gotta get my nails did

I went with Elizabeth to get pedicures the other day. My usual place was packed so we went to the salon across the street from me where no one speaks English. It's a really nice salon and you can get a spa pedicure for less than $6. So Elizabeth picks out a nail polish color and the lady shakes her head and clicks her tongue. (this means NO in Arabic) The lady picks an entirely different color for her. Ok, whatever. So it's my turn to pick a color... I pick the same color that Elizabeth has on her toes. Lady shakes her head and clicks her tongue. No. No?? What?? She picks an entirely different color for me. What is this? I can't pick my own nail polish color? So bizarre. As everything in Egypt is. We laugh all the way home and always go back to my regular place that gives the BEST foot massage in the world.

a bunny story

The other day I had Bunny running around on my bed. I had my laptop on my bed which Bunny sometimes jumps on or tries to eat the cord. I left the room to get my phone and came back to a screen on my computer that said "End karat browsing now?" with Bunny sitting on top of the lap top. True story.

an Egypt story

I promised to post more funny stories, so here goes:

Some of my friends were sitting at a restaurant in Dahab. The restaurants in Dahab are all Bedoin style so you sit on the floor with pillows and stuff right on the beach. Like Thailand. So they were having dinner and these kids run up to the table next to them. Usually, whenever you leave the table, they always clear all the condiments, sugar, etc. Here is why. The table had not been cleared yet so the kids run up and grab the bottle of sugar and start chugging it! They are pouring the sugar in their mouths straight from the bottle! The waiter comes out and starts chasing them down the beach. They said it was one of the funniest things that has happened to them in Egypt. Only in Egypt.

the guy who follows you home

Two of my friends were walking home one day from dinner. Wait, let me preface this story. Sexual harrassment can be a major headache in Cairo. Egyptian men for whatever reason like to harrass Western women aka Whiteys. For example, getting your ass grabbed by a random man on the street is not unusual. Last year I had a cop grab my boob at a soccer game which ended with Owen punching him in the face. Another story for another day. About 2 weeks ago, one of my girl friends ordered food (very typical) and the delivery guy asked to use the restroom. She said yes knowing that there aren't public restrooms in Egypt. He comes out of the bathroom, looks at her and says "You are beautiful. I want to f*ck you." Yes, that happened. And that doesn't surprise me. So let's begin the story.....
Two of my friends are walking home from dinner at night in the dark down a Cairo street. This guy on a bike starts following them and saying something that sounds like "fuuu". They keep walking faster and start complaining in English how annoying and gross Egyptian men are. This guy keeps up next to them. One friend turns and yells (in English) "YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE!" They keep walking. He continues to follow and begins to reach for them. They turn and one yells at him "F*CK YOU!! GET AWAY FROM US NOW!! WE WILL CALL THE COPS!!" Hoping this will cause a scene and deter him from approaching any further. They run down the street. He is still after them. They run into a jewelry store. Suddenly, one friend says...."I think I left my takeaway box at the restaurant." Yes, that was a waiter from the restaurant who followed them home for 15 minutes trying to return their takeaway box to them. They both feel ridiculously embarrassed. Later they call the restaurant to explain. The restaurant sends that same guy to deliver the food. At this point he is terrified to even come near the door of the flat. Things aren't always what they seem.

The Sheep Story

I used to think that only funny/embarrassing things happened to me. Turns out I was wrong. I want to write more funny stories on here because there's pretty much a funny story each week. I will begin with a story that happened last November during the Eid break. This story is completely true as far as I know. Nothing has been added just for the humor. Let me start and explain what this Eid was all about. It's the Eid-Al-Adha which is known as the Festival of Sacrifice. This means that everyone slits the necks of goats and other animals freely on the streets for days at a time. Luckily, I've been out of town during this both years. Hamdullah! (Praise be to God) But we did see a cow tied up outside a home in Luxor and then later we saw the blood covering the same house. They (Those A-rabs) really like to sacrifice their animals on top of their belongings such as cars and homes for good luck or whatever. Well, this is where the story starts..... There is a man named Dan. Let's just call him Dan to save his reputation. Dan is at home in Cairo during the Eid. He looks outside his apartment and sees below a few sheep tied to the building. After a few drinks, he decides that he is going to "rescue" one of these sheep. He goes downstairs and unties a sheep leading him up to his apartment. Not sure what happens next, but the sheep freaks out, comes untied, runs through his apartment, out the balcony doors, and plunges off the balcony to his death. Yes, the sheep is dead. Dan is freaking out. So he calls....one of our principals. Yes, his boss. He tells her what he has done and asks for advice. She tells him to talk to the boyab ('keeper of the building'- basically the security guard). The boyab is furious at what he has done and demands that he pays for a new sheep. Sure enough, a new sheep arrives in the back of a taxi cab. Taxis are not big here at all. The thought of a sheep in the back of a taxi is pretty funny. But that's not where the story ends....Owen has a connection to this story. When we were on our Nile Cruise he received a text from someone that said "There's a sheep in my backyard. What should I do?" And Owen thinking this was Tao texting him who is from New Zealand writes back "Shouldn't you know what to do with sheep. Just do what your people do with sheep." This is a dirty reference to Kiwis and the infamous reputation they have with their sheep. So the question is...did Owen encourage Dan to bring the sheep upstairs? I hope so because this story made me laugh aloud for a long time.

