Somewhere under the bulgy bit

Thank You

2006-11-10T00:15:00.000+02:00

Sanity prevails... finally... and maybe the population has finally decided to remove the blinders and use their brains rather than letting themselves be manipulated by the "rah rah" talk. I feel like I finally recognize my former neighbors once again...Aside from me, who thinks that Lieberman will maybe decide after the vote challenge period is over that he is in fact not really an Independant

The screeching harpy...

2006-06-07T09:00:00.000+03:00

This woman is disgusting...LAUER: On the 9-11 widows, an in particular a group that had been critical of the administration: “These self-obsessed women seem genuinely unaware that 9-11 was an attack on our nation and acted like as if the terrorist attack only happened to them. They believe the entire country was required to marinate in their exquisite personal agony. Apparently, denouncing Bush

The same old BS...

2006-06-05T17:47:00.000+03:00

Reading the news these days, you really have to wonder when people are going to wise up to the bullcrap that politicians of all stripes regularly play.The country is sinking into a debt filled hole, in large part financed by China. The housing market is about to burst. The US dollar is sinking like a rock. The "war" in Iraq is heading from bad to worse. Afghanistan isn't much better, there

Who is listening?

2006-01-24T15:58:00.000+02:00

So now, they are trying to sell the illegal warrantless spying as being necessary. "A vital part of the war on terror". They are rebaptizing it "The Terrorist Surveillance Program". They have issued a 42 page justification for it. They sound scared shitless, and rightly so.Let's look at this logically. What we have here is:Eavesdropping on Americans with no judicial oversight. Why, IF those

Random thoughts

2006-01-16T18:04:00.000+02:00

Being a fearless 4 year old really means that you are transferring the fear that you don't have x 10 to your mother. Your mother now sympathizes with her own mother, since said 4 year old is really a complete mini-me. Maybe the real reason that oil prices are so high is because it's being used as a WMD (weapon of massive deficits) to signify the displeasure of those who produce most of it

I've finally got it figured out!

2005-12-28T15:44:00.000+02:00

As most of you know, I'm not a big Bush fan. But today, I had an epiphany! Following this, it became clear to me that Bush is doing an excellent job and I'll tell you why.As he said shortly after September 11th:" Americans are asking, why do they hate us? They hate what we see right here in this chamber -- a democratically elected government. Their leaders are self-appointed. They hate our

Luxor, and the best laid plans

2005-12-15T10:13:00.001+02:00

A couple of weeks ago, my husband turned 40. Something to celebrate, and in fact since last summer I had been cooking up a surprise party for him. Friends from various countries were contacted, plans were made, and a number of them had made airline reservations to join me in helping to make this occasion one that he would remember. Ah...the best laid plans...About 2 months before the big day,

Internet meltdown

2005-11-30T16:14:00.000+02:00

I've been a member of a particular forum board for a long time, a place where I've made many "virtual" friends, all of whom share a particular interest, and many of whom I would like to meet someday. Much like blogging, there are people who's thoughts you look forward to hearing, people who you enjoy interacting with, and even more so when it concerns a topic that you are fascinated by. This

Charitable actions

2005-11-20T08:18:00.000+02:00

I was going to do a post about how Chavez is poking Bush in the eye but this guy says it much better than I did.Kind of sucks when the President of another country, one that Bush calls a "socialist tyrant" does more for the American poor than their own President. It's no wonder that Bush hates the guy.

A few shots from Aswan

2005-11-11T10:50:00.000+02:00

We were in Aswan last week for a few days, and I thought that I would share a few photos of the town with you.Behind the hotel, overlooking the Nile "The Tomb of the Nobles".Tomb of the NoblesBelow, is the mausoleum of the Aga Khan III. It seems that the Aga Khan used to spend his winters in Aswan and liked it so much he asked to be buried here. From what I was reading, he came here to treat

"Obscene" oil company profits

2005-11-09T18:55:00.000+02:00

Lately, there are numerous stories in the press about the "obscene" profits that the oil companies are making these days. Wednesday, the Senate had some of the executives from these companies in to "defend" the profits that they are making.Nice PR job. What hypocrisy.Let's look at the historics a bit, shall we?Before GW and "Halliburton" Cheney started talking up the possibility of going into

A challenge...

