Back in Cairo and happy to be so alhamdulillah.
Except for the fact that I'm being eaten alive by mosquitos. I only got 2 bites in the two weeks we were in Alexandria.
Mom made mashi for dinner (vegetables stuffed with a rice mixture) and it was really good and I ate too much!
That was four hours ago though and I guess I'll want a snack before bed. lol
I swear if I lived in this house I would get toooo fat!
Well, that's it for the day. I'm on dial-up and I don't want to take too long on the computer.
I'll try to post more tomorrow.
Oh yeah. It's hot here!! Isn't this November?? Thankfully I'm told that the weather will cool off starting tomorrow.
I hope everyone is well and my love to you all.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Monday, November 5, 2007
So long Alexandria
Well, it's only 4 and I'm here at the cafe that has the keyboards that don't work so well. The place I like was full.
Ahmed is off at the train station buying our tickets for the trip back to Cairo tomorrow. There are actually different trains for the different classes. It cost us 50 pounds to go from Cairo to Alexandria on first class. I guess it will cost the same going back. The trains are nice enough. They have a/c and bathrooms (I'm not sure how nice they are) and the seats recline a little bit I think and they have footrests. During stops, vendors hop on the train and try to sell you food. There's also a regular drink cart that goes while the train is running.
I took some video out the train window on the way to Alexandria. I guess I'll try to take some more on the way back to Cairo. There's a lot of green areas and farming between the two cities.
I'm having some stomach issues. Not sure what it's from. Possibly parasites? I've been careful not to drink the water, but I do brush my teeth with it. And there's a chance I just ate something that didn't sit right. Who knows. But I hope it gets better before I have to fly home. Being nauseated while flying for 17 hours doesn't sound like all that much fun!
Oddly enough, I've been sick in one way or another for most of my trip here. Mostly it hasn't bothered me too much. The cough was getting old but that finally left. Though there is still some ranges in my voice that I don't have back yet. I guess my lungs really took a beating?
We were watching a movie in the bedroom the night before last. It was half past midnight. And yelling started outside. Not just "normal" yelling, but knock down drug out bar brawl kinda yelling. Except there was no bar and no alcohol involved (I'm fairly sure about that).
Ahmed tried to hear what was going on. Apparently, some guy wanted to park in a spot on the street and the building maintenance guy wouldn't let him, so the driver punched or kicked or hit the maintenance guy. Well, after that, I guess there must have been at least 10 people (at a minimum, really) out there all yelling at each other. Including the wife of the driver (I think, I can't remember). It was so loud and honestly I was slightly freaked out. I could hear the anger in their voices. But maybe I'm just not used to hearing people yell. I can't remember how long it lasted, but at least 10 or 15 minutes.
The next day, as we were walking to the net cafe, the group had gathered up again to start the fight back up. Though it was a little more sane. However, people had gathered to watch and listen. Which seems odd. Really, there are some crazy people here. lol
The one thing I will miss about the neighborhood that we're in is the bird that sounds like a slide whistle. It's really nice to hear. Other than that, the neighborhood could pretty much disappear and I think everyone would be better off!!!
I will miss the walks along the corniche. And the cafe that we sat at while Ahmed induldged in some shisha.
We never made it down to feed the cats on the corniche. We didn't make it to the fort. Or the museum.
I guess we could have done something today if my stomach wasn't so "off".
Well I think after this I'm home for the evening. I don't think walking is a great idea. At least my stomach is telling me that.
We'll be busy in Cairo. I have shopping to do (for myself and others), meet up with a friend from online, have dinner at Ahmed's cousins house (kind of another small wedding party for us), go to Al Azhar, etc., etc.
I'm happy that we'll stay with Ahmed's family tomorrow night before we stay at another apartment for the rest of my stay. I miss his family and I'll be happy to see them again.
Okay, honestly I rambled too much today.
I hope everyone had a great weekend!
