I have put so many things in my way to look forward to so that the actual date that I'm so excited for, Thursday Dec. 14th, the day of my return to the states, will sneak up on me. It HAS! I just finished my christmas shopping this morning at mall that is tiny by our standards but GIGANTINORMOUS by Caribbean standards. It is, in fact, the largest shopping center in the Caribbean. It took me 30 minutes to find a parking spot. It's because it's Christmas. I think I would take the traditional french route and hand-make all my gifts if I had any particularly useful skill. They give homemade foie-gras, liquers, figurines of clay or wood, produce from their gardens, dresses or cloth creations design and realised in their own homes. It's incredible. The other thing that is really incredible at Christmastime in France or a part of France, is the ENTIRE AISLE devoted only to chocolate at all grocery stores. They clear off whatever insignificant item was there before and create ...