It's that time of year...when Spring has Sprung, teachers everywhere begin their countdowns.
Even though it is likely going to snow 'back home' this week (umm....it's almost APRIL! Thanks a lot, ashcloud!), the sun is shining longer and dreams of summer are percolating.
I've lost *nearly* 20 lbs (I was struggling with the last 5 lbs; thanks a lot, food poisoning!) so Bali is looking brighter; but in the meantime there are some happy events on the calendar:
3 days to the first felucca of the season
4 days to the Book Fair in Tahrir/AUC
10 days to horseback riding
17 days to Spring Break!
3 months to catching up with the peeps in Honland!
YAY for Spring!
All photographs were taken by, and are copyright of, the blogger.
28 March 2011
25 March 2011
The Book Made Me Do It
Two summers ago, as I wandered around Eastern Europe all by my lonesome for two weeks, I had a lot of time to read. Finding English language books was difficult, but I was desperate, and this is what lead me to Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.
I had resisted this book. Many people, most of whom do not share similar literary tastes to me, had recommended this book so much that I had a dislike for it without knowing what it was. Talk shows and magazines liked to herald the author for her spirit of adventure and self-discovery - and this gal living in
EGYPT was like "um...been there, done that."
Anyway, I picked it up in Budapest where I was lingering over long, rainy Summer day lunches of stews and salads and read it in a few days. It turned out to be just the book to eat long, hearty, rainy Summer day lunches by.
Fastforward a few years. I've been back to Italy twice since reading Eat, Pray, Love. I have a trip to Bali planned for July. (note: I still have no interest in visiting an Ashram in India) I had a trip to Cyprus planned for Easter vacation: it's close, has good wine and Cadbury chocolate eggs, and is chock-full of historic sites. I've been there the past two Springs and it is a budget vacation compared to going further afield.
Then I watched the movie adaptation of EPL the other night. Every shot of Rome, or food, or food in Rome, caused me to audibly gasp. My travel buddy and I were meant to book our flights to Cyprus yesterday, but I decided to innocently search for flights to Rome before we went to the travel agent - and discovered they cost only 500 LE more ($85 by yesterday's exchange rate). Hotels were not much more a night. There is no car to hire. They have cheap good wine, too.
So, ok, maybe it's crazy, but I'll be spending part of the week leading up to Easter in Rome (likely the busiest time of year there), and the rest exploring the Amalfi coast. There are visits to Pompeii and Capri in the plan, as well.
But really, most of the trip is about this:
I had resisted this book. Many people, most of whom do not share similar literary tastes to me, had recommended this book so much that I had a dislike for it without knowing what it was. Talk shows and magazines liked to herald the author for her spirit of adventure and self-discovery - and this gal living in
EGYPT was like "um...been there, done that."Anyway, I picked it up in Budapest where I was lingering over long, rainy Summer day lunches of stews and salads and read it in a few days. It turned out to be just the book to eat long, hearty, rainy Summer day lunches by.
Fastforward a few years. I've been back to Italy twice since reading Eat, Pray, Love. I have a trip to Bali planned for July. (note: I still have no interest in visiting an Ashram in India) I had a trip to Cyprus planned for Easter vacation: it's close, has good wine and Cadbury chocolate eggs, and is chock-full of historic sites. I've been there the past two Springs and it is a budget vacation compared to going further afield.
Then I watched the movie adaptation of EPL the other night. Every shot of Rome, or food, or food in Rome, caused me to audibly gasp. My travel buddy and I were meant to book our flights to Cyprus yesterday, but I decided to innocently search for flights to Rome before we went to the travel agent - and discovered they cost only 500 LE more ($85 by yesterday's exchange rate). Hotels were not much more a night. There is no car to hire. They have cheap good wine, too.
So, ok, maybe it's crazy, but I'll be spending part of the week leading up to Easter in Rome (likely the busiest time of year there), and the rest exploring the Amalfi coast. There are visits to Pompeii and Capri in the plan, as well.
But really, most of the trip is about this:
18 March 2011
Walk had to be cut short...
Note to self: do not blog about, what you believe to be the by-gone days of, food poisoning . Two hours later you will find yourself back in bed on a beautiful Friday morning, sipping flat ginger-ale, and clutching your stomach in agony. Remember: the pharaoh is always listening.
A Note on Life in Egypt TODAY
The weather is beautiful; it's just warming up here. The sky is blue, the Nile a deep Navy, and the breeze intoxicating.
...and I'm going out for a WALK.
...and I'm going out for a WALK.