=)
Ahmed is off at the train station buying our tickets for the trip back to Cairo tomorrow. There are actually different trains for the different classes. It cost us 50 pounds to go from Cairo to Alexandria on first class. I guess it will cost the same going back. The trains are nice enough. They have a/c and bathrooms (I'm not sure how nice they are) and the seats recline a little bit I think and they have footrests. During stops, vendors hop on the train and try to sell you food. There's also a regular drink cart that goes while the train is running.
I took some video out the train window on the way to Alexandria. I guess I'll try to take some more on the way back to Cairo. There's a lot of green areas and farming between the two cities.
I'm having some stomach issues. Not sure what it's from. Possibly parasites? I've been careful not to drink the water, but I do brush my teeth with it. And there's a chance I just ate something that didn't sit right. Who knows. But I hope it gets better before I have to fly home. Being nauseated while flying for 17 hours doesn't sound like all that much fun!
Oddly enough, I've been sick in one way or another for most of my trip here. Mostly it hasn't bothered me too much. The cough was getting old but that finally left. Though there is still some ranges in my voice that I don't have back yet. I guess my lungs really took a beating?
We were watching a movie in the bedroom the night before last. It was half past midnight. And yelling started outside. Not just "normal" yelling, but knock down drug out bar brawl kinda yelling. Except there was no bar and no alcohol involved (I'm fairly sure about that).
Ahmed tried to hear what was going on. Apparently, some guy wanted to park in a spot on the street and the building maintenance guy wouldn't let him, so the driver punched or kicked or hit the maintenance guy. Well, after that, I guess there must have been at least 10 people (at a minimum, really) out there all yelling at each other. Including the wife of the driver (I think, I can't remember). It was so loud and honestly I was slightly freaked out. I could hear the anger in their voices. But maybe I'm just not used to hearing people yell. I can't remember how long it lasted, but at least 10 or 15 minutes.
The next day, as we were walking to the net cafe, the group had gathered up again to start the fight back up. Though it was a little more sane. However, people had gathered to watch and listen. Which seems odd. Really, there are some crazy people here. lol
The one thing I will miss about the neighborhood that we're in is the bird that sounds like a slide whistle. It's really nice to hear. Other than that, the neighborhood could pretty much disappear and I think everyone would be better off!!!
I will miss the walks along the corniche. And the cafe that we sat at while Ahmed induldged in some shisha.
We never made it down to feed the cats on the corniche. We didn't make it to the fort. Or the museum.
I guess we could have done something today if my stomach wasn't so "off".
Well I think after this I'm home for the evening. I don't think walking is a great idea. At least my stomach is telling me that.
We'll be busy in Cairo. I have shopping to do (for myself and others), meet up with a friend from online, have dinner at Ahmed's cousins house (kind of another small wedding party for us), go to Al Azhar, etc., etc.
I'm happy that we'll stay with Ahmed's family tomorrow night before we stay at another apartment for the rest of my stay. I miss his family and I'll be happy to see them again.
Okay, honestly I rambled too much today.
I hope everyone had a great weekend!
=)
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Less than a week!
Well, as the day is almost done here, it is less than a week til I come home! boohoo!!!
We had a really nice day yesterday. We left the apartment around 3 in the afternoon and walked west on the corniche for about half an hour til we got to a beach area that looked nice. We went down and just sat and watched the sea and talked until the sun set at just after 5. *sigh*
After that we walked/took a taxi down to starbucks and Ahmed tried a frappuccino. He liked it but I guess it won't be a regular on his menu. Mostly because I don't know if they have a starbucks in Cairo. I think they do, but anyways, I don't guess he'll become addicted like most of America seems to have.
On the way home, we stopped and got some sweets at a bakery called La Poire. I guess that means pear in French? Ahmed said it's his favorite bakery and I can certainly understand why. We got a couple of boxes of pastries for breakfasts. Yum. I had a croissant and some other little things for breakfast this morning.
