Wednesday, May 6, 2009

What day is it?

I've been losing track of days here.
I'm not sure that will change unless I either put a calendar up on the wall or I'm working a job every day.
Neither one will be happening any time soon.
lol

The cleaning lady came today. She was here from 11 til about 3 or so.
I couldn't believe how little she got paid. I mean... I was shocked. I know that things cost less here but I couldn't imagine working for that pay.
Anyways, it was um... interesting to see how she cleaned. We mostly stayed in one of the bedrooms while she cleaned but I could see/hear what she was doing sometimes.
To dust, she was taking a rag and beating it against the surfaces that needed dusting. Now, this is certainly a way to get the dust off of the surface, but all your doing is making it fly into the air, and then it will just land somewhere else, possibly even in the place you just removed it from. It's possible there are worse ways to dust, but I can't think of any at the moment.
The area carpets she cleaned with a brush or something, but it didn't do much. They were hanging out on the balcony while she washed the floors, and when hubby put them back down on the floor, there was still tons of dust in them. Waste of cleaning the floors if you ask me. We couldn't beat the dust out of them while they were hanging on the balcony, as there is a store down on the bottom floor of this building, and we couldn't exactly be dropping dust all over anyone possibly coming in or out of the building, not to mention getting the ground marble out in front of the store covered in dust/dirt.
Things sure look cleaner overall, but I would never clean the same way that this lady did. I guess we all have our ways. I just think mine are better!
lol
And cleaner.
*shudder*

Anyways, before she got here this morning, I was out on the balcony and I saw so many amusing things. I swear it hardly takes 10 minutes and I've got just as many stories to tell.
It's great.
So, here are the pictures for today.

First up is a yellow VW beetle. Although the VW micro buses are everywhere, I don't see as many beetles, and this one was just nice as it was so bright. It's unusual to see brightly colored cars here and it was like finding a piece of brightly colored candy in a big pile of dirt. lol



Here's a picture of these cute little cars that I see. I don't know what they're called but they're so tiny. And cute.



These guys were up on ladders, looking very unsafe, and doing something to the front of this sign, though I'm not sure what.
No orange road cones, nothing to block off the area, just up there working away.



Last picture is of some school girls on their way to somewhere after classes.
They attend a school that is across the street, and it seems they have a uniform of either black or dark blue skirt, and pink or white blouse and scarf.
When you see a whole bunch of them coming from school at once it's nice.
Things that match! Yay!
lol



I also got a few short videos. I'll put the links up shortly, after I upload them to my youtube account.
Actually, I think I'll save those links for tomorrow.

I have found a possible source for Jelly Belly's here in Cairo. Not very close to where we live, but we can make a trip and see if we can find them. I'm sure they're expensive as well, but I'm not sure if it would be cheaper to buy them here or have them shipped. Shipping is expensive to Egypt from the States, and the heavier a package is, the more it costs. And Jelly Belly's aren't light.
We shall see!!

I am excited thinking about planting a lemon tree. We just need to get the seeds. Which I might be requesting from the States.
As far as I know they take a few years to mature, but it's worth the effort I guess.
And I'm not sure if there's a variety that's specifically suited to growing in a pot? That's how we would be growing it, so I guess I need to check that out.
Jennifer, I still remember that lemon tree you guys had on Seminole!!
Unless I'm going crazy and you didn't have one.
In which case I don't remember it.
lol

Monkey says hello to everyone!

5 comments:

Dad said...

Melissa - this entry really cracked me up. You see humor even in the ordinary. It's evident to me that you prefer to be low profile or else how could the cleaning lady get away with that. So you are accepting the culture as you find it. That's wise - at least until you become thoroughly grounded living there.
Lots of love,

Dad

Hoot Owl Hollow Nursery said...

Meyer Lemon's do well in pots. Not sure where you get seeds since I usually see them offered as small trees. Any lemon will grow in a pot, but some will be more likely to actually make lemons at a small size, though you have to do the pollination yourself if it's indoors.
Jane

Melissa said...

Hey dad. Well, she only spoke Arabic, so even if I wanted to say something I couldn't have. But I guess it's a normal way to dust here, as Ahmed didn't seem disturbed by it at all.
lol

Jane, I'm not sure I've ever had a Meyer lemon but I hear people rave about them.
It should be an outdoor lemon tree, maybe only brought inside under extreme weather conditions...

Anonymous said...

I left a comment the other night but I guess it didn't go through for some reason.
I do remember that lemon tree & my mom will get a kick out of hearing that you remember it! She was always trying to sprout stuff, lemons, oranges, avocados, anything that might sprout, she tried it! In fact, she had a lemon tree for many, many years that I just had to throw out because it died over the winter. Man those thorns were deadly!
I was just successful with an avocado pit. I'm so excited because I've tried for years with no results, but I finally had luck with an organic pit! I think that now with all the genetic engineering that's done, many seeds don't sprout. It's a racket that forces the farmers to buy seeds each season. Talk about lame! Who knows how we'll pay for that kind of tampering in the future. Can't be good for you. Anyway, good luck with your mission! Meyer lemons are exquisitely delicious!

Melissa said...

Ah, I miss Stella. Please tell her hello for me and give her a hug for me next you see her.
=)
That's great about the avocado pit!! I remember always trying as a kid but I don't seem to remember anything every happening with them.
I hope yours does well.
And for sure about the seeds and all the genetic engineering.