California here I come

Well, internet issues again. so I haven't uploaded the street paving videos yet.  Of course, since the last post I've had plenty of time to do so, but the day that I post, well... wouldn't it figure there are issues!  lol
Hopefully they'll be sorted shortly (sometime today) and I'll be able to upload.  I also still have some pictures to upload if I'm not mistaken, from our trip to the mall a few weeks ago.

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Well, my round trip tickets are booked and I am finally going to be heading back to the States for a visit! 
So excited and nervous and happy and I really hate flying but it will be worth it.
I was possibly going to fly through London's Heathrow airport, but am saving that for another adventure some other time, and instead I'm flying to Paris and then to San Francisco, which is the exact route I wanted to begin with.

It's interesting to note that although I could fly Cairo to JFK in New York, and then from JFK to San Francisco, that route actually takes 19 hours of flying, while the Cairo to Paris to San Francisco only takes 16 hours.  I understand why, though it seems strange.  But that's one of the reasons I wanted the Paris flight.  Three less hours that I have to be stuck up in a metal tube?  Alright by me!

Planning to stay 3 weeks, which seems short and long at the same time.  Will be staying with the folks who are gracious enough to let me leech off them while I'm there.  :D
It's hard to be without a car but I'm sure I'll manage.  I just hate to impose when I need anything.

Already started a list of things to buy and bring back with me to Cairo when I return.  Some funny things on the list.  Well, maybe not exactly ha ha funny, but strange to bring back.  But, they are things I can't find here that either I miss or that I want hubby to try.

I'm sad that hubby can't come but he needs to focus on his business, so insha'Allah next trip he will be able to come.
I'm also going to miss him like crazy.  Three weeks is a long time to be gone.
It might not sound like a huge amount of time, but because we were apart for so many years, I find that it's really hard to be apart from him now.  Like the two times he traveled to Kuwait were so hard.
I know it shouldn't be that difficult but I guess it just brings back all the years we were separated before.
Insha'Allah it won't be bad and I will just be happy to be visiting with family and such.

And, he might take the opportunity of my visiting the States to make a business trip to Kuwait, which makes sense, so that way I am not missing him and having to stay at the in-laws when he goes.  Not sure about the trip but I do hope he goes when I'm away if he really has to go.

Wish I could stop and visit more family on this trip, but I don't have the money for it and so it will have to wait.  Would also like to visit when hubby is with me so he can meet everyone.

Also, 5 hour layover in the airport in Paris.  Suggestions? 

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We've been having a lot of power outages lately, which doesn't particularly surprise me with the summer heat and energy consumption up.

The outages last anywhere from 5 minutes to a couple hours, though lately it's more like half an hour to an hour.  Not too horrible.  The bedroom, which has a/c, usually doesn't get too warm in that time, though I would imagine if it was out for more than an hour and it was too hot in the apartment it would warm up.

The new thing though, about when the power goes out, is that our internet also goes out, since we are now getting dsl instead of using wireless (though we do have wireless as a backup for when the dsl is out, like right now, lol).  So, whenever the power goes out, the internet goes out.  Which I suppose is fine because the battery on the laptop only lasts so long anyways.

It's funny, we've been having some trouble off and on with the dsl and the line being down, and many times when we finally get the line back up and working, that's when the power goes out, so of course, it stops working again.  You have to laugh.  What else can you do?

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There is a nice video that I found posted on the web about street food in Cairo.  It's in two parts, the first part is about 15 minutes and the second part is about 7 minutes.

I'd say it's well worth a watch.  It shows exactly what it looks like here, how the streets are, how the people are dressed, it's very real and what I see every day (or rather, whenever I'm out).

It focuses a lot not just on what the street foods are here, but the problems with selling foods on the street and how the economy is affecting that. 

It's quite sad actually, in a way.  These people make so little money, and most of us in the West truly have more than we need.  It's hard to see people that are so poor, and Egypt is full of them.

So here's the links to the videos. 

Street Food part 1

Street Food part 2

And that's all folks!