I made it back home in one piece alhamdulillah!! lol
Flying when you're sick isn't fun, but I guess 19 hours of flying is never that fun.
I think my mind is still trying to catch up with my body. The body is pooped but the mind is awake. It's 1:20 a.m. and I've been home for an hour but I don't think I'm that close to sleep. I made a trip to the grocery store, forgetting that it was colder here (43 F right now) than in Cairo and I just had a shirt on and no jacket or sweater. lol Silly me.
Alright, like I mentioned, I will post some more things about Egypt, but I'm not sure when I will post it all.
Thanks to all those who kept up with my "adventures".
=)
Monday, November 12, 2007
Saturday, November 10, 2007
A bird pooped on my head!
If that isn't a fitting title for my last post from Egypt..... well, yeah I guess it isn't, but, it did happen today.
We were shopping at the khan al khalili (outdoor shopping area) and we were underneath a tree that was full of birds merrily chirping away. It was really nice to listen to and I was enjoying it, and I felt something plop on my head. I was hoping it was just a piece of the tree, like a leaf or something, but when I asked Ahmed, he said it was poop. So, we wiped it off and all was well.
We did *alot* of shopping today. All in all, we were in pursuit of shopping for about 6 hours. Unfortunately, there were some things I needed to get that I couldn't find, and I'm not happy about that, but what can you do?
I was sad when we were walking around. I almost cried a couple of times just thinking about how much I wasn't ready to leave this place yet. There's still too much I haven't done. Five weeks isn't enough to even scratch the surface of a place like Cairo. Well, two of those weeks were in Alexandria. But still... I hope to be back at some point next year, though we don't have any definite plans just yet. Insha'Allah it won't be too long.
My flight will be leaving in about 12 hours from now. It's hard to believe. I'm not packed yet. I'm pretty sure I have more to bring home than I have room in my suitcases but we shall see about that. I hope I don't have to have anything shipped home!
There is much more to post, but I will do it from home in the states. It seems a little strange to be thinking about posting after I'm home, but I just couldn't get it all done here.
Well, so long from Egypt.
Assalamu alaykum
We were shopping at the khan al khalili (outdoor shopping area) and we were underneath a tree that was full of birds merrily chirping away. It was really nice to listen to and I was enjoying it, and I felt something plop on my head. I was hoping it was just a piece of the tree, like a leaf or something, but when I asked Ahmed, he said it was poop. So, we wiped it off and all was well.
We did *alot* of shopping today. All in all, we were in pursuit of shopping for about 6 hours. Unfortunately, there were some things I needed to get that I couldn't find, and I'm not happy about that, but what can you do?
I was sad when we were walking around. I almost cried a couple of times just thinking about how much I wasn't ready to leave this place yet. There's still too much I haven't done. Five weeks isn't enough to even scratch the surface of a place like Cairo. Well, two of those weeks were in Alexandria. But still... I hope to be back at some point next year, though we don't have any definite plans just yet. Insha'Allah it won't be too long.
My flight will be leaving in about 12 hours from now. It's hard to believe. I'm not packed yet. I'm pretty sure I have more to bring home than I have room in my suitcases but we shall see about that. I hope I don't have to have anything shipped home!
There is much more to post, but I will do it from home in the states. It seems a little strange to be thinking about posting after I'm home, but I just couldn't get it all done here.
Well, so long from Egypt.
Assalamu alaykum
Friday, November 9, 2007
Time flies!
Well, we had a nice day today alhamdulillah.
We went to the house of one of Ahmed's aunts today for lunch. She has 4 kids (2 girls and a set of boy twins) but only 3 of the kids were there. Also, Ahmed's aunt from Kuwait who was with us for dinner last night came as well.
They really know how to make you feel welcome here in Egypt. Everyone has been so accomodating of me not eating meat that I've never had to worry about it and I'm often quite stuffed when we visit someone as they want to feed you so much! Well, also, I have a small stomach as I'm used to eating smaller meals throughout the day instead of just two big meals like many here do.
Anyways, the visit was really nice. His family is just so *nice*! lol
I tried chicken again and fish. There were a couple of things that had ground beef and I just scraped the beef out and it was fine. And we had konafa for dessert, made with honey instead of cheese or nuts. It was just the right amount of sweet and really nice. I do love kanafa. *sigh*
After we had lunch we headed out so that I could meet a friend from online who lives here in Egypt. I was a little nervous when I got to her door, all of a sudden thinking, "What am I going to say???", but it was a really nice visit and I'm so happy that I had a chance to stop by. Also, I tried a persimmon for the first time while I was at her place. lol The taste was nice but it was a bit mushy.
Actually I felt so at home in her apartment. It was really nice and not decorated in Egyptian style (not that Egyptian style is bad, just different than what I'm used to). More like I'm used to from home and in a taste that I like as well, so I felt really comfortable there.
We stopped at a place near home to look for some clothes but I couldn't find anything I liked, so we'll look some more tomorrow insha'Allah.
