Week 21, 2026: French phase

It has been very hot outside this week. My sensitive skin doesn’t agree with the heat. I’ve been wearing beaucoup sunscreen and layered clothing to protect myself, but at what cost? I can’t wait for it to rain / cool down. As a child, I used to love the summers and I remember I could handle the heat / sun on my skin, but now I prefer winters more. Anyway, this Wednesday, I had gone out to lunch with my colleagues. It was a new place, and I fell sick after eating the food there, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. The service was painfully slow. I’ve mostly been indoors during the weekend, reading Monte Cristo. I’m close to 60% done at this point; it is a HUGE book. It has a lot of old French culture / customs in it, and I find it fascinating. I’ve been trying my best to pronounce the names with something close to proper French pronunciation in my head while reading it. (I remember I had a French phase back in 2015 where I listened to French music, and I even started learning French.…