Isabelle in Doha
A French expatriate in Qatar from March 2008 to February 2009Archive for Communicating…
Happy Blog Day 2008!
Today is the fourth year of a special celebration: blogs and bloggers of all over the world. I just read that this day, you were to write about five blogs you read in order to make your readers know about them and read them also. So it is a very nice occasion to advertise about the blogs you like.
I will begin with Notes de Voyages, my husband’s blog. Each trip he takes notes and pictures as often as he can and he posts when he returns. I like the fresh gaze he has on a new country he goes to, and the way he writes about it. It is like i have been here with him.
Deco Design Art is a blog i have been following for 2 years. Lilia has such good ideas and discoveries about decoration and design that her blog really inspired me some of our own apartment decoration. I also read her personal blog and was happy to hear that she was to have a baby girl in February when i was due in January 2008.
A young woman named Bergamote like to cook according to plenty of new and sometimes very old recipes. Her blog Sucrissime is a treasure island ! I found several recipes there and made some delicious gingerbreads.
I recently discovered Gisele Jaquenod‘s blog. I like her cute design and will certainly buy her something soon. She also designs free blog templates. So enjoy!
The last blog i would like to share is an hilarious one. If you did not pay enough attention on pictures in real estate listings, this blog will make you do and really laugh! Sara’s It’s Lovely! I’ll Take It! daily collects poorly chosen pictures in those listings and i daily check it for a good fun!
Have a nice blog day!
I must forget the English i learnt in school…
I started to learn English in fifth grade (the “cours moyen 2″ or “CM2″ in France), with very simple sentences like “this is the river”, “this is Cathy”, “look! Cathy and Richard are in England!”. In France, we learn English like it is in the books, infortunately not the one that is spoken. We learn to write and not to talk. I rarely had to use my English, except during my journeys.
Now that i live in Qatar, i must forget the English i learnt in school and start using the English spoken language!
I notice the lack of words i have! Words like “coat-hanger” – that i did not even learn before i found it in the dictionnary! I had to show it and say “this thing” to the cashier! When it comes to speak, i often make weird sentences, without verbs or just… bad! I just need to practice, make mistakes over and over again…
How to begin…?
To begin, I would like to introduce myself.
My name is Isabelle, i am a French citizen from a small town near Paris, 36 years old, married to François, mother to Iris, 3 months in 8 days.
I usually work in a city hall as an archivist, a municipal archives service manager. After the birth of my daughter, i chose to stop working, took a parental leave and followed my husband to Doha where he took charge of his new job.
When we decided to leave for Doha, I searched the internet for websites and blogs written by expatriates to learn about it. And now, i would like to share my experience and discoveries with other people, future expatriates or not.
I am writing in English to be understood by more than just the French speakers and eventually, to try to improve my English… so please be kind with my mistakes…