The Consequences of Reading about Real Life
There comes a point when knowing too much becomes a hazard. When knowing the political turmoil behind a single rose strips that rose of its beauty and intent. When, having read the statistics about fuel consumption for food mobility, you deny yourself your favorite foods, and become bitter that the aromatic shrimp dish being enjoyed by your dining companion is not placed in front of you. When your culinary hero comes off as a bit of a pretentious social-climber and you wonder if your fandom has been wasted.
I have read exclusively non-fiction this year. I think though, there comes a point, where your abilities of reason need to kick-in.
I absolutely loved Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. It made me think very much about seasonality and local sustainability. I believe these are VERY important things to address. By eating seasonally available, local ingredients I’m supporting local farmers. I’ve ridden through these farmers’ fields, I’ve seen them hard at work, often using the same tools that their ancestors used - scythes and hoes, donkeys and wooden carts. I love being able to support these farmers and their families in the villages around (and even in the center of) Cairo.
However, while I support these ideas, I cannot let them completely rule my life (which, fortunately, Kingsolver acknowledges in her book). Sometimes, I want a Granny Smith apple - formerly of Massachusetts - in my belly in Cairo. Shrimp and seafood are staples of my diet; unfortunately, despite the inviting deep-blue of the Nile outside my window right now, I’ve read enough (and experienced enough) of the consequences on the Western tummy of eating Nile fish that I know the locavore seafood option won’t work for me. (Nor will switching to a poultry-meat only diet). I’m still going to eat my Vietnamese shrimp, my New Zealand mussels, and my Australian fish as long as it is available. I’m sure the people who work in those industries, and the import/export industry, appreciate my patronage, too.
I’ve just finished Wildflower by Mark Seal. This was a biography of Joan Root, a wildlife filmmaker and conservationist in Kenya. The story was captivating and Root comes across as an amazing woman - and the Kenyan flower industry is painted the villain - with roses the source of all the evils in Root’s world.
So should I not buy roses? or Asparagus in Winter? (or Julia Child’s cookbooks?)
No. I should be aware of these issues; and do my part to ensure a healthier planet by eating locally when I CAN (not just when it suits me, but to supplement my diet everywhere reasonable), and I can ask for baladi (local) roses at my flower man (he usually gives me the local organic roses anyway, because he knows I prefer their scent - and they all cost the same - less than $4 a dozen). These are small steps I can take that won’t disrupt my daily routine. Maybe they won’t make a huge impact - but small steps by an individual can’t hurt. (as for Julia Child - I just can’t shake my love for recipes and sass - even if, in her letters, she comes across as a snob.)
In the end, I’m not going to stop reading non-fiction, and learning from it; but I am too much the critical thinker and individual to let what I read rule my life.
I have read exclusively non-fiction this year. I think though, there comes a point, where your abilities of reason need to kick-in.
I absolutely loved Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. It made me think very much about seasonality and local sustainability. I believe these are VERY important things to address. By eating seasonally available, local ingredients I’m supporting local farmers. I’ve ridden through these farmers’ fields, I’ve seen them hard at work, often using the same tools that their ancestors used - scythes and hoes, donkeys and wooden carts. I love being able to support these farmers and their families in the villages around (and even in the center of) Cairo.
However, while I support these ideas, I cannot let them completely rule my life (which, fortunately, Kingsolver acknowledges in her book). Sometimes, I want a Granny Smith apple - formerly of Massachusetts - in my belly in Cairo. Shrimp and seafood are staples of my diet; unfortunately, despite the inviting deep-blue of the Nile outside my window right now, I’ve read enough (and experienced enough) of the consequences on the Western tummy of eating Nile fish that I know the locavore seafood option won’t work for me. (Nor will switching to a poultry-meat only diet). I’m still going to eat my Vietnamese shrimp, my New Zealand mussels, and my Australian fish as long as it is available. I’m sure the people who work in those industries, and the import/export industry, appreciate my patronage, too.
I’ve just finished Wildflower by Mark Seal. This was a biography of Joan Root, a wildlife filmmaker and conservationist in Kenya. The story was captivating and Root comes across as an amazing woman - and the Kenyan flower industry is painted the villain - with roses the source of all the evils in Root’s world.
So should I not buy roses? or Asparagus in Winter? (or Julia Child’s cookbooks?)
No. I should be aware of these issues; and do my part to ensure a healthier planet by eating locally when I CAN (not just when it suits me, but to supplement my diet everywhere reasonable), and I can ask for baladi (local) roses at my flower man (he usually gives me the local organic roses anyway, because he knows I prefer their scent - and they all cost the same - less than $4 a dozen). These are small steps I can take that won’t disrupt my daily routine. Maybe they won’t make a huge impact - but small steps by an individual can’t hurt. (as for Julia Child - I just can’t shake my love for recipes and sass - even if, in her letters, she comes across as a snob.)
