amoetspes: 2008

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Pumpkin on the Ceiling

This fall I decided to enjoy autumn even though it doesn't exist here. One way I did that was by carving pumpkins as seen in an earlier post. Another way I thought I should create an atmosphere of autumn, was by buying a 15 lb. pumpkin and processing it for pies, etc. So I did. I ended up with tons of beautiful bright orange pumpkin flesh to freeze and use in pies etc. all year 'round. After dividing my spoils into several jars to freeze, I put all of the remaining pumpkin into a large plastic tub, and turned to carry it across the kitchen and to my deep-freeze.

I hit an uneven tile on the way. I went down. The tub went up. Pumpkin went everywhere.

I told the story to John when he came home from work. I had cleaned my face, clothes, the floor and the walls, so there was very little evidence let of my disaster. He felt bad and hugged me in sympathy. As I reached up to receive the sympathetic hug I got a look at the ceiling. Unfortunately I did photograph it. It was covered in bright orange spatter. It looked like a Jackson Pollock work. I had to sponge mop my ceiling.

Shots from the Car

These are a few random shots from the car window. Just a glimpse of life here.

We can see the pyramids without going too far from home. This is while we were driving in Giza.

This is a typical street in Cairo.

This lady is pretty talented. As are most women here. They work hard and balance many things on their heads!

Anafora Weekend.

Early November we had a long weekend. John and I and Heather and Kelvin decided to take the opportunity to get out of Cairo and breathe fresh air for a while. Heather, Kelvin and I all love Anafora, but John had never been, so we thought this was a great chance to take him.

When we got there John and I found that one of the stained glass skylights in our room had broken. Kelvin went up to try to fix it, and of course John couldn't let Kelvin have all the fun up there by himself.

So the boys decided to play on the roof.

And soon we all ended up on the roof.

The view from above was lovely. I love the date palms, they remind me what an exotic place I live in. They are so beautiful.

We spent the weekend resting, eating amazing Egyptian food fresh from the farm, walking among the greenery, and just spending time together. It was really nice. Before we left the four of us had a chance to share and pray together. It was a time that all of us needed.

And way too quickly the weekend came to and end, and we had to say good bye to the farm once again.

Intro to the Catch-up

Ok, so I'm on Christmas holiday, and I finally have time to get on the computer and catch up on all of this stuff without the feeling of guilt that I get while school's in session because I should be doing a million other things. That was a huge run-on and I teach English. Anyway, I am going to try to catch up in chronological order. One blog after another. This may take me a couple of days, since the internet is pretty slow in the region right now, but I'll do my best.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Have you ever... the new and improved

I realized that some of the things that I had overlooked on here were complete falsehoods about my life. They may apply to another, but not to me. Therefor I had edited and elaborated.

(Bold the things you've actually done.)

And I will elaborate on some for your viewing pleasure.

1. Started your own blog - tada! Sorry that I am not so good at keeping it up.
2. Slept under the stars - in the dessert
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain - Mount Sinai. Ugh talk about sore legs!
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped - not officially
12. Visited Paris - Someday
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea - Beautiful!
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning - You can't avoid it in some of the places I've been
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty - I've been as far up as they let you go
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train - Everytime I went from Bangkok to Chiang Mai
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb - and I run into them semi-frequently as they are herded down the road on my way home from school
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice - I will when we visit my hubby's family there!
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise - I've been on a ferry!
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community - my father tried to make me wear coffee filters on my head to fit in!
36. Taught yourself a new language - My Arabic is pretty rough, but I manage life here
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied - It doesn't take much. I've always had enough
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person - My hubby has (I'm jealous)
39. Gone rock climbing - in India (it wasn't too extreme though)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke -In Thailand my adult students thought it was hilarious to take me out to Karaoke bars and make me sing. I actually just attended a Karaoke Party at one of my student's houses two night ago. My voice is BAD.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt - when I was ten, and now I teach it!
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant - usually by the end of the meal they aren't strangers.
44. Visited Africa - I live here.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight - on so many beaches...
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted - a friend of mine did a charcoal, does that count?
48. Gone deep sea fishing - Went bay Fishing. Caught a puffer. Went deep sea diving. Does that count?
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris - whoever wrote this was all about France
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling - Oh yeah!!! Love them both!
52. Kissed in the rain - kissed the rain, kissed the ground, kissed a tree. (I was very happy to be home.)
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater -
55. Been in a movie - do home videos count?
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business - have attempted, it's not easy.
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen - There was no soup involved.
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies - I don't sell them, I eat them.
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason - Who needs a reason for flowers?
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt - I'd like too.
73. Stood in Times Square - on New Years Day during my honeymoon, sigh.
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London - I've seen it in Thailand.
77. Broken a bone - do chicken bones count?
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book - The college yearbook when I was editor, does that count?
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper - I was photographed and interviewed by the AP after the tsunami, does that count?
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life - it's all part of teaching the swimming unit at our school.
90. Sat on a jury - Only in my classroom
91. Met someone famous - I guess that depends on what you consider famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit I had to sue my husband to marry me here in Egypt. Long stor short: I won.
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Pumpkins!

Here in Egypt we don't have autumn. It is incredibly sad, I know, but it's true. Egypt has two seasons: Hot and dusty, and cool and occasionally muddy. That's it.

For those of us who grew up in a climate where there are four distinct seasons, it's strange to live in a land without that. Therefor it is absolutely necessary that we keep some of our traditions alive and pretend that autumn exists (after all it is autumn somewhere). Land week some of the teachers at my school and I did just that. We decided to carve pumpkins! Wendy had us all over to her flat, where she had been preparing goodies like doughnuts and hot mulled cider. We each brought a pumpkin with us, and we set to carving.

Wendy our host dug out the seeds to roast before she began work on her masterpiece. She later dug out a lot of the flesh as well and made delightful pumpkin treats out of it.

Gabriela's pumpkin had partially rotted between the time that she purchased it and our carving party. She wasn't bothered much though. She cut out all of the flesh to cook with and then salvaged the rest.

Unfortunately she was stationed next to me for all of this. I was getting a little crazy with my knife, and getting a few strange and somewhat frightened looks from her.

I was attempting to carve a pyramid scene with a camel in the foreground, a tribute to my new country, but I kept cutting my camel's tail off and he kept getting thinner and thinner with each new attempt at a tail.

Nichole carved a happy pumpkin face.

I attempt yet another tail for my poor camel.

We called Heather's cheerful little guy Gill.

Gabriela tried to make what was left of her pumpkin into a wig. That didn't work out very well, so eventually she carved a tree and some jagged mountains and placed it next to my Pyramid scene and called it Lebanon.