Tomorrow will be a busy day and we have some irons in the fire that we're not sure how they will turn out but if they turn out good then I will have some nice news.
That's it for now.
There's always more on my mind and thoughts and sights to post about, but never seems to be enough time.
I hope to really get alot of this stuff down in the next week or so though insha'Allah.
Happy weekend everyone!
=)
We went to the house of one of Ahmed's aunts today for lunch. She has 4 kids (2 girls and a set of boy twins) but only 3 of the kids were there. Also, Ahmed's aunt from Kuwait who was with us for dinner last night came as well.
They really know how to make you feel welcome here in Egypt. Everyone has been so accomodating of me not eating meat that I've never had to worry about it and I'm often quite stuffed when we visit someone as they want to feed you so much! Well, also, I have a small stomach as I'm used to eating smaller meals throughout the day instead of just two big meals like many here do.
Anyways, the visit was really nice. His family is just so *nice*! lol
I tried chicken again and fish. There were a couple of things that had ground beef and I just scraped the beef out and it was fine. And we had konafa for dessert, made with honey instead of cheese or nuts. It was just the right amount of sweet and really nice. I do love kanafa. *sigh*
After we had lunch we headed out so that I could meet a friend from online who lives here in Egypt. I was a little nervous when I got to her door, all of a sudden thinking, "What am I going to say???", but it was a really nice visit and I'm so happy that I had a chance to stop by. Also, I tried a persimmon for the first time while I was at her place. lol The taste was nice but it was a bit mushy.
Actually I felt so at home in her apartment. It was really nice and not decorated in Egyptian style (not that Egyptian style is bad, just different than what I'm used to). More like I'm used to from home and in a taste that I like as well, so I felt really comfortable there.
We stopped at a place near home to look for some clothes but I couldn't find anything I liked, so we'll look some more tomorrow insha'Allah.
Tomorrow will be a busy day and we have some irons in the fire that we're not sure how they will turn out but if they turn out good then I will have some nice news.
That's it for now.
There's always more on my mind and thoughts and sights to post about, but never seems to be enough time.
I hope to really get alot of this stuff down in the next week or so though insha'Allah.
Happy weekend everyone!
=)
It's late!
Just a quick post as it's after 1 a.m. and I'm a bit tired.
We had a long but good day alhamdulillah!
We went to Al Azhar and I got my "official" certificate of shahadah (declaring my faith as Islam).
The traffic going there took about 45 minutes and coming back took 50 minutes. And this was not quick moving traffic, it was just stop and stare and sit around waiting for who knows what. I guess there are just too many people on the roads here.
Then tonight we went to Ahmed's cousins house for dinner. Well, Ahmed's parents and brother and sister and Ahmed and I. His cousin is married with a son and daughter so there were 11 of us (including Ahmed's aunt from Kuwait).
They live in an area on the top of a hill and it's called muqatam (I know I spelled that wrong). Anyways, they have a really nice house (they call them villas here) and the dinner was really great. She made me a sweet and sour vegetable dish and some other dishes as well for me specially since I don't eat meat!
Ahmed's whole family has been so nice and welcoming and I really feel at home here.
Oh yeah, it took an hour and twenty minutes to get to his cousin's house but only 25 minutes to get back home. The traffic there was just horrendous and I'm glad we don't have to drive in that all the time!
Tomorrow, it will be lunch for Ahmed and I with another aunt of his and then we will meet a friend of mine that I know from online. It should be nice insha'Allah.
And then perhaps some more shopping tomorrow as well. We'll see.
Okay! Enough for now
Everyone smile!!!
We had a long but good day alhamdulillah!
We went to Al Azhar and I got my "official" certificate of shahadah (declaring my faith as Islam).
The traffic going there took about 45 minutes and coming back took 50 minutes. And this was not quick moving traffic, it was just stop and stare and sit around waiting for who knows what. I guess there are just too many people on the roads here.
Then tonight we went to Ahmed's cousins house for dinner. Well, Ahmed's parents and brother and sister and Ahmed and I. His cousin is married with a son and daughter so there were 11 of us (including Ahmed's aunt from Kuwait).
They live in an area on the top of a hill and it's called muqatam (I know I spelled that wrong). Anyways, they have a really nice house (they call them villas here) and the dinner was really great. She made me a sweet and sour vegetable dish and some other dishes as well for me specially since I don't eat meat!
Ahmed's whole family has been so nice and welcoming and I really feel at home here.
Oh yeah, it took an hour and twenty minutes to get to his cousin's house but only 25 minutes to get back home. The traffic there was just horrendous and I'm glad we don't have to drive in that all the time!
Tomorrow, it will be lunch for Ahmed and I with another aunt of his and then we will meet a friend of mine that I know from online. It should be nice insha'Allah.
And then perhaps some more shopping tomorrow as well. We'll see.
Okay! Enough for now
Everyone smile!!!
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Sleeeepy
I don't know why but I'm so tired today!
We got up by 11 and I got showered and ready, but instead of going to Al Azhar as planned, we decided to do that tomorrow and we would just go shopping today. But, we decided to have lunch first (around 2:30, and that was early by usual standards of 4 or 5 p.m. for lunch) and then go shopping around 5 or later.
