Just a few pics from my new Colombian life.

Cute sidewalk kiosk/restaurant

My school is beautiful!

The beach in Riohacha, about 45 minutes from where we live.

                            Bogota from the tram

 

Street shot - Albania

                                         Love the vegetation here.

My new home.

Top Ten Things I WON'T Miss About Egypt

Because of course, you take the good with the bad, and vice versa.

#10: No one ever having change and no one taking credit cards.
#9: Having to cover up in 5 million degree weather.
#8: Not ever understanding a damn thing anyone says. Even when you try your hardest. 10 months later and all I can really do is get around town in a taxi. Arabic: Hardest. Language. Ever.
#7: Corruption everywhere.
#6: Having to go to 5 different stores for simple necessities.
#5: Not being able to drink the water. Also, the toll on my clothes, hair, and skin after using what amounts to pool water every day.
#4: Stressing about getting paid every month and trying to get money back home with the crazy restrictions the banks started while the country quickly imploded around us.
#3: Working for a school that didn't encourage creativity or free thinking and encouraged gossip and maliciousness.
#2: The stink of Cairo and seeing animals being mistreated in all the different forms.
#1: Sexual Harassment. And not the innocent "Ooh la la" type, but the "Hey, whore" type. You wouldn't believe it unless you lived it.

 

Top Ten Things I'll Miss About My Time in Egypt

I think it's just going to be too painful to try to rewind through the last few months of my time in Egypt, so I'll do the "cop out" and compile a list!

#10: No rain. No humidity. No worries about weather at all.
#9: Shisha!!! Any time, any where.
#8: Sitting with friends at Ace Club and everyone has a different accent. I love accents.
#7: My Hash House Harrier friends. Nothing like almost dying in the desert then spending the next few hours drinking beer with crazy folks from around the world.
#6: All of my awesome, fun-loving, crazy rugby friends. My heart hurts thinking I won't see some of them again.
#5: Always a holiday feel in Cairo. It's one of the perks of being an expat. I was practically reliving college level partying those last 3 months. Going on and on and on with 3 hours of sleep, at most, a night. I can definitely say Cairo was never boring!!
#4: Cyprus with good friends. I went cliff diving, bought excellent homemade wine from the cutest village ever, and spent a day at the most gorgeous beach I've been to so far.
#3: My Safari experience. Life changing.
#2: Sitting with my Egyptian friends as they speak Arabic and soaking it all in. Pure relaxation.
#1: My habyby, who taught me that even a short relationship with someone from a completely different world, culture, and religion, that you know will not last, can change your life.


Bittersweet.




 

Wow!!

I think it's incredibly funny that my last post was right after Chloe went back to the states to finish 7th grade and then...NOTHING! Well, I made the most of my last few months of freedom for sure! I will eventually update this on all of my "doings."

Right now, I am typing this from Colombia, my new destination!!

Let's just say, I am very happy here after just 2 weeks!

More to come...

Cairo...alone!

Well, it's been almost 2 weeks since Chloe went back home to finish the school year in Palestine. Of course, it's been a bittersweet couple of weeks. I enjoy the quiet, of course, but it's just so...quiet.

She went back home on Thursday, March 28th and I went camping in the desert that Friday morning so I wouldn't have to sit around crying. (I did a lot of that at the airport and the next day). So, this weekend was the first official weekend alone in the apartment. It felt just a tad bit "off." But I have been enjoying being able to come and go when I want.

The desert trip was amazing. I've never slept outside with just a sleeping bag, much less in the desert. During a sandstorm! And there were desert foxes that raided our campsite as well. Good times. It was nice to be able to just go with the flow and not feel the need to rush around constantly.

Some pics:

 

Idiot Abroad

Funniest show ever. This one is in Cairo and it's pretty accurate.

Homesick

Well, I can say that I've partied at some cool places in different parts of the world, hung out with amazing people from all walks of life, from many different cultures and countries and lifestyles, in clubs and beaches and everywhere in between. And I'm just kinda over it all right now. I would rather be sitting around with my family playing cards or Scrabble or even just soaking in everything while reading a book (they think I do it to tune them out, but it's not true!). It's just one of those days. I could say it's because I've been sick, but that would be a lie. Sometimes you just need your family. And I can't get that for awhile and it sucks.

My 37th birthday. In Cairo!

Well, I survived my birthday weekend in Cairo. It was an overall awesome weekend. It began with the drawing at the Ace Club, which happens at the end of every month. You have to buy cards at the club to buy drinks or food, something about regulations, who knows...Anyway, every month they draw a certain amount of cards for prizes like more cards or local weekend trips, etc. I won a couple of cards last month worth about $10 and was hoping maybe I would win some more this time, but thought that was a long shot. Instead, I won the BIG DRAW! 7400 LE, worth about $1100 US. What a night! And what a way to start my birthday weekend.