After that we stopped by a restaurant called GAD on our way back to the apartment. I got a pizza that was horribly greasy. Yuck. And Ahmed got some stuffed grape leaves (I'm blanking on what they're called at the moment, but I don't like them), and some more chicken shawerma. I decided that I really like the shawerma and it's possible I'll even eat it if I can find any back in the states. I am shocked. Meat. But still, it's so good, if you had some you'd understand. It's meat that been roasting on a spit for hours and hours and they put in some tomato and bell pepper and spices and either wrap it up in a tortilla like thing, or put it in a roll. If you ever get a chance to try it, you should. Yum yum yum!
We didn't leave the house til 9:45 tonight. Is it bad to be that lazy? lol
The only thing that really bothers me about that is that I miss the daylight and all the days start to run together into some weird twilight everlasting night.
Tomorrow will be our last full day in Alexandria. We might go to the fort but I'm not sure. Then we're leaving Tuesday morning for Cairo. We made a list today of things we need to do when we're back in Cairo insha'Allah. I hope we can get it all done.
One of Ahmed's friends called yesterday and said it was hot in Cairo. I hope it cools down by the time we get back. It's still been humid here in Alexandria but not so bad.
Okay, that's it for today.
Not sure if I'll post tomorrow night or when.
love to you all.
We had a really nice day yesterday. We left the apartment around 3 in the afternoon and walked west on the corniche for about half an hour til we got to a beach area that looked nice. We went down and just sat and watched the sea and talked until the sun set at just after 5. *sigh*
After that we walked/took a taxi down to starbucks and Ahmed tried a frappuccino. He liked it but I guess it won't be a regular on his menu. Mostly because I don't know if they have a starbucks in Cairo. I think they do, but anyways, I don't guess he'll become addicted like most of America seems to have.
On the way home, we stopped and got some sweets at a bakery called La Poire. I guess that means pear in French? Ahmed said it's his favorite bakery and I can certainly understand why. We got a couple of boxes of pastries for breakfasts. Yum. I had a croissant and some other little things for breakfast this morning.
After that we stopped by a restaurant called GAD on our way back to the apartment. I got a pizza that was horribly greasy. Yuck. And Ahmed got some stuffed grape leaves (I'm blanking on what they're called at the moment, but I don't like them), and some more chicken shawerma. I decided that I really like the shawerma and it's possible I'll even eat it if I can find any back in the states. I am shocked. Meat. But still, it's so good, if you had some you'd understand. It's meat that been roasting on a spit for hours and hours and they put in some tomato and bell pepper and spices and either wrap it up in a tortilla like thing, or put it in a roll. If you ever get a chance to try it, you should. Yum yum yum!
We didn't leave the house til 9:45 tonight. Is it bad to be that lazy? lol
The only thing that really bothers me about that is that I miss the daylight and all the days start to run together into some weird twilight everlasting night.
Tomorrow will be our last full day in Alexandria. We might go to the fort but I'm not sure. Then we're leaving Tuesday morning for Cairo. We made a list today of things we need to do when we're back in Cairo insha'Allah. I hope we can get it all done.
One of Ahmed's friends called yesterday and said it was hot in Cairo. I hope it cools down by the time we get back. It's still been humid here in Alexandria but not so bad.
Okay, that's it for today.
Not sure if I'll post tomorrow night or when.
love to you all.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Yay it's Friday
Actually, when you're on vacation, everyday is pretty much Saturday. Sorry!!! =)
Ahmed went out this afternoon and got some fish/shrimps and rice for himself for lunch. I had some of the rice but only a small bite of fish and NO shrimp. I had some ramen, which before coming to Egypt, I hadn't eaten in years. However, it's fast and easy and fills me up.
When we were at the grocery store the other day I found something which is not quite a cookie but more than a cracker. I guess maybe they're British? But they're called digestives. I really like them and I'm hoping I can find them when I'm back home. Anyways, I had some of those too.
