Since I’m leaving for the Congo in a month, people had a little bit of difficulty figuring out what they could give me this Christmas. My sister-in-law Nancy knew she could fall back on a CD or a DVD but she was hoping for something more inspired. One night it suddenly came to her—what about French translations of some of my favorite books, like Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice? It was sheer gifting genius! An hour later she still hadn’t happened upon such a translation on the Internet, but she suddenly discovered the “international” tab on Amazon and went to the France site. Surely the books would be there! This proved a bit tricky, however, seeing as how the site is all in French. But with a bit of guess work and a free-translation tool, she found the books!
With a just a week until Christmas she tried to pick a shipping option that would get the treasure from Europe to her house in time. My brother asked, “How much does it cost?” “I don’t know—it’s in euros!” was the reply. She didn’t care anyways; it was going to be the perfect present. The next day she checked online and the order had already shipped—it was going to arrive before Christmas!
A few days later, the package was there on the doorstep, plastered with foreign stickers and a little worn from its long journey. With glee Nancy rushed inside and tore open the box. There they were, all the books, just the ones she wanted…in English! Oh the devastation and disappointment! Not only that, but they were those Dover thrift additions that cost about 2 bucks. Not these ones—they were sent express from France! :o) It’s almost too painful to mention that the DVD she fell back on was already given to me by my sister. But I did get a great Celine Dion CD. Merci Nancy!
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