A group of coworkers were talking in Arabic and I heard the name Zinadene Zidane mentioned. (Zidane is a famous World Cup soccer player and coach of Real Madrid) I looked up and they said do you know Zizou. I had never heard Zizou. They explained that is Zidane’s nickname. Nicknames are common in Arabic. Conversion proceeded to giving me a nickname. First choice is to base nick name after your kids. If no kids, then name is based on your father. I told them Larry, but there is no Larry equivalent in Arabic. I mentioned Lawrence which was recognized. After a little translation my nickname is Abo Lorance.
New coworker arrived from London this week. He was very concerned about being able to watch English Premier League Futbol matches. The whole lunch discussion was around apps to be able to watch every game. Apparently some of the Premier League games start at 3:00pm my time so it is common to leave work early to catch the games.
Matthew of Arabia 