Actually... lol... my breakfast this morning consisted of 2 of the "digestives", an Egyptian banana and some chips! How's that for healthy.
However, it isn't always that bad.
And one morning Ahmed made me french toast. I can't remember if I wrote about that or not?
He has a friend who works in import/export and somehow the subject of french toast came up. I guess his friend had heard about it and wanted to know if I knew about it. So Ahmed and I talked about it and Ahmed thought it sounded good and wanted to try it, but understandably, they don't have maple syrup here in Egypt on every store shelf. I doubt if they import it at all actually.
So, I made sure to bring a small bottle of maple syrup with me on my trip, and Ahmed finally had "real" french toast.
I thought we would make it together but it ended up that he made it and served me in bed. How nice is that? :D
He had made it several times before my trip, but just used other stuff on top instead of the syrup. Apparently it tastes okay with jelly, but not quite as good as syrup.
I think we might go to the museum tomorrow. Not sure if we'll end up visiting Fort Quaitby (not sure how it's spelled) or not. Still have to go back to the mall for some hijabs that I wanted. And there is a Starbucks here where the mall is. It's the only Starbucks I've seen in Egypt. I want Ahmed to try a frappuccino. I can't drink them because of the caffeine, and I can't be bothered to have it caffeine free. But I used to drink them on occasion and they are so yummy that I want him to try one.
Time is swiftly running out on my trip. I'm eager to be back home to everything I know and am used to (can't say I'm eager to get back to work though, lol), but I am not looking forward to leaving my new husband behind. We hope that he will be able to come visit by spring or early summer. But it really depends a whole lot on visa issues and there's no way to predict that. If he can't get here easily anytime soon, then I will be back in Egypt sometime within a year insha'Allah. But, I am not looking forward to waiting so long, even spring seems a long time away.
I was leaning on the bedroom window this afternoon, looking out at the street and the activity.
Last night, I had been talking with Ahmed about the subject of homesickness, and if he ever got it. He used to when he was younger, but he has traveled so much for work that he doesn't get it anymore. I wonder if it's like that for everyone? So as I looked out the window this afternoon, I saw a plane passing over and it was headed north, maybe to Italy, or Germany or France or who knows where. But I was thinking, what if I just kept on traveling? What if I went to Italy after I left Egypt, and stayed there til I felt homesick, and then moved on to some other place after Italy, and just kept traveling. Would that feeling of being homesickness eventually go away? Would I still feel like I had a single home somewhere, or would everywhere feel like home?
Well, I guess I won't find that out, at least not on this trip. Life back home awaits.
Enough pondering for now.
Still need to post about driving. And the honking of horns is actually a big subject and fairly amusing.
Also, I'm pretty sure we live in the loudest neighborhood in all of Alexandria. I'm pretty sure everyone here is crazy. lol
Ahmed went out this afternoon and got some fish/shrimps and rice for himself for lunch. I had some of the rice but only a small bite of fish and NO shrimp. I had some ramen, which before coming to Egypt, I hadn't eaten in years. However, it's fast and easy and fills me up.
When we were at the grocery store the other day I found something which is not quite a cookie but more than a cracker. I guess maybe they're British? But they're called digestives. I really like them and I'm hoping I can find them when I'm back home. Anyways, I had some of those too.
Actually... lol... my breakfast this morning consisted of 2 of the "digestives", an Egyptian banana and some chips! How's that for healthy.
However, it isn't always that bad.
And one morning Ahmed made me french toast. I can't remember if I wrote about that or not?
He has a friend who works in import/export and somehow the subject of french toast came up. I guess his friend had heard about it and wanted to know if I knew about it. So Ahmed and I talked about it and Ahmed thought it sounded good and wanted to try it, but understandably, they don't have maple syrup here in Egypt on every store shelf. I doubt if they import it at all actually.
