A Life Far Removed from Durian Trees

I'm seriously thinking of changing this blog to something like "yum-yum yoghurt". Because I've discovered this very beautiful thing. I believe it's the secret why the French (and south Indians) are thin. (OF COURSE, not all Frenchmen and Indians are thin but they do eat more of it than other nationals and tend to be slimmer, non ?) Anyway, because I tend to put on weight even after short trips abroad, I decided to be careful on my recent one. So instead of the breakfast fry-up, I went for 'continental' and instead of a light lunch and heavy dinner, I tried the opposite. Thus I came to eat yoghurt every morning (plus a few other things of course). And to my surprise I felt really good - hard to describe but perhaps 'lighter'? I didn't feel like food was sitting in my gut after a big meal - you know that sluggish feeling? Even if I had a big dinner (couldn't escape!), I didn't feel bloated the next morning. So guys, have yoghurt in the ...

...and I mean Yemen! Been out of the country for two weeks for work, and as nice as it's been, I'm ready to head back home. Spent week 1 in the office in the UK - my annual pilgrimage to HQ to touch base with people. I even volunteered for a 'Lunch & Learn' - did a 20-min presentation to all company and then we got sandwiches for lunch. My first presentation since university! Week 2: in France while S is on a course. I'm working but in the afternoons, we walk around, eat out, go to the beach, etc. Nice being in the city again. My husband says I'm a moaner. Maybe. But after working in the office and then in a hotel room with grey walls, I've realised I prefer to work at home. Initially enjoyed getting dressed for work and putting my face on and the 5-min commute meant I didn't have to wake up at some crazy hour. But walking around in heels all day (mine aren't even that high) and having to work in polite company in an open-plan office... One week ...

This ain't PMS - this is my personality!

That was my score from today's Arabic test. Would've been higher if teacher hadn't put in new words and new grammar...but who cares? I'm the only student in the class! And she ain't gonna hit me. Finished book #1, which was the basics of Yemeni Arabic. Next: foos-ha i.e. formal Arabic This has been the hardest language I've ever learnt. How do you memorise words that don't sound like anything you know? farhan(ah) - happy ( ok, I have a cousin called Farhanah...easy ) dhaki - smart ( also easy, I have a smart cousin whose called Zaki ) shittaa - winter (right, think of a s****y winter) saidaliya - pharmacy (a little harder) mustaqba l - future (damn it!) mus-tash-fah - hospital ( what the...??? ) ...and groups of words sound similar, e.g. colours: aswad - azraq - ahmar - akhdar - asfar - abyad ...and then there are the many, many grammatical rules. Take numbers: even numbers have genders! Sometimes you use masculine numbers with feminine nouns, or...

* Yemen jet crashes in Indian Ocean * A Yemeni airliner with about 150 people on board crashes in the Indian Ocean near the Comoros archipelago. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/africa/8125664.stm

I can't believe it's only been 1.5 months since I was home - it seems so far away. But then again I can't believe I've been in Sana'a for 9 months - that felt quick, granted I've really been in-country for about 1/2-2/3 of the time. From my last trip home, I brought back: frozen karipap (Malaysian word for - you guessed it - curry puffs), keropok lekor ("fish sausages" on the packet but somehow that doesn't do it justice...and neither does the picture below) and otak-otak ("brains" but I've just realised I don't really know what this is). I was gob-smacked and thrilled you could buy these pre-made-just-fry-it-for-4-minutes afternoon snacks - shows you how long I've been away and how I'm still stuck in the 90s. Anyway, these taste REALLY good, even better than some fresh versions. Sadly once this stash is gone, it might be a while before I can get some more. :o(

...was actually kinda fun. S' company had booked the entire amusement park for employees and families for a day, with a Southern Fried Chicken value meal as well! I went on 4 rides - it was cool not having to queue up for too long. The place was clean and although the rides were a bit rickety, it seemed like they were in good working condition. There's a bowling alley too but we decided to go some other time. Against my better judgement, I got on the 'Break Dance' ride - which should have been called 'Break Neck' or 'Whiplash'. Luckily I'd been forewarned about keeping my neck straight but if that thing hadn't stopped when it did, there would've been some major G-force chuck-up. I saw these little toys at the park entrance: Hajjah Barbie in her abaya vs LA Barbie. SOOOOO cute!