In the town where I was raised
Clock ticks and the cattle graze
Time passed with amazing grace
Back where I come from.You can lie on a riverbank
Paint your name on a water tank
Miscount all the beers you drank
Back where I come from.Back where I come from,
Where I’ll be when it is said and done,
I’m proud as anyone that’s where I come from.We learned in a Sunday school
Just who made the sun shine through
I know who made the moon shine too.Back where I come from
Blue eyes on a Saturday night
Tan legs in the broad daylight
TVs they were black and white
Back where I come from.Back where I come from,
Where I’ll be when it is said and done,
I’m proud as anyone that’s where I come from.
Some say its a backwards place
Narrow minds on a narrow race
But I make it a point to say that’s where I come from.That’s where I come from,
Where I’ll be when it is said and done,
I’m proud as anyone that’s where I come from.
That’s where I come fromI’m an old Tennesseean
I am as proud as any one that’s where I come from
Back where I come from
Back where I come from
Back where I come from
It’s funny how much this song touches me when I hear it… maybe partly because Kenny Chesney gives his little opening line about how much it means to him. I guess maybe too because I’m in EU Land, and not with my fellow countrymen. It’s been a while since I’ve written anything. It’s like Jane Austen once put it in Mansfield Park, life is filled with the quick succession of busy nothings…. Ask me what I do, and I have no idea…. just that I’m “busy.” Isn’t that life?
Christmas time here is so magical. It’s kinda sad though because when I’m in my room, there’s practically nothing here to remind me that it’s Christmas time. Fang Shi is of almost no help whatsoever. He’s just not into the Christmas spirit at all. He’s *such* a stick in the mud. I think that I could just scream at him, but I just see no point in it. I try my hardest to try to explain how wonderful the season is, but he just doesn’t get it.
I’m going to try to get him to go to church with me on Christmas Eve… we’ll see if I succeed! We’ll be in Venice at the time… I can’t wait! I’m updating my calendar hopefully tonight or tomorrow so that you can see where and when I’ll be. I’m also trying to get all my pictures up and running with CAPTIONS… and a bit more filtered out for you busy people 
I’ve been struggling a bit with the same issues that I have been struggling with since I got to Middlebury 3 years ago. Which now brings us back to the song above… I’m here in Germany and I just can’t get over the things that I really miss about home. You know? Seeing a picture of my sister shoveling snow, and my stocking hung up in my house makes me want to cry. I just don’t know how I’m going to deal with Christmas day all by myself. I say all by myself, because even though I’ll have a few friends around me… the only one I’m particularly close to, FS, is *not into Christmas* And so I feel ultimately very alone for the season. You know, any and all of my traditions that I apparently cling to are gone. I mean sure there are Christmas trees here… but there are just some things that I should have. I try playing Mannheim Steamroller even, just to help me remember my house a bit. I play my mother’s 80s Christmas music thinking that maybe I won’t feel so alone… but really it’s just unbearable to be alone this time of year I think.
So yeah… plus the election stuff… it was like… people would always ask me about this and that about America, and I guess like Kenney Chesney says, I make a point to say that’s where I come from, even when they bash it. I try to clarify for them that we think things out. I want them to know that just because we don’t agree doesn’t mean that someone’s stupid.
*siiigh* There are just so many thoughts in my head… but I feel sooo exhausted. It’s almost 3 am, so I guess I’m going to go, even though I feel like I could type forever. By the way, the picture to the left was taken in Munich. Just one shot of a typical “Christmas Market” Gotta love it.
Mmmm…. xoxox Merry Christmas!
xxbisousxx
