Saturday, 27 June 2009
Friday, 26 June 2009
A few recent things
A few days ago we had our first cockroach. And it was massive! Well, to me it seemed huge, but maybe that's because we haven't seen any in the apartment before. I don't like spiders sometimes, so I wasn't looking forward to bugs out here. I wasn't too bad with this bug though - I think it was because he was right in the middle of a white floor and moving quite slowly. As long as any more do that too, I don't mind.
He was just walking across the kitchen floor when I was getting the breakfast juice one morning. I sprayed him with the vicious bug spray we have and left him to whither there for a bit. Maybe there was a more humane way of dealing with him, but when it comes to bugs I don't want to risk it.
I'm recognised down at the near-by supermarket, Save Way, now. I get our water from there, and whenever I go in now they ask if we want water - even if I only got some the day before! They also know where we live, so as long as the main delivery man is there I don't need to write my address down. The latest perk though is when I have been buying fruit and veg. They pre-pack some of their veg, so I tend to buy a pack of carrots or courgettes, and then a few potatoes and a few onions. I like to buy one meal at a time, as it is so close to buy more and I don't want to waste food. So the latest perk is that after they have weighed my carrots and potatoes, they give me the onions for free!
He was just walking across the kitchen floor when I was getting the breakfast juice one morning. I sprayed him with the vicious bug spray we have and left him to whither there for a bit. Maybe there was a more humane way of dealing with him, but when it comes to bugs I don't want to risk it.
I'm recognised down at the near-by supermarket, Save Way, now. I get our water from there, and whenever I go in now they ask if we want water - even if I only got some the day before! They also know where we live, so as long as the main delivery man is there I don't need to write my address down. The latest perk though is when I have been buying fruit and veg. They pre-pack some of their veg, so I tend to buy a pack of carrots or courgettes, and then a few potatoes and a few onions. I like to buy one meal at a time, as it is so close to buy more and I don't want to waste food. So the latest perk is that after they have weighed my carrots and potatoes, they give me the onions for free!
Thursday, 25 June 2009
The Amazing Game of Egypt
We found this postcard on our way to the Hacienda beach resort.
The back of the postcard is totally blank, so if anyone can fill us in with what exactly the "amazing game of Egypt" is, then please do....answers on a postcard please :)
Wednesday, 24 June 2009
UKNova Radio - 21st June 2009
Today's show was broadcast on Father's Day, so what better way to celebrate it than by inviting a friend who was celebrating his first Father's Day as a daddy - and then calling our own dads to hear their choices for Desert City Disks . Enjoy!
Download podcast here.
Alternatively, stay on this website and listen to the show in the MP3 player below:
Download podcast here.
Alternatively, stay on this website and listen to the show in the MP3 player below:
Sunday, 21 June 2009
Vitamins
Shaking the jar gives more of a high-pitched rattle this morning, than a low rumble. I look inside. We are down to just four vitamin tablets. The shops here do sell most things we could want/need, and a lot of things are imported, so they are available, just really expensive. But vitamins were one thing we didn't ever find. In November, our first visitors, Fabia and Sam brought us out a few jars of vitamins and these have lasted us all this time. Vitamins are already on our list of things to buy in the UK to bring back in August, along with sun tan lotion, after sun and fly papers!
Four tablets left. This means we can each have one today, Sunday, and tomorrow, Monday, then they are all gone. No problem though - as tomorrow is the last day we have kids around, so perfect timing really!
Four tablets left. This means we can each have one today, Sunday, and tomorrow, Monday, then they are all gone. No problem though - as tomorrow is the last day we have kids around, so perfect timing really!
Saturday, 20 June 2009
Hot, hot and a haircut
It's our last weekend in Cairo before we head to Blighty for the summer so I had a few chores to do today.
I first needed to pick up a microwave and fan from a friend who is leaving Cairo this year. It was around 11am so warm, but not the full heat of the day just yet. Luckily he was a gentleman and carried the microwave downstairs, but after the taxi I carried it up to our third floor apartment. We know that it is hot here, but I was absolutely drenched in sweat by the time I got into the apartment! Hot, hot, hot!!!
