Twilight finally...

I FINALLY saw Twilight tonight..I tried to go at home before I left but I waited too long and it was out of the theatres.....but it's still here and it was great!! Now Nassiba is hooked too.
Some other good things happened today: I found a belt which I thought I lost (it was in my closet.. under a bunch of stuff), and I found self raising flour in the grocery store- I am hoping I'll be able to make banana bread without baking soda with it. I'll let you know:)

Running, recipes, shoes, wild dogs...

Happy Friday everyone! So, usually when our running group does long runs on Friday mornings, I opt to run one of the shorter routes—although I have run longer distances in the past, I am better at and much prefer shorter, faster races--- but apparently either there isn’t a 10K race when we’re in Luxor for the marathon (check out the link and tell me if you agree that the organizer looks a bit like and Egyptian George Kostanza...), or it’s on a different day (hard to get a straight answer here sometimes…actually, always..), so I signed up for the half -actually I didn’t sign up, I am taking the number of someone who canceled (look for “Anna Johnson” in the results!).

Anyway, I figured I should actually attempt the distance beforehand—it would be embarrassing to collapse during the race, and would probably necessitate receiving Egyptian medical attention, which I try to avoid if at all possible. But today, when Mohsen, our running group leader said we were running 15 miles, it didn’t sound that far, but it’s actually 24km…that’s a LONG way! We were running from the suburb where I live into a road that leads into the desert- it was okay at first, just a few Egyptian men staring and yelling (they think we’re crazy for running), nothing major though, and I’m used to it, but once we got into the desert a little I started to notice some different beady eyes looking at me… they belonged to one of the packs of wild dogs I’d been warned about….at one point about 7 or 8 dogs were standing at the side of the road snarling and licking their lips hungrily…thankfully only one dog actually came up to sniff our trail, but we just picked up the pace a little and managed to lose him- if nothing else, running here definitely adds an interesting element of danger.. as always, the run was followed by brunch at one of the runners places- the group is really international so it's always a great combination of foods from around the world- today: french toast, ful, muffins, scones, Dutch cheese, labna and a bunch of other things. One good thing about all this running is that I don't have to be quite so careful what I eat lately!

Now a couple of random things that don't really fit but you may find interesting/helpful:

-I've been meaning to mention this, but kept forgetting- right before I left, I bought a new pair of shoes for work- they are GEOX, those ones with the holes in the soles that let sweat and hot air out but don't let rain etc in... besides that, they are the most comfortable pair of heels I've ever owned... there's a new store in the Bay centre-- on the douglas street level a couple of stores down from jacob-- you should go!

-My cousin (3rd, once removed or something) Deirdre, posted this blog/site on her FB profile and I love it- so many great recipe ideas...you should check it out!

-In triathlon news, the head coach of Triathlon Canada is moving to the UK to coach the british squad.

- Tomorrow, Nassiba and I are finally going to see Twilight! Yay! I hope they don't censor it too much.

Okay, that's all from me for now, I hope you're all doing well. Jen and Nicky I hope you're having fun together in Victoria- I wish I could be there with you :(

xoxo C

TGIT

It's Thursday- the end of my first full week back... and the weekend! YAY! It's actually been a pretty good week in a lot of respects- Taylor and Anna returned from their adventures in the white desert and stayed with me for a few nights. Last night they spoiled me by having a fabulous dinner ready when I got home from track practice-- since it's rare that my kitchen gets used for more than making toast and boiling water for tea, I asked them if they wanted to move in permanently!

Speaking of track practice, I was running last night with a new friend from the Netherlands, he and his gf moved here a few months ago for his job and joined the group-- anyway, while we were doing our speedwork on the track, he said he was getting tired because he'd had a hard day at work.
I asked why and he say, "well.... you know what is semen?" Thinking I hadn't heard him properly because of his accent, I asked him to repeat himself, but no, he definitely said semen!!! Anyway it turns out he works for a horticultural company that imports bull semen from North America and Europe to sell to farmers here and in KSA ( the cows here suck according to him)-- apparently they transport it in huge buckets that are really heavy- (I asked how they got the semen in the bucket but I think he thought I asked how they stored it because he started talking about liquid nitrogen or something- at least I hope he was talking about storage- otherwise, ouch, poor bulls!!) and he had to load it the buckets into a truck to go to the airport, which is why he was tired... wow, sorry for saying "semen" so many times in this post, but I thought it was a pretty funny conversation... it's good to have interesting conversation to distract you from the pain of speedwork.

Anyway I should go eat something- luckily I have leftovers from last night's dinner, so I don't have to have cereal! Hope you're all doing well and having a great week,

xoxo C

Good news x 2!

