Poptarts in Paris

So I've been feeling a little bit homesick the last few days. Nothing serious, just kind of realizing that I've been in another country for two months, and that there are some things that are so American that I've sort of been missing. Maybe because Thanksgiving is approaching, and the holidays. I don't know, I just know that I've been desiring something very very American.

With that in mind I went to find the fabled "American Store." People in my program are always talking about this store that sells American things like peanut butter and pancake mix (neither of which you can buy here in regular stores). So, I googled it, and then went searching this afternoon.

The American store is actually called "Thanksgiving" which is a bit ironic considering the time of year, and it's owned by an American couple. It's situated on a narrow side street in the Mirais, one of the older parts of Paris with all the narrow cobbled streets and old buildings. When I finally found it, which took awhile, I stepped inside, and was immediately met with images of things I hadn't thought about in months. Root beer, chili powder, cheerios, they had it all. Of course the prices weren't pretty, because this stuff was shipped overseas, but still. I wandered for awhile, listening in on the conversations (in english), before selecting my treat, a box of poptarts. I spent more than I will ever spend again on poptarts, but when I got home, they were so so so good.

While at the store I asked about Thanksgiving dinner in Paris, but from the sounds of it I should have been asking a month ago. The store has a cajun restaurant attached, but they have apparently been booked for weeks. And the lady didn't know any other places doing thanksgiving. I'm not sure what we'll do yet, because we don't have an oven where we live, and we have conversations that night anyways, but it will work out.