2005-09-21T10:27:00.000+03:00

Well, Bill Clinton has finally broken his silence about Katrina, Iraq, tax cuts and the deficit. I know, I know, it's probably a "help Hillary" thing. It could be that he's been waiting to hear someone, anyone from the Democratic Party stand up and say it. Since no one has, he may have finally run out of patience. It's interesting to note that since this, Kerry and Edwards have also "finally"

He who ignores history is doomed to repeat it.

2005-09-18T18:20:00.000+03:00

I just finished reading a book called "From Beirut to Jerusalem" and it's one of the very rare books that I found myself bookmarking pages in as I went through it. Why? Because so much of what the author has to say about what went on in Lebanon sound familiar. While Lebanon was a question of Muslim, Druse and Christian tensions, the "tribal" analogy holds true for Iraq. Let me give you some

What was that all about?

2005-09-13T09:28:00.000+03:00

One of the weirdest things that I saw while I was on holidays was some guy standing in the maquis (the local vegetation, kind of like a low level jungle) with a trumpet in his hand. When I see things like that, I find myself inventing all sorts of reasons as to why someone would be standing next to the road in the middle of nowhere, getting ready to play a trumpet. Has his wife had enough of

Angola, never again...

2005-09-08T13:48:00.000+03:00

Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while will remember the post I put up, translating an email from a friend who had just moved to Angola. We had the good fortune to see these friends for a day during our holidays, since they have a place a couple of hours drive from ours. What a difference 8 months has made on their impressions of Angola, particularly the woman who wrote the

Voice recognition software

2005-09-06T09:22:00.000+03:00

I actually have a different post ready to go, but it deals with more horrors, this time in Africa. There is enough of that in the news these days, those poor souls in New Orleans, and the thought of what they will find once they start to pump the water out. So, maybe a bright spot of humour will do me some good, maybe it will do you some good too.Once we were back in France, we discovered that

Would you believe...

2005-09-05T11:12:00.000+03:00

That when I went on holidays, I forgot to pack my swimsuit? It's not as if I was going to an island surrounded by the Med. or anything, right?I have a sneaking suspicion that the maid may have put my swimsuits away, since I distinctly remember having taken them out of the drawer to pack them. She probably saw them lying on the bed, and put them away. Me, not seeing them on the bed, assumed that I

Surprise visit!

2005-09-04T23:06:00.000+03:00

My Dad is in Europe right now, visiting his ladyfriend. Tonight he called and asked "Can I come and visit? I've booked a flight for Tuesday".This Tuesday, in two days Tuesday...My Dad is so cool........

Where to start?

2005-09-04T08:54:00.000+03:00

After a month offline and several pages of notes for blog entries now that I am back, my first post will have nothing to do with what I saw, did or heard during my holidays.I get most of my news from the internet, a longstanding habit born of living in countries where it's not always easy to get the news in a language that you understand, and often if you can, it's not worth watching anyways.

Offline without having planned to be.

2005-09-04T08:51:00.000+03:00

I need to apologize for going offline for a whole month without warning anyone about it. No telephone line hooked up yet in our not-quite-finished holiday home. We had planned on having one installed immediately, but as it turns out, they haven't quite finished in the house, and we decided that having an open phone line when you still have workmen in and out of the place with no supervision was

You wouldn't think it...

2005-07-29T19:08:00.000+03:00

Right now we have guests staying with us. This couple is comprised of an Egyptian husband and a European wife, and after spending several years living in Europe and elsewhere before, they are currently living in Oil Town, Texas.It's really odd to hear their impressions of the place, in fact, listening to some of the stories, you would think that they are living in some theocracy and not the USA.

It's the economy...

2005-07-24T13:23:00.000+03:00

It seems clear that the terrorist bombings here, there and everywhere these days are designed to disrupt the economies of the various target countries.Which got me to thinking last night. We were driving back from the Med. coast on a road filled with quasi-suicidal drivers whose behavoir made it imperative to think of anything else than the distinct possiblity of ending up in a flaming wreck of

Can you hear it?

2005-07-05T08:55:00.000+03:00

Yesterday morning I got up, got my first cup of coffee as usual...and realized that all I could hear was the sweet sound of silence. No lumbering of dump trucks, no continuous drone of a Caterpillar engine, no choking clouds of dust wafting over the wall that in turn have rendered both the garden and the pool completely unusable. It seems that the digging part is either finished or just about

No.......no..........noooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2005-06-28T09:13:00.000+03:00

I don't believe it!Next to our building is an empty lot, one that we have been told has been empty for years. Given that there are some pretty fair sized trees in the middle of it, I would say that is true.We live in a ground floor flat, the whole garden is for us, and that empty lot next door ensures that we have a nice bright apartment.Well, last night at 9:30 (!!!), one of these pulled up and

This ought to be interesting...