In the end, I’m not going to stop reading non-fiction, and learning from it; but I am too much the critical thinker and individual to let what I read rule my life.
04 March 2011
If Oprah can do it, So Can I
There is a bit of rumor that Oprah is apparently coming to Cairo in the next few weeks to help revive the tourism industry. (update: according to the international press, this is not actually happening. *sigh*)
Last weekend, two friends went to the Khan el Khalili to do some shopping and support our regular vendors - they saw only one other Westerner the entire day. While traffic is back to near-normal opposite-of-flow; the utter lack of tourist busses, inappropriately dressed tourists (seriously, I've seen people in bikinis in the Egyptian Museum), and feluccas sailing down the Nile is disheartening to say the least (well, maybe not the bikinis, but the rest of it). What are the local people who support their families off the tourist industry to do while they wait for the tourists to return?
As I live here, I've done the tourist bits lots - both with visitors and as a curious individual. Once a year, I try to get horseback riding (more if it's possible). I'm a huge fan of Maryanne Stroud Gabbani's blogs (for example: Cairo/Giza Daily Photo and Living in Egypt from my sidebar), and her horse rides are the best I've taken in Egypt, so, with the tourism economy suffering, I thought it was time to give some local businesses a boost!
I organized my favorite ladies and we went out to Al Sorat Farm. It was a PERFECT Friday, mid-70's temps, a light breeze, clear skies (we could see all the way to Maadi from Abu Sir), and the beautiful quiet that Friday mornings bring in Cairo.
The tour is 90 minutes and took us into the desert where we could see the pyramids of Abu Sir, Sakkara, and, in the distance, the bent pyramid of Darshur (which I still have not visited). Then we took the horsies (or rather, they took us) on a gentle walk through the countryside.
Frankly, there is no better way to shake off a long week, and re-connect with Egypt, than winding through villages and the countryside on horseback (or mule back in the case of my roommate - much to her donkey-loving excitement!). The day was perfectly pleasant in every way.
After riding I drove (6 of us in a tiny Kia) back to Maadi. Friday is my grocery-shop day, so after a lovely lunch outside at my favorite cafe (which has not had outside seating in over a year and I was SO excited to see) I bought endless amounts of veg and headed home for a long nap while my skin turned a lovely reddish-pink with my first sun of the season.
*sigh* I do love living in Egypt!
Last weekend, two friends went to the Khan el Khalili to do some shopping and support our regular vendors - they saw only one other Westerner the entire day. While traffic is back to near-normal opposite-of-flow; the utter lack of tourist busses, inappropriately dressed tourists (seriously, I've seen people in bikinis in the Egyptian Museum), and feluccas sailing down the Nile is disheartening to say the least (well, maybe not the bikinis, but the rest of it). What are the local people who support their families off the tourist industry to do while they wait for the tourists to return?
As I live here, I've done the tourist bits lots - both with visitors and as a curious individual. Once a year, I try to get horseback riding (more if it's possible). I'm a huge fan of Maryanne Stroud Gabbani's blogs (for example: Cairo/Giza Daily Photo and Living in Egypt from my sidebar), and her horse rides are the best I've taken in Egypt, so, with the tourism economy suffering, I thought it was time to give some local businesses a boost!
I organized my favorite ladies and we went out to Al Sorat Farm. It was a PERFECT Friday, mid-70's temps, a light breeze, clear skies (we could see all the way to Maadi from Abu Sir), and the beautiful quiet that Friday mornings bring in Cairo.
The tour is 90 minutes and took us into the desert where we could see the pyramids of Abu Sir, Sakkara, and, in the distance, the bent pyramid of Darshur (which I still have not visited). Then we took the horsies (or rather, they took us) on a gentle walk through the countryside.
Frankly, there is no better way to shake off a long week, and re-connect with Egypt, than winding through villages and the countryside on horseback (or mule back in the case of my roommate - much to her donkey-loving excitement!). The day was perfectly pleasant in every way.
After riding I drove (6 of us in a tiny Kia) back to Maadi. Friday is my grocery-shop day, so after a lovely lunch outside at my favorite cafe (which has not had outside seating in over a year and I was SO excited to see) I bought endless amounts of veg and headed home for a long nap while my skin turned a lovely reddish-pink with my first sun of the season.
*sigh* I do love living in Egypt!
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