So, I'm not sure if it really came across in my last few posts how upsetting it has been not having water... well more accurately, not being able to shower before work... and the few people I mentioned it to (you don't really want to tell too many people that you haven't been bathing regularly) at work kept dismissing it and saying that it's normal and happens here from time to time... well I thought before I jumped on a plane back home, I would ask our director of engineering at the hotel if this was indeed something I would have to live with (it seemed there was usually a trickle of water in the evenings, maybe I could start showering at night...) anyway when I explained it to him, he said this was NOT normal and he would send someone to fix it right away. So I brought the the hotel plumber and electrician home with me tonight, they disappeared under the apartment with the boweb (building manager) and after about 20 min, my shower has plenty of water and enough pressure to remove wallpaper- it's so great!!! I am crossing my fingers that it will still be there tomorrow when I wake up!

The other exciting news is that I am going to Luxor in a few weeks for a half-marathon with my running group- I didn't think I'd be able to go as I left it so late, but there was a cancellation and I managed to get a cheap room and a reasonable flight! I am not trained for that distance at the moment, but there are a lot of people in the group who will be taking it really slow, it's a 2 loop course, so I will stay with the snails the first loop and see how I feel the second time around... it will be hard not to be thinking of my time but I'm going to leave my watch behind and just try to relax and have fun. It's an annual event for the group and it sounds like they have a lot of fun things planned, including, but not limited to... a carb-loading pasta dinner, a tour of the town, the race of course, a post-race gala dinner, and bike ride through the valley of the kings...apparently we will be racing through the VOTK- the start line is right at Hatchepsut's temple..I love the scenery on the royal victoria marathon route but this will definitely be one of the most unique races I've done.

Anyway, just wanted to share the good news, hope you're all doing well,

xoxo C

Yesterday and today....

It was great to see Taylor and Anna yesterday- I took them for a traditional egyptian meal (Taylor is showing off his stuffed pigeon in the picture) and it sounds like they have quite the adventure planned for the next month! Also a picture of some of my co-workers and me today in the office. From L-R Sylvia, Fouad, Ehab and Me. I think I jinxed myself yesterday, mentioning my shower- I had no water this morning again...

back online..

So, I finally figured out how to make my new USB modem work (well actually the guys @ the shop figured it out...)- it's pretty cool, it means I can use my laptop anywhere I want! I find it funny that cairo is so advanced in some ways and so behind in others-- what a weird place where I can connect to the internet from my car but I can't be sure that water will come out of the tap when I turn it on (right now about 60% of the time..)...

I thought I was over my jetlag, but last night I couldn't keep my eyes open past 8pm- pretty lame but I do feel better after almost 12 hours of sleep. Yesterday I had a nice surprise- my friend Taylor from Victoria emailed saying that he and his fiance, Anna, are in Cairo for a few nights- I am looking forward to having dinner with them tonight.

This video is for Nicky-- she requested in a few days ago (jokingly I think, but I had some free time this weekend)....

Okay, that's all for now, hope you're all doing well! xoxo C

first week back...

Well, I've been back in Cairo for about a week- I would be lying if I said I hadn't been dreading my return just a little bit (okay, maybe a lot!)- in some ways I think I was remembering only the worst- it was actually really nice to see some of my coworkers again, but there are other things that I totally forgot about that I am having some trouble adjusting to again-- like how loud and inconsiderate people are, how dirty everything is and how I cannot be sure that water will come out of the tap when I turn it on each time... that REALLY sucks... sometimes we forget how lucky we are living in a first world country...don't take it for granted today while you're standing in a shower with perfect water pressure that allows you to completely rise the shampoo from your hair...
While I am pretty sure I don't want to stay here much longer, I am trying to make the best of it while I figure out what to do next-- I've re-joined my running club- we ran at the track on Wednesday night and this morning we did 15K downtown-- not my favourite route as even at 7am we were avoiding maniacal drivers, garbage, donkey carts, homeless people and animals (sometimes dead ones)-- today a flaming bus was also added to the obstacle course... my legs weren't tired but I had to stop because my lungs were burning... someone told me that breathing the air here is like smoking a pack a day, and I believe it...

On the plus side, we had our weekly breakfast at one of the runners' houses, this particular one happens to live in a houseboat on the Nile. Here are a few pictures from today.... some of the runners after breakfast; the view from the houseboat; and something that reminded me of home-- a rowing practice!

Right now I am borrowing someone's unprotected wifi signal, but I got a usb modem yesterday-- it's not easy to set up, but once I have it working I will be able to connect to the net from my laptop anywhere i want-- it should make the drive to work a little more tolerable...

Okay that's all for now, hope you're all doing well- I miss you! xoxo C

an unwelcome visitor...

Sooooo yesterday I went to clean the apartment- I expected there would be dust, but I did not expect I would have a new roommate-- especially the 4-legged kind. I didn't actually see him but the droppings were unmistakable...Yes, a RAT had been in my place!

