We shared tapas- tortilla espanola, patatas gratinadas, atun a la plancha (tuna), butifarra negra (black pudding), pollo rebozado con miel (chicken fritters with honey) and bomba piccante ( Moroccan lamb meatball)- all were wonderful- I really enjoyed the Moroccan lamb, and the tuna with a wasabi dressing, D of course loved the black pudding, and we were both charmed by the chicken fritters in honey.
yum yum yum, and it was a chance to sit with D and chat when we're both awake enough to enjoy it! a rare treat.
I think that this will be an interesting study, although I'm not expecting to become as fluent in Arabic as I am in French or Spanish, and thankfully this does not cover written Arabic (my brain might explode!). I did try to listen to some cassettes from the library a couple of years ago but I didn't get far. Hopefully this time will be better inshaa' allah (God willing)
When we were in London there were a lot more people of Middle Eastern and North African origins than I would normally meet in East Lothian (no kidding!)and it would have nice to say "hello" or "excuse me" in Arabic (how British is that, to want to be able to say excuse me while barging through Harrods!?). We want to visit Egypt for our silver wedding anniversary in 5 years time and I would like to have a little bit of the language before we go- 5 years should be long enough to learn a bit more than SabaaH al-khayr (good morning) ismii Susan (my name is Susan). And as we'll be funding Jack's 4 year degree course at Glasgow Caledonian it's going to take us that long to save up! (The course is free, but he needs accomodation and the occasional meal).
Learning a bit of the language also gives some insight into other cultures and how people live and that is no bad thing. I was impressed with the recent story of the Lancashire milkman Jimmy Mather who become fluent in Gujarati . What a wonderful man!
afwan - excuse me.
