April

April is here! Already I hear you say…..

Look on the bright side. It’s spring. Well depending on which side of the hemisphere you live.

April as we know is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian calendar. It’s one of the four months with the duration of 30 days.

April starts on the same day of the week as July, January in a leap year and ends on the same day of the week as December every year. It was also the fourth month of the Roman calendar before the addition of January and February. The descent of the name April is uncertain, nonetheless it is acknowledge having Latin and Greek etymology.

April’s birthstone is Diamond.

Diamond is associated with balance, clarity and abundance. Diamond is found in Ghana, Australia, Zaire, Russia, Brazil and the USA.

The daisy and sweet pea are flowers associated to April. Sweet pea signifies goodbye or blissful pleasure.

Major events in April are: April fools day; yes my friend got me on that today. After 3 years of no one being able to pull that prank on me. I was not impressed. Good Friday, Easter (8^th April this year), National Poetry Writing Month, National Child Abuse prevention month, World Health Day, London marathon,  and many more.

Every good thing that the last 3 months didn’t deliver hope the 4th does.

Enjoy April

 

February

I would like to believe you had a fantastic January and a loveable February has just began for you.

Let’s take a look at a few things about February:

February comes from the word ‘februa’ which means cleasing and this represents rituals undertaken before spring. It is the second month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendar. This is the shortest month and the only month with days fewer than 30. It has 28 days in a common year and 29 days in a leap year. This year is a leap year.

February’s Birthstone is Amethyst.

Amethyst is associated with stability, peace, balance, courage, inner strength and sincerity. Amethyst is found in Brazil, Uruguay and Zambia.

February flowers are Primrose and Violet. Primrose is symbolic of first love and Violet is symbolic of faithfulness and modesty.

Major events in February are international Mother Language Day, Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday, Independence Day in Saint Lucia and many more. Not forgetting the all important Valentine’s Day: February 14.

Nonetheless, why wait for a particular day to express your love and appreciation to someone when you can tell them each day how much they mean to you.

Enjoy February.

Primrose

    

I couldn’t resist than to buy the primrose that caught my attention as I walked past the flower shop this afternoon.

The walk home got me thinking about primroses and flowers in general. I decided to do a research and these were my findings;

Primrose flowers bloom in spring. There are around four hundred species with some found on every continent. The come in white, cream pink, orange, purple or striped and given proper growing conditions, they multiply each year.

Primrose thrives well in damp and woodland like conditions. Slugs and snails are the common attackers of primroses.

The different types of Primrose are:

Candelabra primrose: Blooms in late spring and flower stalk can grow to about thirty-six inch tall. It blossoms in white, red, purple or pink.

Common primrose: This is a native to Britain, Ireland and Europe. It blooms late winter to early spring.

Cowslip: Blooms in mid to late spring and can grow to about eight to ten inches tall.

Drumstick primrose: Blooms in early spring to about twelve inches tall.

German primrose: Blooms late spring to early summer in shades of pink, red or lavender. The stem can grow to about twelve inches tall.

More so, they are hybrid primroses but those don’t tend to thrive well.

Do you have a favourite flower?

Je suis de retour

Le temps passe tellement vite quand on s’amuse. Durant ces quelques semaines très agréables, je pense que j’ai beaucoup appris. Beaucoup plus que je n’aurais espéré avoir le privilège d’apprendre en un an.

Non seulement intellectuellement (scolairement), mais aussi socialement parlant et ainsi de suite. La plupart sinon la totalité de mes observations étaient justes.

J’ai rencontré des gens (des personnes) incroyables et je pense que j’ai construit quelques amitiés qui dureront pour toujours. Ce fût une expérience inoubliable que je n’échangerai pour rien au monde.

Je suis heureuse et reconnaissante envers tous ceux  qui m’ont aidée d’une manière ou d’une autre. Lorsque je regarde en arrière et que je me rappelle tout ce que j’ai appris et fait durant ces dernières semaines, je crois que j’ai pris la bonne décision et venir en France a été un choix judicieux.

Le Vingt et unième Jour

   We had an awesome time of worship at church today. It was a poignant moment whiles prayers for our departure were being said. I believe we were all looking forward to going back home to our family. Nonetheless, it was also sad leaving our new family and friends.

The service ended with me singing a special song which subsequently earned me a standing ovation. mmmhum. My well wishers seem to have grown in number after the service, with countless of them saying they wished I was staying longer.

The climax of the day was the send- off party held in honour of the departing students. For some its being a year and for me a few memorable weeks. However, I can speak for us all when I say we can’t believe it was ending.

Le Vingtième Jour

Didn’t do much today. I spent the day packing and putting my things together. The only major thing I did was moving from Vincent Gauche to Jean Moulin.

Vicent Gauche                                                           Jean Moulin

   

Le Dix-neuvième Jour

We had a class from 10am to 1pm. We didn’t really study anything if I remember clearly. We just played games that served as a good ground for us to interact. It was something like snake and ladder. This one had to do with question. It was questions like tell us about your favourite country or recite the alphabet from Z to A.

The games were a way of whiling away the time as we were booked for ‘Atelier des Chefs’. With this we watch as a chef prepare a meal and we did the same with ingredients provided. It’s amazing how a few of the food turned out even though every table had the same ingredients.

We had the opportunity to bake the famous and most talked about ‘Gâteaux de Nantais’ and we sat down with wine and orange juice and ate what we had prepared. It was a poignant as this was the last time most of us were seeing each other. The French experience was sadly over.

We departed with hugs and sad eyes, exchange of contact and the promises to get in touch.

Sorry it was nearly finished before I got the camera out.

La Dix-huitième Jour

I just got home from a beautiful display of fireworks. Today is French national holiday (Fête nationale). I had the day off class and its being full of activities.

We had guests and I was privilege to prepare a sumptuous meal for 12 people. The food was a hit as it really went well. It was also an incredible shared time and there was more than enough for all.

The girls and I decided to crown the evening by going to the fireworks. We were left at home alone. Why should we stay at home when everyone else is out and about having fun?

Le Dix-Septième Jour

Le Seizième Jour (Life as a foreign student)

There was definitely a lot to see at Marché de talensac. The vast display of produce depicted variety.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

A sniff of ‘Gâteaux Nantais’ was enough to get you drank. “C’est forte” is what I kept hearing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Talensac has produce that can make you stare with realising and I have to admit I was fascinated by the purple cauliflower.