2005-06-26T11:22:00.000+03:00

I see that a Chinese oil company has placed an uninvited bid to buy Unocal. The Administration of GW has been pretty much silent on this so far. For all their talk of energy self-sufficiency, this has to be a pretty big problem for them. For those of you who followed what happened to Yukos, you might remember that the tax-evasion problems started soon after Mobil Oil and Yukos announced that

A Clueless Pope

2005-06-12T08:10:00.000+03:00

I read with disgust this article today. It seems that the new "Pope rejects condoms for Africa". Instead, he has declared that abstinence and fidelity is the way that the problem of AIDS in Africa should be tackled.Further along he is quoted as saying "It is of great concern that the fabric of African life, its very source of hope and stability, is threatened by divorce, abortion, prostitution,

The Movie Meme

2005-06-01T14:42:00.000+03:00

James posted this movie meme on his blog today, and passed it along to me. And so, here we are...Total number of films I own: As of our last move, it was somewhere around 300. I've probably added 10 or 15 since then.The last film I bought: I actually bought three when I was last in France, A Shark's Tale, A Fish Called Wanda and "Enquete Corse".The last film that I watched: That would be "A

The Bowab story

2005-05-29T08:46:00.000+03:00

I've been thinking about the story below about the Bowab (pronounced bow-wab as in take a bow), the diplomat's wife and his kids...When I commented to our driver yesterday that the whole thing seemed unbelievable, he said "it's known here, they make movies about this sort of thing". I then asked him if he's EVER heard about something like this actually happening in real life. I know that I sure

Evil.........this is evil............

2005-05-27T16:56:00.000+03:00

The story I heard today, unbelievable but possibly true:Our bowab (building custodian) was arrested a couple of days ago, along with his wife, and his three kids, aged somewhere around 8, 5 and 2. The kids were released the next morning, and the bowab and his wife were released today.There is a foreign woman who used to live across the street and who has, for several years, been teaching his

Flamboyants are flamboyant, aren't they?

2005-05-25T16:51:00.000+03:00

These have got to be my all time favorite trees. Although they are originally from Madagascar, you often see them in West Africa and I was delighted to discover that they also grow here. When we were still staying in the hotel, this was one of the things that I saw when looking out of the window of the room.I'm told that they will look like this until November or December. In my neighborhood,

You know that...

2005-05-23T12:35:00.000+03:00

You know that you're living in a Muslim country when you use ONE THIRD of your luggage allowance to bring back a whole smoked wild boar ham for the family. All that, and Mr. Right wanted to know if I brought back some cheese too...

When does exotic stop being exotic?

2005-05-23T09:15:00.000+03:00

I just spent 10 days in France, part of it in the extreme south of the country where we have a holiday home, and a couple of days in Paris. It occured to me on the flight back to Egypt that there isn't much that seems exotic to me anymore.Being the somewhat chatty person that I am, it often comes out in one way or another that I live abroad. Regardless of which country it is, the reaction is

The Afterlife

2005-05-09T17:17:00.000+03:00

Ah, the pyramids...the world's most impressive graveyard...The pharaoh's were entombed after their death with many of their belongings in order to make their passage into the afterlife more pleasant.Which begs the question...Were they entombed...or "enwombed"? Because when you think of it, a pyramid bears a remarkable resemblance to the Mons de Venus of a woman, were the dead of ancient Egypt

Random thought of the day

2005-05-08T01:29:00.000+03:00

It occured to me today that given the way they drive here in Egypt, the utter and total disregard for pedestrians and the complete lack of crosswalks, this country should probably have the best sprinter Olympic team in the world.

Students and goodwill

2005-05-05T10:27:00.000+03:00

Last weekend, I had a long conversation with a woman who had done her university studies in Canada. The time that she spent there has left her with a real love of my country, so much so that she has been trying (in vain) to talk her husband into emigrating there. One of the things that came up in the course of our discussion is that the number of international students applying to American

And on a lighter note...

2005-05-02T12:21:00.000+03:00

While out on a boat in the Gulf of Suez this weekend, we saw some of these guys playing in the wake. I'm glad we did, we also saw some the weekend before in Hurghada, but silly Africanuck forgot to pack the camera.I wonder if they will let you swim with them?