After lunch we had a nap. I really wasn't intending to have one but Ahmed wanted to lay down so I said I would lay down for just a bit and then I was going to use the computer. However, I guess sleep had other plans for me, as we woke up to his cell phone ringing at 4:45!
So, Ahmed is off picking up some stuff from a shipping company (some of the stuff we had with us in Alex, he shipped back to Cairo with a shipping company so we didn't have to carry so much), and after he's done, he'll pick me up and then off we go!
I have some shopping to do for friends in the states (per request, and I don't mind). I hope I can get the right stuff and that they'll like it. And I have shopping for me to do as well. :D
We decided to stay here at Ahmed's parent's house for the rest of my stay. His mom and sister were sad that I'll be leaving in a few days and wanted us to stay here, and I am happy with staying here, as I'll miss them as well.
So, I told Ahmed, since we weren't staying in a seperate apartment, he would have more money to spend on me for shopping. Yay! lol
I think tomorrow we'll go to Al Azhar in the morning, and then to the khan al khalili after that. It's a shopping area but it's all outdoors, but because of canopies and such, it almost seems like it's inside. We went for a short bit before we went to Alexandria and I really liked it. I'll do some shopping for family and myself I suppose. And I will try to get some pictures of it. I really liked the atmosphere.
Speaking of pictures, I will probably upload alot of the videos to youtube, but I don't know who wants to see them and if everyone has high speed internet. If anyone wants the videos/pictures on a cd after I get home, and they are not within hand delivery area, let me know (send me an email with current mailing address) and I can just snail mail a cd with vids/pics.
My son told me that the time went forward last weekend. I guess I can look forward to shorter darker days when I get back. Fall and winter are here for sure! I just got hungry for pumpkin pie thinking about that. lol
Yum!
Speaking of yum, today mom made rice and artichoke hearts in a white sauce for lunch. Well, that was what I had. The meat eaters will also have kofta which is meat in a red sauce (though there could be different ways to make kofta, I'm not sure?).
The artichoke hearts were so yummy, I really love them. I'm not sure what was in the sauce but I don't think it was much. Flour and lemon and some kind of liquid, perhaps milk or some butter.
But I was definitely full when I finished eating.
As promised the weather is cooler today and I'm thankful for that!
Now, off to get ready to go shopping.
Adios mi amigos!
We got up by 11 and I got showered and ready, but instead of going to Al Azhar as planned, we decided to do that tomorrow and we would just go shopping today. But, we decided to have lunch first (around 2:30, and that was early by usual standards of 4 or 5 p.m. for lunch) and then go shopping around 5 or later.
After lunch we had a nap. I really wasn't intending to have one but Ahmed wanted to lay down so I said I would lay down for just a bit and then I was going to use the computer. However, I guess sleep had other plans for me, as we woke up to his cell phone ringing at 4:45!
So, Ahmed is off picking up some stuff from a shipping company (some of the stuff we had with us in Alex, he shipped back to Cairo with a shipping company so we didn't have to carry so much), and after he's done, he'll pick me up and then off we go!
I have some shopping to do for friends in the states (per request, and I don't mind). I hope I can get the right stuff and that they'll like it. And I have shopping for me to do as well. :D
We decided to stay here at Ahmed's parent's house for the rest of my stay. His mom and sister were sad that I'll be leaving in a few days and wanted us to stay here, and I am happy with staying here, as I'll miss them as well.
So, I told Ahmed, since we weren't staying in a seperate apartment, he would have more money to spend on me for shopping. Yay! lol
I think tomorrow we'll go to Al Azhar in the morning, and then to the khan al khalili after that. It's a shopping area but it's all outdoors, but because of canopies and such, it almost seems like it's inside. We went for a short bit before we went to Alexandria and I really liked it. I'll do some shopping for family and myself I suppose. And I will try to get some pictures of it. I really liked the atmosphere.
Speaking of pictures, I will probably upload alot of the videos to youtube, but I don't know who wants to see them and if everyone has high speed internet. If anyone wants the videos/pictures on a cd after I get home, and they are not within hand delivery area, let me know (send me an email with current mailing address) and I can just snail mail a cd with vids/pics.
My son told me that the time went forward last weekend. I guess I can look forward to shorter darker days when I get back. Fall and winter are here for sure! I just got hungry for pumpkin pie thinking about that. lol
Yum!
Speaking of yum, today mom made rice and artichoke hearts in a white sauce for lunch. Well, that was what I had. The meat eaters will also have kofta which is meat in a red sauce (though there could be different ways to make kofta, I'm not sure?).
The artichoke hearts were so yummy, I really love them. I'm not sure what was in the sauce but I don't think it was much. Flour and lemon and some kind of liquid, perhaps milk or some butter.
But I was definitely full when I finished eating.
As promised the weather is cooler today and I'm thankful for that!
Now, off to get ready to go shopping.
Adios mi amigos!
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