I read this article, “Egypt: the surreal painting” by Tarek Osman, and was pleasantly surprised. It did not paint the usual PollyAnna optimistic fallacy that is frequently expressed about the politics, social agendas and future of the country. It, in my not so humble opinion, spoke clearly and truthfully about the past, present and future… Continue reading Egypt as a metaphor
Seasonal food
Jack posted recently about eating seasonally, in reference to an OUTSTANDING Tomato Lime soup from the Moosewood. We have come across certain recipes, over the years, that we really enjoy during “season”. Egypt is all about season. Eat the mangoes/figs/apricots when they are in season, then you don’t have them for another 3 or 4… Continue reading Seasonal food
How did I get HERE?
I often wonder that….. If someone had asked me 10, 15 years ago, where will you be? What will you be doing? The current reality is NOT what I would have described. The funny thing is that, although I frequently bemoan the tribulations of the day, I also truly enjoy what I’m doing. I am… Continue reading How did I get HERE?
What’s the difference?
Jack and I began taking Arabic lessons as soon as we arrived. I have had a number of different tutors, gone to a language school for “intensive” Arabic, and have amused my co-workers with my attempts to speak their language. From the beginning, Arabic has been a challenge. First, it reads from right to left… Continue reading What’s the difference?
Other perspectives
“A City Where You Can’t Hear Yourself Scream” is a NYT piece on Cairo. I received it today from my father, with a note: “Dear Kate & Jack – Thought you’d find this interesting. Your apartment must have very good windows and thick walls. Love, Dad” As I wrote back, we DO have very thick… Continue reading Other perspectives
Lucky Girl
4 April 2008 Frequently one has opportunities thrust upon them, merely by chance, right-place right-time, connections, whatever. I realized today that I have had a number of these while in Egypt, that seemed “normal” due to the circumstances, but really aren’t. I’ll eventually catch up with posting some of them, but I’ll start with today.… Continue reading Lucky Girl
Friends and Visitors
We are truly blessed! We have been in Egypt less than 2 years, and have had an INCREDIBLE number of visitors! No kidding. We have had more visitors than many of our friends, who have been here for upwards of 5 to 10 years! We could account for this in a couple of ways: We… Continue reading Friends and Visitors
Plumbing – deux
So, the housing guys “fixed” our plumbing. With MORE goop. I ran the dishwasher, it seemed to function properly, but the water would not drain out of the bottom. This meant that the soapy water never went away, it just kept getting thrown all over the dishes. All the dishes were slimy with soap scum.… Continue reading Plumbing – deux
Plumbing
Plumbing in Egypt is…..interesting. Appropriate elbow joints, couplers and teflon tape are NOT standard gear here. Flexible tubing, masking tape and silicone goop are the norm. We have a dishwasher in our kitchen that has gone through many iterations of “add more goop” to keep it from leaking all over the kitchen. It has been… Continue reading Plumbing
You can never have TOO much
As people visit, they begin to think about things to bring home. Presents for friends, presents for themselves, artworks and memories. Inevitably the conundra (don’t know if this is actually the plural of conundrum…) of packing space and cash outlay rear their ugly heads and people begin “trimming” their list of “must-buys”. Another inevitability is… Continue reading You can never have TOO much