Thanksgiving & the start of the Christmas season

Sorry to all my avid readers for my absence in writing blog posts. I have been busy writing papers which has been very stressful but I only have two more and then I am done! Thanksgiving in London turned out to be quite a success! Alyssia and I went to Marks and Spencers after school on Thursday and bought a chicken that was already marinated, a large bread roll, cranberry sauce thanks to my mom and dad, wine, homemade cinnamon applesauce made my Alyssia and I, and a HOMEMADE pumpkin chiffon pie made by yours truly :) My parents sent me some of the ingredients that would have been very hard to find in the UK and I made it in our tinny tiny kitchen and it turned out great! It's odd but making this pie made me feel like a real family member I made a dish that has been in my family for a long time and I made it on my own! It was awesome and I did it without a lot of the appliances and kitchen utensils that you needed to make it, it was kind of funny. So after Alyssia and I spent the whole day in the kitchen our friend Mimi came over for dinner. Since we do not have a kitchen table I cleared off my desk and moved it to the center of my room and we ate there. It was small but it was better than eating on the floor or on a bed. We had a great time talking about London, our homes, and what we were thankful for. It overall was a great Thanksgiving, one of the best I have had yet. :) Now forwarding to today Alyssia and I went to the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony in Trafalgar square. Every year since 1941 Norway has given London a Christmas Tree as a symbol of the "close and warm" relationship between the people of Norway and the people of Britain. The reason they do this is because in 1940 Norway was invaded and the king of Norway Haakon VII sought refuge in Britain and the Norwegian government was established in London. The ceremony started at 6:10 and the Salvation Army Band played Christmas songs before and during the ceremony. The Lord Mayor of Westminster and the Governing Mayor of Oslo ( a city in Norway) gave a speech. Then the tree lights were lit and the water fountains turned on. It was beautiful I just wish it had not been so cold and that there had not been so many people. It was extra pretty because it has been snowing in London not a lot of snow but it covered the ground a little and tiny specks of snow were falling from the sky and it is really pretty and makes it feel like Christmas time. More updates to come later, can't believe I go home in two weeks abroad has flown by!