Presents

[Asia]

What presents do you bring from yuor holiday & from other countries for youself & your friends?

[margaine]

I always have so much trouble finding good presents to bring back - with internet ordering and globalization and such, it is so hard to find things that seem truly unique and that couldn't be found otherwise. I also have trouble finding things that I want to buy for myself when traveling.

I was just living in France and traveling in Europe, and I brought back . . . seashells found on the Mediterranean shore for myself and my mom, a slate coaster bought in Wales in a slate mining town (so hard to find Welsh souvenirs that weren't totally cheesy and made in China), high quality candy from France for friends and my little siblings, re-usable shopping bags (so much cheaper than the ones in the US, and automatically cool because they are French!), a small handmade leather pouch for _object, some French baby clothes for my friend's new baby . . . and that's about it. (well, plus books, but that's a given!)

as you can see, I am incredibly picky when it comes to shopping abroad. plus my last few weeks in France, the euro was way stronger than the dollar, so even though my paychecks had been in euros, I was trying to be really careful, knowing that any money I didn't spend would translate to more money when I got home . . .

[Asia]

I bring a shokolad, soap & vine for my mather. Are books in original?

[margaine]

yeah, the books I bought in France are in French. I didn't buy any books in Italy (I can just barely read Italian) or Spain (I can't read Spanish at all)

[Asia]

I buy the postcard too. I’m not professional photographer. & I send it my friend in other towns.

[margaine]

I buy the postcard too. I’m not professional photographer. & I send it my friend in other towns.

postcards can be great. sometimes I get very frustrated because they don't update the postcard photos very often. no problem for natural vistas, but if it's an image of a town or city, you can often see cars and clothing that are very clearly 80s/early 90s or so, on postcards. kind-of like a funny time capsule.