So, I made sure to bring a small bottle of maple syrup with me on my trip, and Ahmed finally had "real" french toast.
I thought we would make it together but it ended up that he made it and served me in bed. How nice is that? :D
He had made it several times before my trip, but just used other stuff on top instead of the syrup. Apparently it tastes okay with jelly, but not quite as good as syrup.
I think we might go to the museum tomorrow. Not sure if we'll end up visiting Fort Quaitby (not sure how it's spelled) or not. Still have to go back to the mall for some hijabs that I wanted. And there is a Starbucks here where the mall is. It's the only Starbucks I've seen in Egypt. I want Ahmed to try a frappuccino. I can't drink them because of the caffeine, and I can't be bothered to have it caffeine free. But I used to drink them on occasion and they are so yummy that I want him to try one.
Time is swiftly running out on my trip. I'm eager to be back home to everything I know and am used to (can't say I'm eager to get back to work though, lol), but I am not looking forward to leaving my new husband behind. We hope that he will be able to come visit by spring or early summer. But it really depends a whole lot on visa issues and there's no way to predict that. If he can't get here easily anytime soon, then I will be back in Egypt sometime within a year insha'Allah. But, I am not looking forward to waiting so long, even spring seems a long time away.
I was leaning on the bedroom window this afternoon, looking out at the street and the activity.
Last night, I had been talking with Ahmed about the subject of homesickness, and if he ever got it. He used to when he was younger, but he has traveled so much for work that he doesn't get it anymore. I wonder if it's like that for everyone? So as I looked out the window this afternoon, I saw a plane passing over and it was headed north, maybe to Italy, or Germany or France or who knows where. But I was thinking, what if I just kept on traveling? What if I went to Italy after I left Egypt, and stayed there til I felt homesick, and then moved on to some other place after Italy, and just kept traveling. Would that feeling of being homesickness eventually go away? Would I still feel like I had a single home somewhere, or would everywhere feel like home?
Well, I guess I won't find that out, at least not on this trip. Life back home awaits.
Enough pondering for now.
Still need to post about driving. And the honking of horns is actually a big subject and fairly amusing.
Also, I'm pretty sure we live in the loudest neighborhood in all of Alexandria. I'm pretty sure everyone here is crazy. lol
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Italian food?
Well, hello to all!
=)
We got out of the house around 4:30 today. We took a microbus down the road a bit to a restaurant called Portofino. It's part cafe and part restaurant. The restaurant part where we were seating was really nicely decorated (even the bathrooms were nice, probably the nicest I've seen in Egypt! lol).
Well, the food was all "Italian" by the menu, but the actual food itself I'm not so sure about.
I had minestrone soup to start and it looked and tasted like no minestrone I've ever had. It had so much pepper I was pretty sure I was going to start breathing fire by the time I was done with it.
The bread was good though. Not too hard and with a light taste.
For my main food I had penne alle primavera or something. Penne pasta with some veggies in a nice red sauce. It was pretty good and I admittedly ate too much!
Ahmed had "potato skins" which weren't like any potato skins I've seen in the states, but I guess they tasted okay. And he had spaghetti which he said was good but which I didn't taste.
Anyways, it was a nice meal and we sat and relaxed and talked after. We were right on the corniche so we could watch the sea as the sun set and watch the people walk by.
When you're in the mood to sit and relax, finding a nice cafe on the corniche is a great way to do it.
We walked for about 15 minutes after we left the restaurant before we caught a taxi and headed for home. After letting dinner settle at home for a bit, here I am!
Still no joy with internet at the apartment but Ahmed is determined! I will be happy to never be on the opposing side from him. lol
We had a nice talk over dinner about the differences between Alexandria and Cairo, and other places in Egypt, like Hurghada and places in the country like Shebin el Kom (I think that's how it's spelled).
We tried to compare the good with the bad for all areas. I guess they all have good things to them. And all have bad as well.