Bombings and shootings

2005-05-02T10:28:00.000+03:00

Poor Egypt. Yet another suicide bombing. Two girls shooting at a tourist bus. The news here is somewhat confused. We first heard about it 45 minutes after the bomber blew himself up. Sitting around a table having lunch with Egyptian friends and their friends in a resort area outside of Cairo. You could feel the pain of these people for their country, although few of them have much to do

Off to Hurgada for the weekend

2005-04-20T12:37:00.000+02:00

It's a long weekend here, and we're off to Hurgada on the Red Sea until Tuesday. Hopefully, the place will be full of promiscuous tourists, horny hotel staff chasing promiscuous tourists, and drunken Russian holidaymakers, and I'll be able to regale you with tales of the various goings-on of the local wildlife when I get back.See you on Tuesday.

Refusing prescriptions

2005-04-15T11:18:00.000+02:00

This whole debate is the most ridiculous thing that I have ever heard. I have been following this on and off as the rhetoric continues, but after reading Slate's take on this today, I kind of felt moved to comment about it.First, in my opinion, if you are a pharmacist with stong religious beliefs that you feel the need to impose on others who don't share the same beliefs, you are in the wrong

Alexandria and the place NOT to stay.

2005-04-10T09:30:00.000+02:00

**RANT ALERT**Ah Alexandria...the name conjures up images of one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world, history and knowledge. We had been looking forward to the weather on the Med. coast warming up enough to take a trip, and finally this past weekend, we took the plunge.What a disappointment!To be fair, we should have had the driver stay in town, as where we were staying really required one

Laugh!

2005-04-06T10:19:00.000+02:00

Every once in a while, I look to see what search terms bring people to here. Today, I discovered what has to be my all time favorite or at least the one that made me laugh the most."Glass bottomed boat and sexual positions". Can't you just picture it? The Kama Sutra performed with various body parts squished up against the glass?Of course, you might have to watch out for this guy too. And his

Somewhat surprising...

2005-04-05T14:16:00.000+02:00

One of those slightly surreal moments...At the pharmacy:Me: I'd like to get this prescription filled please.Pharmacist: Certainly.Pharm: Where are you from?Me: Canada, but home is France.Pharm: Ah, I was in Paris three days ago.Me: Lucky you, Paris is nice in the spring.Pharm: Yes, I really love Paris, I was there talking to my new business partner.Me: Oh? What sort of business are you

What got me thinking of forest fires in the first place.

2005-03-28T15:57:00.000+02:00

They crown, meaning the fire jumps from treetop to treetop in the raging winds that the fire creates, and becomes virtually unstoppable.I have a horrible feeling that the Marbug virus outbreak in Angola is going to do the same thing, it's hit the slums in Luanda.Ebola-like virus death toll rises.

Ever seen a forest fire up close and in person?

2005-03-28T14:39:00.000+02:00

I have, and it's a frightening sight. In fact, we almost lost our house, oldest daughter (who was 3 months old at the time) and Mr. Right's grandmother on that particular occasion. At one point, those remaining in the village had been gathered into the most central house, as they thought that the rest of it was going to go up in flames. It's a bloody good thing that our house has stone walls,

And while I'm on the subject

2005-03-25T11:39:00.000+02:00

In Angola, there is the beginnings of an outbreak of Marbug virus, an Ebola-like disease. Apparently it has now been found in Luanda.While working on the previous post, I took the time to read First Impressions of a Friend again, written by an expat friend who has recently moved to Luanda. Her descriptions of the slums, the overcrowding and the sanitary conditions there can't help but make me

Search terms that lead to here

2005-03-25T11:07:00.000+02:00

To the person who found my blog while looking for In the daily life of an Angolan, I hope that you enjoyed this post.To the person that got here from searching for Kangaroo Genitilia, I really hope that you are doing a science project. And frankly, I'm kind of shocked that a search for those words would list me as the first in Google. To the Italian looking for Sharm Sex, just go and visit, I'm

On meeting a President

2005-03-21T14:41:00.000+02:00

I think I'll start with meeting the President of a country.Several years and several countries back, West Africa...Weeks of preparations led up to this day, the company was funding the events and several of it's members, both local and international were receiving medals for the speed (at the time, it was a record) at which the project had been accomplished. The town was in a turmoil, as it was

Apparently, no one ever explained that "you reap what you sow" to these people.

