French In-Laws

Naturally after the birth of a child, everyone wants to come by and visit. Leïla's mother was here last week and her father and his partner made it down over the weekend.

Leïla's father and partner

It's interesting having in-laws I struggle to communicate with. My French is improving and I can generally follow most of the conversation ... until that one strange word hits and I lose the thread while trying to figure out what was meant. It's much worse when I'm tired: I'll understand every word in a sentence without a clue how they relate to one another.

I'm also getting a touch more used to French culture. Oftimes when the French discuss ideas, they do so strongly. They raise their voices, wave their hands and get impassioned about the topic. To the outsider, this can seem like a strong argument. Years ago, when I met Leïla for our first date, I assumed that it wasn't going well because she was reacting so forcefully to some things I said. Turns out that this wasn't the case at all. She was actually enjoying having a chance to get into a real conversation rather than the dull "where do you like to eat?" sort of first-date drivel.

Speaking of languages, if you really want to learn a new one, tomorrow I'll list some resources for you.