Birthday

Friday was my birthday!

No big deal or anything... BUT I TURNED 17 IN FRANCE!!! I was totally chill about it... NOT! I was psyched - and let's just say that I everyone knew why... How did I calmly and casually let people know? Well, I took the suave and subtle route of touting jiffy bars (delicious homemade peanut butter rice crispy treats covered in chocolate) to school as a treat... But hey, word might have also spread due to my friends' persistant hollering of "Joyeux Anniversaire!" every time they saw me. Either way, it was a well known fact that Friday the 16th was my special day!

As if my day wasn't already exceptional, I recieved amazing birthday wishes from my family back home! Emails, skype calls, and even paper letters (this is how we know that it's the 21st century guys; getting paper mail from overseas is blowing my mind) from my family came flooding in all last week showering me with American love! Needless to say, I was touched. One very special package (hint: jiffy bars were included) came bearing a very important item - a crazy sweater for my friend Margaux (whose birthday was on the 15th)! Do you like it? I feel as though it perfectly encompasses the Madison flavor...

My day was brightened even more by the ridiculously thoughtful gifts from my friends and family. In France, birthdays (while celebrated) are not as gift heavy as they are in the US, so I didn't expect any sort of presents. Yet I was still blushing from the overwhelmingly kind gifts from my family back home (Thank you so much!) when the immense generosity of my French friends and family was once again revealed. I must have characterized the laid-back French birthday tradition, because not only did my friends and family shower me with love and affection, they also delighted me with their phenomenally thoughtful gifts, which featured anything from classic kindheartedness (one of my friends gave me this beautiful rose from her garden!) to inside jokes (not to brag, but a hamburger phone might have completed my 'Juno' collection!). Right now, I just want to shout from the rooftops "Thank you!", but seeing that rooftop promenades are not a particularly common sport here in France, I suppose that blogging is the best way to send my infinite thank yous out into the universe!

Thank you!

Merci à tous!