I then got drenched again coming home from Road 9 where I had to pick up a few things. It's a nice walk along the backstreets, so I don't like to get a taxi unless things are really heavy, but at 2.30pm the sun was pretty much straight on me for the whole way. Got back and stood in front of the air con whilst drinking some cold water. That sorted me out.
I also managed to get my hair cut today. I'd tried a place on Road 9 run by a German lady recommended by a friend at school, and that was fine, but thought I'd try somewhere different this time. This place was very Egyptian and I'm glad I had a picture with me of me with shorter hair to show him as we didn't share much language!! This was a quick deal with no hair-washing, just a few squirts with a water spray before he got down to the job. He asked if I wanted it straight or .....I'm not sure what the other option was, but I went for straight, but gestured that I wanted some more length/weight off the back. He understood, but his method for achieving this was very different from what I expected. He took a cut-throat razor and used that to cut the back part of my hair, only changing to scissors once he got round to the front....interesting.....it turned out OK and he asked if I was happy - I was - then asked if I wanted it washed (surely that happens first) or dried. I thought a quick dry would be good but this was where our communication system broke down. Why didn't I use "schweya", Arabic for "a bit"?? As I got a full-blown ('scuse the pun) bouffant with lots of back-combing and rolls, instead of the quick once over with a hair drier that I'd imagined. I'll learn for next time.
I first needed to pick up a microwave and fan from a friend who is leaving Cairo this year. It was around 11am so warm, but not the full heat of the day just yet. Luckily he was a gentleman and carried the microwave downstairs, but after the taxi I carried it up to our third floor apartment. We know that it is hot here, but I was absolutely drenched in sweat by the time I got into the apartment! Hot, hot, hot!!!
I then got drenched again coming home from Road 9 where I had to pick up a few things. It's a nice walk along the backstreets, so I don't like to get a taxi unless things are really heavy, but at 2.30pm the sun was pretty much straight on me for the whole way. Got back and stood in front of the air con whilst drinking some cold water. That sorted me out.
I also managed to get my hair cut today. I'd tried a place on Road 9 run by a German lady recommended by a friend at school, and that was fine, but thought I'd try somewhere different this time. This place was very Egyptian and I'm glad I had a picture with me of me with shorter hair to show him as we didn't share much language!! This was a quick deal with no hair-washing, just a few squirts with a water spray before he got down to the job. He asked if I wanted it straight or .....I'm not sure what the other option was, but I went for straight, but gestured that I wanted some more length/weight off the back. He understood, but his method for achieving this was very different from what I expected. He took a cut-throat razor and used that to cut the back part of my hair, only changing to scissors once he got round to the front....interesting.....it turned out OK and he asked if I was happy - I was - then asked if I wanted it washed (surely that happens first) or dried. I thought a quick dry would be good but this was where our communication system broke down. Why didn't I use "schweya", Arabic for "a bit"?? As I got a full-blown ('scuse the pun) bouffant with lots of back-combing and rolls, instead of the quick once over with a hair drier that I'd imagined. I'll learn for next time.
La Hacienda
We wanted a bit of sun, a bit of a rest and chance to chill out before the end of term and flying home for the summer. A group of us hired a minibus for the three-hour drive onto the Sinai to get to the Hacienda resort on Thursday after school for a two-night break.
Friday, 19 June 2009
Beep, beep, be-be-beep
This evening Egypt played Italy in the Confederations Cup. Having narrowly lost 3-4 against Brazil the other night, everyone was rather excited about the match being a possible win. Now, we don't have TV (satellite or otherwise), so rely on t'internet for our viewing. However, the BBC live stream of the match on their website isn't - ironically - available for us to watch over here. So we've sat waiting to be told the result.
Judging by the incessant noise of the car horns for the past 3 hours, I think we won.
Judging by the incessant noise of the car horns for the past 3 hours, I think we won.
Monday, 8 June 2009
Swine Flu in Egypt
A couple of months behind everyone else Egypt has, over the past week, confirmed its first cases of swine flu. All three are from visitors arriving from the USA. I wonder if Mr Obama was swabbed and had his temperature taken by a masked nurse when he visited?
Friday, 5 June 2009
Thursday, 4 June 2009
Tuesday, 2 June 2009
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