Good times

Long time no speak.
I've been not-that-busy but just not really felt like writing anything in some time.

I'll just give some short, interesting snippets of things I've come across.

Some weeks ago I was at a friend's place with an expectant couple and so, baby names came up in the conversation. While discussing this, and cultural factors (meanings, discrimination, pronunciation by the French, Africans, potential of it being used/ seeming like a swear/ pejorative term) it came about that someone had suggested that everyone in the country ought to choose their names by the calendar. I was going with the flow of the conversation until that point. I let it continue and then just asked, 'calendrier?" and of course I was met with.. "oui, a calendar" at which point I was like, 'what's the connection between names and a calendar?'. And then I was shown a French Calendar. Every day of the year has by its side a name, of a Catholic Saint, and although how it's used to name children has varied over time- people (can) use it- and you also have the day of the saint after whom you're named as a second birthday almost.
I was fascinated- so much so, my friend let me keep the calendar... :)

I was at another friend's house over the weekend for the afternoon and she was making a yoghurt cake. I feel rather out of touch with the culinary world because... I am and because I've never come across that in my life. So she went ahead and carried on making the cake, adding whatever she wanted to along the way. She planned to add some orange juice and remembered at the end that she hadn't. Opening the fridge she saw she didn't have any, and so, without a second thought, she took out the lemon Fanta and poured that generously into the mixture. Evidently, I was a little shocked and couldn't stop laughing. And then I reminded her she had oranges in her fruit bowl and could've squeezed one of them- so she took the advice on board and added that too... We had to add flour to balance the mixture again but with the cranberries, cinnamon, fanta, yoghurt and all.... I was a little worried about the end result.
Alhamdulillah it turned out to be a rather good, moist and well-risen cake. It had a nice taste, but I couldn't tell you what it tasted of. It was good and that's all that mattered.

French-wise... I feel like my brain is too tired to learn/ use more of the language. I need to wake-up again just to start being more in French mode. It's such a big push just to consistently speak in French without using English words. I've got a presentation this afternoon- in French- so I'll see how that goes!

Also, my internet at the flat is playing up again. I think it's my laptop because I've Googled the problem and it seems to be common amongst people of my "laptop community". Insha' Allah it'll be resolved soon.

Anyway, I'd better do some work...
A bientot!