2005-03-19T10:37:00.000+02:00

American Ambassador to Turkey quits. Poor bastard, he didn't stand a chance.The U.S. ambassador to Turkey has submitted his resignation after less than two years on the job, the State Department confirmed Friday, a decision that comes amid tensions between the two countries over the war in Iraq.U.S. Ambassador Eric Edelman plans to resign from the Foreign Service this summer for personal reasons

This one really deserves a read.

2005-03-16T08:27:00.000+02:00

I came across this blog about a week ago.It's a girl writing about her experience in what seems to have been one of those "Tough Love" programs that were being touted as the "cure" for troubled teenagers several years back. According to her website, she is only now starting to recover her memories of what happened during that time. 63 days of hell.

Hilarious underwear ad

2005-03-15T08:39:00.000+02:00

I got this by email from a friend the other day, and couldn't resist sharing it.Airport Security

Things that I've done.

2005-03-14T10:48:00.000+02:00

It seems to be the fashion these days to offer up lists of things that one has done that most other people probably haven't. So, in lieu of a real post today, here is my list:Been held hostage in my office. Was smoking a Cohiba with my feet up on the desk when they finally got us out of there.Met the President of a country.Been to Lebanon, Brazil and Cuba all in the SAME DAY.Been hit on by a

What do you think?

2005-03-13T19:28:00.000+02:00

Free polls from Pollhost.comDo you like or dislike music on a website?Like Dislike Doesn't matter

Double standards - spin spin spin

2005-03-12T23:02:00.000+02:00

I just caught sight of this story on Yahoo. NEW YORK - Egypt secretly supplied crucial help — both technology and expert manpower — to the chemical weapons program of Saddam Hussein's Iraq in the 1980s, U.S. arms investigators have found. The CIA's Iraq Survey Group says Egyptian specialists helped the Iraqis make "technological leaps" on poison gas at the height of the Iran-Iraq War, when

Today's silly question

2005-03-09T19:41:00.000+02:00

Have you ever wondered why some words even exist? I have...DEFENESTRATIONThe act of throwing someone or something out the window.Was there a rash of window-throwing-out-of at some point in the past that made someone think "Hey, we'd better think of a word just for this"?Anyone have any words that have made them wonder?

I've been wondering about something.

2005-03-08T11:01:00.000+02:00

Here in Egypt, the sign of a pious person is the "Prayer Bruise". It pretty much takes the form of a callous in the middle of the forehead, and is a sign that the person who sports one of these observes the 5 prayers a day, and I would assume, in a mosque.As you can see from the picture below, the Egyptian number 2 of Al Qaeda, al Zawahiri has one of these.Oddly, OBL does not.Neither did the

Does this coincide?

2005-03-07T09:44:00.000+02:00

A while back, I wrote a post post about how people relate to their own sex and the opposite sex. As I mentioned, I have always, even as a child, gotten along better with boys/men, and most of my close female friends tend to be the same.I came across this little quiz this morning which says about me:Your Brain is 53.33% Female, 46.67% MaleYour brain is a healthy mix of male and femaleYou are

The Massage Guy

2005-03-05T20:24:00.000+02:00

I know that I should really be making profound and interesting comments on life in a foreign country. But I'm too darned busy taking advantage of everything that this country has to offer, things that are sadly lacking in some of the other places that we have lived in. We were just back in Ain Soukhna for a long weekend (the kids and I), Mr. Right joined us on Thursday night, since Thursday is

How would you travel the world?

2005-03-01T08:53:00.000+02:00

A question for today...If you could travel the world doing any sort of "safari", what kind would you choose to do?I would do two sorts...A "Spa Safari" where you go from place to place experiencing the local varieties of how to pamper yourself, the different rituals involved from one culture to the next, and the different "formulas" for what they use on you. I would also do a "Gemstone Safari",

Now, I'm really mad!

2005-02-24T09:09:00.000+02:00

Spring is upon us here, the temperature during the day gets up to around 25 deg Celsius, and I was looking to pull out some of my littlest one's summer T-shirts and so on. They are NOT here. That b*tch of an ex-maid STOLE CLOTHES from my THREE YEAR OLD!!!!! What kind of a person STEALS FROM A THREE YEAR OLD??????????

A few pix from last weekend.

2005-02-22T18:04:00.000+02:00

About an hour's drive from Cairo on the Gulf of Suez is a place called "Ain Soukhna" which is perfect for nice "get out of town" weekends. While we were there, we decided to try the spa. It was the first time that I have had a "Thai massage", and for those of you who haven't tried this...don't! At least not unless you are into yoga. I thought the guy was going to dislocate my shoulders, I

Bad blogger, bad!