I have some glue that "smells delicious" that my boweb (kind of like an apartment manager) put out for him, it's not poisonous, but if they step on it they get stuck to whatever you put the glue on and can't get off. I am really hoping I don't come home to one, especially if it's still alive- although someone pointed out if he's anything like the character in the Ratatouille movie, maybe I should keep him around to fix me snacks and dinner!

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I had my first day back at work today- it was nice to see everyone again- they all claim they missed me and a lot of people also said I have lost weight, which is nice to hear, although many of them think I should start eating more immediately so I can "get healthy again".

Okay, off for dinner with Nassiba, hope you're all well and I'll keep you posted on operation rodent eviction. xoxo C

Walking like an egyptian again...

Well, after 3 flights, 4 airports, 5 movies and 22 hours of flying (7 of which I was sitting next to the smelliest man I have met in a long time!) I arrived in Cairo yesterday evening. Still in shock from trauma of the smelly man ( think BO + curry), I was happy to find out that I'd been upgraded to business class for the leg between london and Cairo- unfortunately I was so exhausted, I slept most of the time and didn't take advantage of all the food and hot towels they kept bringing by. While I wasn't quite as excited to see the pyramids on our descent into the airport as the young backpackers across the aisle from me were, it was great to see Nassiba (aka zoomie) who was waiting to pick me up- I missed her a lot.

So, it's cold here!! The weather report says it's about a high of 18C but at night it gets below 10C, which is cold if you don't have heating (which I don't). I also forgot how noisy it is here... mosques, dogs, cats, honking, yelling-- there is always someone/thing making a racket.

Today I am taking some time to get over my jetlag and clean away the 5+ months of desert sand and dust that has accumulated in my apartment and tomorrow I am looking forward to seeing (most of) my coworkers again. Anyway I'm not sure what will happen or how long I will be here- hopefully this will become more clear in the next few days- I will keep you all posted.

Anyway I just wanted to let you all know that I arrived in one piece- I hope you will all keep in touch even though I'm a little further away now.

Bye for now,

xoC

Leaving on a jet plane (again)...

I don't think I mentioned, but tomorrow, I'm heading back to the middle east. I'll be in cairo for a while (about 6 weeks maybe) and after that I'm not sure. I'm sad to be leaving but thankful that I've had so much time here to spend with friends and family, and I'm excited to see what the next year will hold. Some pictures from today, goofing around in the office with Glen, Gav and Kate. xoxo C

joining the 21st century-- finally

Yes it's true, I FINALLY have an ipod. Don't worry I wasn't still running with a discman all this time- I got an mp3 player about 4 years ago-- but it only holds about 40 songs, and it's pretty big... so I figured it was time.

I got the 16GB nano in purple (I was tempted to get blue- but it was a royal blue, not a sky-blue like my camera and bike)- it holds 4000 songs, so that should do me for a while.

Initially, one of my favourite things about it was the shake & shuffle feature (see video below)-- but apparently I haven't got the exact motion down because I was looking like a HUGE DORK on my runs yesterday and today trying to get the songs to change. It's fine if I'm standing still but I think it gets confused by the running motion-- I'm sure I'll figure it out soon-- apart from that's its pretty cool.

Passing the buck...

When I was coming back from my run, I ran into this guy having a snack.

Oh Edward...

So, about a week ago, Nicky handed me a book and said I should read it- I looked at the cover- Twilight... "You want me to read this vampire book all the 14 year olds are screaming about on tv...yeah I don't think so..."

"Just try it, you'll like it" she said... welllllll I did, and now I'm hooked- I finished the first one (500+ pages) in about a day and a half, and have just started the second one (there are 4). At first I was a little embarassed to admit that I enjoy teen-vampire-romantic-fiction so much, but apparently lots of other people (my age and older) have loved it too.. the writing isn't really that great, and the story is pretty far-fetched (a family of vampires attending high school in a sleepy town in washington state-- obviously, our female protagonist falls in love with one of them.....etc etc) but you just want to keep reading... Nicky equates it to eating chips-- it's not very good for you, and it's not really making you a better person, but boy is it hard to stop!!

It's easy to see why the teen girls swoon over Edward, the (perpetually 17 year old) male lead vampire- he is dreamy and romantic and always knows what to say-- plus he can run really fast and is inhumanly strong- Bella, his human gf, is insanely clumsy so these skills comes in handy pretty often--oh yeah, he can also read minds.

I'm not saying you should read this series, but if you do, make sure you have about a week free, because once you start, you won't be able to stop...

It's also been made into a movie- which is in theatres right now- I haven't seen it yet, but I think I might have to soon.. :)

A few more videos from the holidays..