Resolutions...updated.

1. I lost a kilo last week!
2. Maybe....we'll see. Lacking motivation.
3. I've been cleaner now. However, I still leave a big mess for Hanan.
4. Yeah, not so much.
5. Going to India next weekend, Lebanon in Feb, and bought tickets to Spain for Spring Break...
6. Yes! I've only eaten out like 3 times last week.
7. Learned how to cook pizza.
8. I'm doing it.
9. Haven't even picked the guitar up.
10. I made a new friend! And I LOVE love love my friends here. It will be hard to leave in June...

New Year's Resolutions (because I have to)

1. Lose weight. Get in shape.
2. Run another marathon. Prague in May?
3. Try to keep things cleaner and not just wait for the maid to do it.
4. Learn and use more Arabic than just 'saba el khair, henna, shokran masalama' to the delivery guy.
5. Travel to at least 5 new countries. (I went to 15 countries last year so I'm sure this will be an easy goal)
6. Eat out less and cook more.
7. Learn to cook so I won't eat out as much.
8. Update the blog more. (done.)
9. Learn to play guitar.
10. Make new friends (and keep the old!)

Ooops!!

So I started to boil some eggs. Then my roommate came home. We ended up talking for awhile. Then some friends randomly came over. We talked for awhile. Everyone left. I heard a weird popping sound. Totally forgot about the eggs! Run to the kitchen and find that the eggs are boiled and cracked up. No water left in the pot. Ooops!

Has it really been that long???

Has it really been since October that I've written on this? Wow, time flies! Since then, I've been on a Nile Cruise, Malaysia, Singapore, and now Thailand. Sooo New Year's Resolution will be to update the blog at least once a week..... or maybe just have a trip because that's all you really care about, right? :) I didn't bring my laptop on this trip like a dummy so I haven't put the pics up yet because of that. Thailand is pretty much effing amazing. Everyone I know who has ever come to visit has always said that, but it's totally true. Believe everything you hear. We started our 3 week vacay in Kuala Lumpor, Malayasia. I've heard that it's a big, crowded, dirty city. Not true coming from Cairo. Everything was orderly and clean. China Town was really nice. Very tame compared to the Khan-alKahlil in Cairo. Not much to see there, so we flew to Singapore for a few job interviews. Looks like that's where I'll be in August 2010! Not sure yet which school, we're waiting on a school to run background checks and stuff before they can offer the contract! Hope it all works out! Absolutely loved Singapore! We hung out with a few of Owen's friends there. Had a little BBQ and social gatherings at the pool.... felt like anywhere in North America. Then flew over to a remote island off of Phuket. I have no idea what island it is and I couldn't find it on the map. We took a night boat in total darkness and landed on the beach. The locals came over and carried all of our stuff to the cabins. These pics are pretty amazing. We stayed basically in this jungle. Good thing the food was really good, because there was only 1 restaurant on the whole island. We met a really lovely Irish couple, Jane and Allen, and ended up having dinner and drinks with them each night. We had a great Christmas with them. After 5 days there, we took a boat, bus, and ferry over to Koh Phangan to meet up with 3 friends. We were only going to stay here for 5 days and then check out another island, but we like it so much we're gonna stay the entire time. The beaches are beautiful white sand beaches, the food is incredible, the people very friendly and the massages so cheap! We were here for the infamous Full Moon Party on Haad Rin Beach. It's bascially like Mardi Gras once a month....but it was also New Year's Eve so there were something like 20,000 people at this beach party. It was surprising how tame it was considering the large amount of people. The tide is very far out so that's what makes the beach so roomy and the moon is so bright you can see everything so well. Loved it. We were definitely some of the older people at the beach, but it was still so much fun. I don't have pics of this because I was told to leave my camera at home. Really wish I had pics, but I'm sure if you google full moon party and koh phangan then you'll get some great pics of what it was like. There were lots of fire performers, fireworks, and these things that you set on fire and they float away in the air. They looked like lanterns. It's supposed to represent all the bad things from the year before are burning away. We even saw a ladyboy which I was very excited about! A drunk guy with a santa hat was making out with the ladyboy totally unaware that was a not a cute Thai girl. We all had a good laugh at his expense. Most days are the same- sleep in, breakfast, watch Animal Planet or CNN, beach, reading, nap at the pool, thai massage, shopping or lunch in town or on the beach (we have scooters!), a beer or 2, maybe another nap, sunset and cocktails, dinner out on the beach, cards or games on the balcony. Tough life. It's hard to imagine it being cold everywhere else in the world. Hope everyone had a great Christmas and Happy New Year's!