2005-02-16T13:37:00.000+02:00

I know that I haven't put fingers to keyboard for a while now, and I just wanted to let you all know that I am busy gathering fodder for future entries. But this week has been a bit crazy, first a friend of ours handed me three (!!!) projects to work on (yeah!!) one of them being due to be presented to their client on Monday and involving a lot of writing. Second, we have people in from Head

First impressions of a friend...

2005-02-10T16:14:00.000+02:00

An old friend of ours sent me an email today. She and her husband have recently moved to Angola. I don't remember if I've mentioned this lady in any of my previous posts or not, I remember having wanted to. She decided at about 22 that she wanted to see farther than her natal place, and spent about 15 years travelling down the West Coast of Africa by tramp steamer, stopping here and there to

Who would make your top five list?

2005-02-09T16:39:00.000+02:00

This post was inspired by someone who reads my blog, and who was watching a French TV channel last night. (Coucou, you know who you are) This station did a poll in France asking who the 50 most handsome men in the world were. She was rightly outraged that none of her favorites made the top five. I would have to agree. The top four that were chosen in France were as follows: 4 Brad Pitt 3

A good reason to use those GMail invites

2005-02-08T11:50:00.000+02:00

Dear Mr. Gates or whoever it is that has applied your new rules to using Hotmail in Outlook Express, Over the past several days, my blogging email address "africanuck at hotmail dot com" has been unavailable in my Outlook express, forcing me to go to the Hotmail site online and fill in a box "with the letters that I see" before being allowed into my Hotmail account. This is what your people/

Traffic

2005-02-07T16:34:00.000+02:00

Yes, I know, I just blogged about the traffic here, didn't I? This is about the other kind, the blog traffic kind. As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I finally got around to registering my blog with Blog Explosion. I can see from my stats that there are more people coming to my blog, but I can also see from my stats that the majority of these people just wait the required 30 seconds

DSL problems explained.

2005-02-06T19:18:00.000+02:00

To be brief: Fiber Optic phone lines. Like 3/4 of the neighborhood. Good thing that I went upstairs and asked the neighbors if they had managed to have DSL installed, because neither the DSL people, nor the phone people managed to come up with that one.

Safety first - not exactly a burning question here.

2005-02-06T10:58:00.000+02:00

Driving in Egypt. I don't know if I will end up having the nerve to do so, at least not unless I get myself an old, big, nasty looking but mechanically sound 4x4. I started out my driving "career" as a typical Canadian. I took driving lessons, I have never had a ticket, nor an accident which was my fault. I respect the rules of the road. So what do you do if there are no apparent rules?

Things that we're planning on doing while we are here.

2005-02-03T14:18:00.000+02:00

Aside from sitting on my butt, writing my blog that is... The Sharm el Sheik trip has, I think I mentioned, inspired us to take up diving again, something that we haven't done for a decade or so. Lots of Diving Clubs to choose from here, as you might imagine. This one came highly recommended by someone that we know here. SeaScapes I have FINALLY convinced Mr. Right that dance lessons would

Wild beasties

2005-01-31T14:57:00.000+02:00

Do you think these guys might eat small children?

Interesting attraction at the local zoo.

2005-01-30T13:02:00.000+02:00

Yesterday, it was about 30 degrees Celsius here. Windy and hot. I'm told that the Harmattan is about a week away, and that it lasts for about a month. It should be interesting to see how the local harmattan compares to that of another country in which we lived. There too, it lasted for about a month or so, and it was unbearably hot most of the time. Depending on how thick the sand is, maybe

High speed internet, slooooooooooooooooowly

2005-01-26T11:08:00.000+02:00

I have been waiting impatiently for the DSL line to be installed, which we ordered for the house about a month ago. This will be the first time that we have had it at home, since most of the places that we have lived didn't offer this service. Not only that, but we're having WiFi installed as well, something else that I've been greatly looking forward to. It's not going to be simple, I think..

Charm in Sharm

2005-01-24T11:35:00.000+02:00

This past weekend was "Eid", or the Sheep Sacrifice Feast that is celebrated 40 days after Ramadan. We took advantage of this long weekend to visit Sharm el Sheik, one of the diving hotspots of the world. First, I can confirm that the pilots (or at least our pilot) of EgyptAir are former Air Force pilots. While one of my "things to do before I die" is to fly in a fighter plane faster than

Sheep feast

2005-01-19T18:18:00.000+02:00

Gone to the beach for a few days, it's a long weekend here. See you all on Monday.