I don't know what the future will bring or if I'll move here at some point or where we'll live.
I know I'm not ready to give up everything in the states just yet. But who knows. I will be happy when Ahmed and I can finally just start our home together, wherever that will be insha'Allah.
I don't think we have any real concrete plans for the rest of our stay here in Alex. We're leaving sometime Tuesday, perhaps early morning, it depends on what we need to do in Cairo, and we're still waiting to hear about a couple of things.
I guess we'll do some more shopping. And some more cafe sitting. And some more being lazy and relaxing.
Life is rough huh? lol
We will be busy when we go back to Cairo because we will only have a few days there before I leave to go back to the states and there is a list of things that we need to do.
Insha'Allah we'll be able to get it all done.
I guess I won't finish writing here before I come home. There's alot to post still, information, impressions, etc. So I'm not sure when I'll finish writing but I'm guessing it will be sometime after I'm back in the states.
I told Ahmed today that I wanted to bring some food with us and go down to the corniche and sit by the sea and feed the cats. If we do it, I'll have him take some pictures. It's crazy all the cats here.
Okay... enough.
Happy first of November to all.
=)
And happy almost Friday!
=)
We got out of the house around 4:30 today. We took a microbus down the road a bit to a restaurant called Portofino. It's part cafe and part restaurant. The restaurant part where we were seating was really nicely decorated (even the bathrooms were nice, probably the nicest I've seen in Egypt! lol).
Well, the food was all "Italian" by the menu, but the actual food itself I'm not so sure about.
I had minestrone soup to start and it looked and tasted like no minestrone I've ever had. It had so much pepper I was pretty sure I was going to start breathing fire by the time I was done with it.
The bread was good though. Not too hard and with a light taste.
For my main food I had penne alle primavera or something. Penne pasta with some veggies in a nice red sauce. It was pretty good and I admittedly ate too much!
Ahmed had "potato skins" which weren't like any potato skins I've seen in the states, but I guess they tasted okay. And he had spaghetti which he said was good but which I didn't taste.
Anyways, it was a nice meal and we sat and relaxed and talked after. We were right on the corniche so we could watch the sea as the sun set and watch the people walk by.
When you're in the mood to sit and relax, finding a nice cafe on the corniche is a great way to do it.
We walked for about 15 minutes after we left the restaurant before we caught a taxi and headed for home. After letting dinner settle at home for a bit, here I am!
Still no joy with internet at the apartment but Ahmed is determined! I will be happy to never be on the opposing side from him. lol
We had a nice talk over dinner about the differences between Alexandria and Cairo, and other places in Egypt, like Hurghada and places in the country like Shebin el Kom (I think that's how it's spelled).
We tried to compare the good with the bad for all areas. I guess they all have good things to them. And all have bad as well.
I don't know what the future will bring or if I'll move here at some point or where we'll live.
I know I'm not ready to give up everything in the states just yet. But who knows. I will be happy when Ahmed and I can finally just start our home together, wherever that will be insha'Allah.
I don't think we have any real concrete plans for the rest of our stay here in Alex. We're leaving sometime Tuesday, perhaps early morning, it depends on what we need to do in Cairo, and we're still waiting to hear about a couple of things.
I guess we'll do some more shopping. And some more cafe sitting. And some more being lazy and relaxing.
Life is rough huh? lol
We will be busy when we go back to Cairo because we will only have a few days there before I leave to go back to the states and there is a list of things that we need to do.
Insha'Allah we'll be able to get it all done.
I guess I won't finish writing here before I come home. There's alot to post still, information, impressions, etc. So I'm not sure when I'll finish writing but I'm guessing it will be sometime after I'm back in the states.
I told Ahmed today that I wanted to bring some food with us and go down to the corniche and sit by the sea and feed the cats. If we do it, I'll have him take some pictures. It's crazy all the cats here.
Okay... enough.
Happy first of November to all.
=)
And happy almost Friday!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)