cheating on France

Leaving France is certainly permitted this year, and something I plan to do more of before the end of my exchange. But I've never felt stranger this year than I did on Sunday. Guilty, even. Steph, the girls and I loaded into the Honda Pilot they had shipped from the States, and headed to the USAF base at Bitburg. I've been on Tinker before for meetings, dinner and even a Prom, and I've been in the JAG offices at Andrews, but never have I been to a Commissary, and certainly never in another country. The minute we drove on base, I felt weird. First, everyone was speaking English. And, they looked American. In the store, I saw products I had completely forgotten existed. First, we bought a box of Samoas from a Girl Scout, and then we started shopping. I thought I would only need a hand-held basket, but I was wrong. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the prices... in dollars! The culture shock was so overwhelming that I didn't know what to buy. After picking up peanut butter for me & Kara, I loaded up on other things I suddenly missed. Talk about impulse buying: pancake mix and maple syrup, a big cannister of Quaker Oats, stuff to make my white chicken chili (and I promise to use less spices this time!)... On to the personal product aisle, where I stocked up on products that will last for a few months: toothpaste, shampoo, hairspray, and 75¢ dental floss, among other things. I threw in a few multi-packs of Extra gum, and decided it was time to call it quits. And then I remembered that Pascale and I had been searching for Philadelphia cream cheese for months - she wants me to teach her how to make a cheesecake. So I could pay Steph for the groceries, we stopped at a bank on base, and I took dollars out of the ATM. How strange to see our money after six months. The whole experience was strange, and I can’t shake the feelings of guilt I have. Even though I saved quite a bit by paying in dollars, I can’t help but feel like I cheated on my life in France.

Of course, as soon as we got back to Trier, I realized I forgot to get chocolate chips. I guess my friends here will never experience my gourmet Nestlé Tollhouse cookies. Man, those cookies sure would assuage my guilt…