Square pegs, round holes...

2005-01-18T11:13:00.000+02:00

I'm guilty of it as much as the next person and this latest episode involving the maid, the guards and her mother is a good example of this. I, like most if not all of you, did not grow up with household help. To my egalitarian Western mind, the maid, the cook, the nanny, the guards are all pretty much equal, ie: They work for me, I am the boss and that is that. I, as is probably pretty

Today's events...and the conclusion of the thieving maid thing (I hope)

2005-01-17T11:35:00.000+02:00

Today found me rummaging through my little one's books looking for a picture of eggs, so that I could get the cook to order some in. I finally found one, and she and I had a good laugh over the means that are now necessary to communicate. I have also started a phonetic list of food items. The maid...and her mother Yesterday Mr. Right got involved. As it happens, shortly after the now ex-maid

A surprise in my inbox

2005-01-17T01:05:00.000+02:00

A big thanks to Bard Sinister who gifted me the last scrimshaw that she won and to Gus who did such a great job of it. Shall I rebaptize myself "Cleocanuck"? Cleocanuck

Update on the thieving maid.

2005-01-13T13:11:00.000+02:00

So, later on in the day, she called me saying "My mother (who works for a family upstairs) heard that there was a problem". I hadn't planned on doing this over the phone, because regardless of what she did, I don't fire people by phone, but this kind of forced my hand. So, I said "yes, there is a big problem, and I think it's better that you come and collect your belongings since I no longer

Well damn!

2005-01-11T17:31:00.000+02:00

One of the big benefits when you expat is that you can usually afford to have house staff. Something that I have been enjoying now for over a decade. From that point of view, the day we move back home, it's going to be tough to have to do all of the housework again, not to mention the ironing which I fear that I have completely forgotten how to do. The flipside of this is that you need to find

How do you relate to your own sex, and to the other sex?

2005-01-10T17:18:00.000+02:00

I was working on a post about how I usually find myself gravitating to the men's conversations at parties and such like, and if I don't pay attention I am soon in the midst of a group of guys trading stories on "the worst flight ever taken in Africa" or "horror stories about how you or someone you know got conned/stolen from/set up in XXX country". I would consider myself a man's woman, as I am

Question for you all.

2005-01-10T13:45:00.000+02:00

It occured to me while answering a comment here that for some reason I don't seem to be going through the usual extended culture shock bitchy period. What has changed this time compared to all of the other time? I have started blogging, that's what. Could it be that having somewhere to share what is going through your head and talk to others about it is theraputic? I think so, and so for this

Arghhhh!

2005-01-09T18:53:00.000+02:00

Today's depressing Google Search that brought someone to my blog..."My stomach was getting bulgy". You punch that in, I come up second. Yeah, and so what, didn't anyone else overindulge at Christmas? LOL

It's all a question of perspective.

2005-01-09T14:35:00.000+02:00

Well, we got back to Cairo early last night. Our driver has apparently decided that both Mr. Right and I are good luck people, since it was raining the night that Mr. Right arrived about a week ago, and it was also raining last night. That comment got me thinking about how everything is a matter of perspective. Rain in a desert country is good luck. In fact it has rained four times since I

Too big for words

2005-01-03T15:56:00.000+02:00

Have been “offline” or rather not able to blog for a couple of weeks due to traveling and so on. So much death and destruction in Asia, it’s hard to get your mind around it. Horrible images of grief stricken survivors and dead bodies, parents holding the lifeless body of their child in their arms, people looking for any sign that they might find a loved one alive somehow, by some miracle. My

Happy Holidays to all

2004-12-22T09:22:00.000+02:00

Yesterday, our air freight finally arrived, giving me something else to do that I don't have time for right now. My living room looks like a tornado hit it. Still, it was a little bit like Christmas a few days early, opening boxes and being reunited with the little things that will make our house feel more like home. The customs people here open EVERYTHING, and I do mean everything.

Stupid assumptions

2004-12-19T11:35:00.000+02:00

Last night, we were invited to a gathering at an Egyptian friend's house. Several things...time is a notion that changes from one country to the next. The invitation said 9 p.m. Not wanting to be the first to arrive, we got there at 9:30. And were the first to arrive. So, for future reference, here is how it works: 9 p.m. Canadian time = 9 p.m. 9 p.m. Parisian time = 10 p.m. 9 p.m. Egyptian

One down...

