An American in Provence

TGV 6 am from Marseille to Lyon for a two-day conference about the recent caselaw in Europe and France concerning patents. This is conference held every year, one session in Paris (400+ participants) and one session in Lyon (~100 participants). This is the first time I have attended, and it is quite expensive (1000+ for two days, not including travel or hotel).
It is nice, I have met some new people and seen some from my course in Strasbourg two years ago.
But seriously, three and a half straight hours in a cramped conference room without even the space to install my laptop (and thereby actually follow the pages-long decisions), is kinda long. Plus all in rapid French, and even worse after lunch.
Went to dinner with a group of people and suddenly remembered it is Thanksgiving, which is one American holiday that the French are rather intrigued by. Do you give presents on Thanksgiving? No, not usually. What do you eat besides the turkey? Is it always the 22nd of November? Is Friday a holiday too?

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Sigh. I find it too hard to make here in France. (heck, I would find it too hard to make in the US too). And plus, Alain hates pumpkin pie. How un-american is that?! Jeez.

Joyeux jour de l'action de grace mes amis!!!

That's right. Fake Macaroni & Cheese powder, people.
Or, real Macaroni & Cheese powder, but not Kraft.
Anyway, good enough for the ex-pat really longing for some comfort food and way better deal than 5$ boxes of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese.

This is great stuff. 100 grams of Macaroni (slightly bigger macaronis than those in the Kraft box, but who am I to complain?), a bit of milk, butter, and three tablespoons of this powder, and there you have it, it's like being back in graduate school again. Or being left home alone while in High School. Or being baby-sat by your older sister.

After my sister went off to college, my mom made me macaroni and cheese and I cried. "I miss my Leah!!"

Alain isn't a fan. He wants real cheese. Geesh!

I usually make it when he is off at the karate class he teaches.
My only (minor) complaint is that sometimes it is has clumps that don't dissolve too easily, but seriously, if you want to raise mini Americans while overseas, you hafta buy this stuff.

ETA: For all those wondering, I think I (or my mom) bought it on Amazon.com (not .fr) and mom brought it over. Amazon won't ship it to France (radioactive?), but the company that makes it will (Barry Farms) will ship to France, but it is expensive. Best to con, I mean convince, someone to bring it over for you.
There are some other cheddar powders out there, but I haven't tried them.

It's been almost seven years now since I started this blog.
It started out as a way to share my adventures and mishaps as an American, newly arrived in the south of France. Learning French, visiting the surroundings, getting married, looking for a job, etc.

But I'm not that person anymore. I don't have any frustrating yet amusing stories to share about La Poste. I (pretty much) know French, am married (going on seven years now), work, and don't get out much.

I don't really know what to say. I guess I'll have to try to find the new American in Provence.