Snakes

I took 89/100 in DELF A2. I want to continue studying French. I headed to the Institue Francais en Irak and inscribed for the courses that will help me prepare for the B1 examination. They were kind enough to photocopy for me the pages I need for the coming lesson, till they bring new books that I can use. I went home glad. I looked at the photo of the lesson and it was little strange. Somebody, a female body?, playing flute? in a forest, nearby a river, and there are snakes. I googled the name of the painter Henry Rousseau and see other paintings by him. I went to sleep.

 

Today I woke up early refreshed. Yesterday I avoided smoking much cigarettes. Started reading from the photocopied papers and it was about dreams, and day-dreams. I remembered that I had seen a book the last day written by Gaston Bachelard carrying a title with the word Day-Dreaming in it. Decided to buy that book. I looked for it in the internet and found the free PDF in french. I will buy the translated copy and see if I can understand what Bachelard wanted to say. I am not good in understanding philosophy. I headed out to take the bus to the Institute Francais. I bought Bachelard's book from Abu Salwan, and took also my Al-Mada (=Horizon) newspaper from him and headed to the buss.

 I just read the titles in the front pages. Read them with furrowed eye-brows. Then open the last three or four pages which I usually read with pleasure. Somebody named Sabah Atwan, an Iraqi writer, says that he used to live a bitter life and he even had drank snake poisons so that he becomes immune to the bitterness of life in Iraq. Well.

 Marquez ashes will be divided among Mexico and Columbia, a news says. But also talks about Peter Matthiessen death. I head about this Matthiessen the first time. He is a supporter of the indigenous people of America. Sounds a good man. Is he interested in snakes?

A newly published translation of a book about Baghdad written early in the 20th century by Ethel Stefanan Drower and translated by Zuhair Ahmed Al-Qaisi, the Iraqi historian. The article on the book says that one day Tigris has flooded. Baghdadies used to hold a believe that there is a big marvelous black snake that prevent the waters of the flood from destroying their houses.
Enough snakes for today.