2004-12-16T11:40:00.000+02:00

I mentioned in a comment on someone else's blog a while back that each time I move, I go through a period of insecurity over "the new secretary". It doesn't get any easier as each birthday goes past either. It usually last about a month or two, (about the same time as the post-move bitchy period) and then I get over it. The worst was a couple of countries back when Mr. Right has a gorgeous

Random unconnected thoughts...

2004-12-15T09:59:00.000+02:00

We took the kids to see the Pyramids last weekend. We got out of the car at the first, and the little one (3 1/2) takes one look at the desert and says "We're at the beach"? Everyone can always get you something for cheaper than what you paid for it. Note to self: Do not discuss prices with anyone here. a) If they say they can get it for cheaper, it is probably because it is of cheaper

Got those "I hate shopping" Blues

2004-12-09T14:25:00.000+02:00

Or something like that today. And I haven't even started Christmas shopping yet. I am now on week 5 of forced shopping and am sick and tired of it. The apartment still looks empty, a vast soul-less place that I look at in despair, wondering when it will start to take on the feeling of home. I know that it probably sounds like heaven to go and furnish an apartment on someone else's money.

Is there a secret Agent in my garden?

2004-12-06T14:52:00.000+02:00

For any of you who read Pepito Smith's blog, you may remember a post in which Agent P turned into Swami P, and which seems to have disappeared from his blog now. In it, he was dressed in a somewhat creepy orange jumpsuit, creepy due to the latest trend in beheading gear of course. Well, in my new house, I have a gardener. As you can see, he is wearing a creepy orange jumpsuit. On closer

I don't know why this still bugs me, but it does.

2004-12-06T09:15:00.000+02:00

One of the constants about living in developing or semi-developed countries is a certain lack of consistency in prices and/or honesty in representing exactly what it is that is being sold. If any of you have gone on vacation to places like Mexico or any of the other South American countries, you'll know it as "Screw the gringo", elsewhere it is the same game, and it gets tiring. Having spent a

You don't know whether to laugh or get mad...

2004-11-27T22:22:00.000+02:00

My little one, who is 3 1/2 has developed a new game. "Needing" to go to the bathroom about 5 times during every meal that we eat in a restaurant. Now, since we have been in this hotel for about 3 weeks, and have a least breakfast and one other meal in the hotel each day (did I mention that I hate restaurants right now?), that means that she has visited the washrooms a total of about 200+ times

The Nile

2004-11-23T09:27:00.000+02:00

This is a river that is alive and very much part of the life here. I can’t help but compare it to the Seine in Paris, which somehow seems to have become something decorative rather than a living part of the city. I was sitting out on the balcony this morning having a coffee. They are still burning the rice husks, as there was a mist of smoke over the city that could have been mistaken for a

2004-11-19T16:54:00.000+02:00

And then this onePosted by Hello

2004-11-19T16:53:00.000+02:00

A few seconds laterPosted by Hello

2004-11-19T16:52:00.000+02:00

Tonight's sunsetPosted by Hello

Rollercoaster ride

2004-11-18T17:00:00.000+02:00

When you first move to a new country, usually you go through a stage of euphoria, followed by the crash, followed by what will be your normal state of mind. Yesterday, I felt the crash coming on big time. I guess that the frustrations build up bit by bit, the fact that the hotel doorman screwed you on the price of a taxi (they don't have meters here), that the next time you took one, you

2004-11-17T11:58:00.000+02:00

In the other direction, other pyramidsPosted by Hello

2004-11-17T11:57:00.000+02:00

View from the hotel Posted by Hello

Odd news of the day

2004-11-17T11:44:00.000+02:00

In the local paper this morning. Israel has lodged a diplomatic complaint with Jordan because "Jordanian pigeons" come into Eilat to crap. It is apparently a threat to Israeli tourism. Ok, so how do we know that these are in fact Jordanian pigeons, and not Israeli pigeons who infiltrate into Amman Jordan to eat, and then come back home to relieve themselves? Do they have little pigeon birth

So many things to say...

2004-11-15T22:50:00.000+02:00

Nice, friendly and so hospitable. Last weekend was the end of Ramadan, and here it is a 4 day weekend. Yesterday we were invited to spend the day at a Red Sea resort with some new friends. An hour’s drive from Cairo and you are at a nice sandy beach in front of a top class hotel sipping chilled red wine and having a picnic. In very good company too, I might add. All of the family is in