December 23rd, 2006: I was ready to fly to France for the Christmas holidays. I had completed my first semester at Roosevelt University and it was high time to share the US stories with my relatives.
If only I could have found the holy grail…my passport. I looked everywhere in the house, called Nancy in despair after having looked in the freezer for the third time… I gave up.
The equation was rather simple: No passport = No travelling = Stuck in Chicago for Christmas break
Sitting on the yoga ball in the middle of the living room, silent and resigned, I was overwhelmed with my own feelings of sadness and embarrassment. Sadness, because I had to call my parents and announce I would not see them. embarrassed, because it was not the first time I had lost my passport before traveling abroad…
But as the saying go: something good comes out of something bad. It was so true in my case.
Kathleen
To get a new passport, I had to go to the French consulate. I was welcomed by a very warm French woman, Bernadette. I told her all about my passport misery, she listened with empathy (it was not the first time she had seen this happening 
and she helped me through the process and with the paperwork. Her daughter Kathleen became a wonderful friend of mine. I miss you!
As I was in Chicago for Christmas break with a LOT of free time on my own, how was I going to entertain myself? Nancy-my super roomate- had an idea. One evening, she brought 2 movies from the Public Library and both of us sat in our comfy chairs in the TV room with a cup of tea to watch it’s a wonderful life and the Searchers. I had never heard of these movies. I was hooked on…euphemism…I was literally in love with Jamie Steward…For the next 3 weeks, I watched US classic movies such as My Fair Lady, An American in Paris, The Philadelphia story, Ninotchka, The shop around the corner, to name a few. I was getting an education. I was becoming intimate with US culture, I was learning new stuffs, the ‘oldies’ cheered me up and helped me recover from homesickness.
Thanks to Nancy and the ’Oldies’, I re-considered the importance of the Christmas holidays as a very special time of the year. Later on, Colleen initiated me to the Christmas’ Carols, and Tammy took me, my brother and friends on a tour to see the best Christmas lights of Chicagoland.
As kids, my brother and I used to enjoy decorating the Christmas tree. But as we grew older, we were not doing it in our ‘student-like apartment’ in Montpellier. The feeling was sort of ‘out of sight, out of mind’. Chicago revived the Christmas tree decoration and now that I am back in France and I have my own apartment in Paris, I decided to buy a tree! Much smaller than the one we had at Nancy’s, but a good one for a start. I had no Christmas ornaments but the one from Trish and Adonis (below). Guys, thank you I love it
I went to my favorite shop, Monoprix, sort of a mini Target à la Française to buy ornaments. My mother sent me a Christmas tree light. ooh, pretty.
Thank you Chicago! Everything you did, everything you gave, everything you said filled me up with joy and great memories. I hope that you’re as happy as I’m to see that I perpetuate the Christmas tree decoration once again, in my own life, in Paris. Thinking of you all my dear friends.
To top the holiday season, our families were blessed by the birth of Alexis, my nephew. I’m melting like Chicago snow will in May. He is notre petit amour.
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012! STAY WARM! LIVE AND LOVE!
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