy!


NUMBER 4!!  THE TRAVEL COMPANION!!
Living in a separated family with our extended family stationed throughout both South Africa and the US makes for lot of traveling.  And may I add that, be it spending a Wednesday night at our Dad's, a week in Hood River, or a month in South Africa, travelling is not the same without my little brother.  We've seen and experienced a lot together, and on the whole, it's been a blast.  And I look very much forward to the voyages awaiting us.


NUMBER 3!!  THE PERSEVERANCE!!
There are a lot of jerks in the world right now.  I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but it appears that presently, good people go through a hard time simply because they stay true to who they are and do what they believe is right.  There is a lot of pressure, particularly on boys, to act and think in a certain way, and it takes a person with a lot of courage and commitment to swim against the current when it's not flowing in the direction they want it to.  With pride I say that my brother is is one of these people.  He does his best to be the bigger man and stands up for what he believes in... Even if that means that occasionally, he must stand alone. 


NUMBER 2!!  THE SHARED SENSE OF HUMOUR!!
This is a huge point for me because so much of the relationship Simon and I share rides on what we find funny.  The Youtube videos that make most people go O.o have us in tears; we laugh at the same gags in comic books; we have conversations that are entirely comprised of reciting dialogue from a favourite movie.  There's a saying that goes: "Nothing shows one’s character better than what one laughs at".  I don't know what our sense of humour has to say about us, only that we match perfectly.


NUMBER 1!!  THE FRIENDSHIP!!
Man... Simon's just a cool kid to be with.  He's funny and intelligent; he cares about other people; he's well-read and polite...  I've always considered the words "friend" and "family" basically synonymous.  If you don't love your family as friends, they're not family at all - if you truly love your friends, they're as good as family.  I'm happy to say Simon's the best of both.

Bro, you're the Scott to my Stacey, which is pretty damn sweet.  Have a great birthday, and be seein' you soon.

With love, Sarah B

"Enjoy the little things in life. For one day you will look back and realize that they were the big things." ~ Anonymous

I was on a bit of a retreat last week.  A good friend of my host-mom, Marie, offered to take Cassandra and I into her home for a week for a change of scenery...  And to get us out of our host-family's hair for  a little while.  :)  So Sunday before last, I was unpacking my suitcase for a week's stay in my new home.

Living at Marie's... was like having a hotel, all to myself.  My bedroom were equipped with it's own bathroom and television, laundry was done for me every day, and I enjoyed full access to the most expansive tea collection I've ever come across. (Orange Infusion was surprisingly tasty.)  And our hosts were so much fun; they love to tell stories.  Dinner was a near two-hour affair every night, with Marie, Carlos, Cassandra and I sitting around the table talking long after we finished eating.  

So yeah, basically living it up in the lap of luxury for a week.

But here's the thing: despite having had an AWESOME week, I was not at all disappointed to be returning to my regular host-family.  But it was only when I got back that I realized how much I love being here.  I love the Sunday mornings when there's always fresh bread and we all eat breakfast together.  I love my room, especially the compactness of it - my room at Marie's was beautiful, but too big.  I love riding home on the back of Marcello's scooter after school and the intense Wii sessions with Alessandro (we finally completed Super Mario Smash Bros. Brawl at 11pm evening before last.)

We've all heard the sayings "Live each day as if it's your last", and "Savour the small things in life".  But it was not until I came to France that I really understood the importance of these words.  With only 10 months to live the adventure of one's young life, one cannot help but live in the moment and enjoy it to the fullest, or else risk waking up one day and wondering where the time has gone.

And it is with this mindset that something miraculous has happened: I have started finding everything worthy of celebration.  Enjoying a coffee with a friend at school became as much a highlight as touring Mt St Michel for the first time; a single shell on the beach became as breathtakingly beautiful as the sun setting over the ocean before it. 

In the end, life is not about saying you've been to the top of the Eiffel tower.  It's about enjoying the climb.