It's surreal at times here and turning 37 in Cairo was one of those moments. And not in a negative surreal way, but in a cool surreal way. Well, there are definitely negatives to living here, but I felt good about turning over another year in such an exotic locale. It's not at all what I expected, even though I did tons of research, and it's insane and hectic and nonsensical most of the time, but I am thankful I did it! Last year at this time, I would've never thought I would have jumped through all the hoops to actually get where I'm at today. 

The day after the draw, I dragged my butt outta bed at the crack of dawn (well 8) and went to touch rugby to cheer on the girls. My knee has been bothering me, again, so I've been trying to take it easy. Wow. What a rough morning that was. It POURED the entire time and was super cold. I would have never thought I'd be stuck in a frigid downpour IN EGYPT!! And since the roads here aren't equipped with drains (since there is so little rain), it gets really disgusting when it actually does. So, needless to say, it was not a fun morning to be stuck on the sidelines!

The rest of the weekend was just hanging at the Ace with friends, but it was a good time. And no hangovers to worry about (Yay adult me!).

On a side note, Chloe has decided to go back home at the end of March to live with my mom. I'll join her when the school year is over and stay for the summer. I know she has been homesick, missing my mom and Christina and the girls, so I think it will be good for her. And maybe, just maybe, we'll miss each other enough while she's gone to be nicer to each other :-)

Sexual Harassment

I have been sexually harassed throughout the years, as any female can attest to. I can't tell you how many guys I've seen doing gross things while driving, I've made my way through Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras, and I grew up in East Texas. Enough said. So, yes, I have had gross things said to me, shown to me, waved at me, etc. So I thought I would be prepared for whatever Cairo had in store for me in that area. Thank God I had somewhat mentally prepared beforehand because if I hadn't, it would've been the end of my stay here within a month.

From what I've heard, things in Maadi have gotten worse since the Revolution. Without the military-based rule that was in place for years and years, the men in Cairo have gotten...bold...in terms of harassing women. I thought that since we were moving into the area of Cairo where all the expats live that we wouldn't be subjected to catcalls, but I was very, very mistaken. In fact, whenever I have been outside of Maadi, I don't receive a fraction of the harassment. I went to the Mall of Arabia in 6 of October a couple of months ago and was walking around for several hours when I finally noticed that I was the ONLY, I mean the ONLY Westerner in attendance. I got a few stares, just a few, but not one single Arabic whistle (I can't replicate this, but it's very, very annoying) and not one single comment. I have also been out and about in the downtown area and in Giza and other parts of Cairo and had the same experience. Well, when I walk around Giza, the kids follow me around, but I don't mind that a bit because they're so adorable and they just want to practice their English with me! So I have concluded, based on my experiences and talking to other people, that the Egyptian men in Maadi act the way they do because they can. In other parts of the city, they would be too embarrassed to act that way, but around here, with all the foreigners, they figure they can act however they want without anyone calling them out.

I always have ignored the guys until a couple of weeks ago when this guy did the Arabic whistle to me as I was walking down the sidewalk near our apartment. He was less than 5 feet from me and I just snapped. I don't know why, but it just set me off for some reason. When he did that stupid whistle thing, I just went off! And I felt really good about it. Until I realized a couple of days later that he actually lives in that building, so I have to see him off and on now. So typical. I don't say jack until it's someone I have to pass semi-regularly. I think he actually feels bad now, though, because every time he sees me now, he turns around and walks away. Yes!!

As for how much harassment I get, here's an example: On the 15 minute walk from my apartment to the Ace Club, on an average day I will hear about 5 Arabic catcalls from cars, trucks or just guys walking or standing around (thank God I don't know what they're saying), at least 3 guys or car loads of guys literally leaning out of windows to ogle (without saying anything), and 2 guys walking that will literally stop and stare as I walk by or stare so much that they trip and almost fall (I have to stop myself from laughing at them). Of course, every once in awhile I hit the jackpot and get a nasty comment in English thrown at me. Also, these numbers go up considerably during protests, when it seems everyone around Cairo gets riled up.

As to why the guys do this, I could write a book! I think it's a combination of sexual repression, the view of Western women, especially blondes, that is perpetuated in our own media and movies, the post-Revolution lawlessness that seems to have prevailed, and just the general vibe towards Westerners around here (that we are all rich and crass and morally corrupt). Most days I just shrug my shoulders and laugh it off. Other days, it gets to me and I want to just scream at every one of the men I see!

I should note, too, though, that I have never once felt unsafe in Cairo. No one has ever touched me or followed me. Which is more than I can see for back at home, where I would NEVER walk around by myself as much as I do here. And I can also say that Chloe doesn't get the harassment, Thank God, or there would've been an international incident MONTHS AGO! I'm so glad she fits in more than me.

I should also point out that for every guy that acts inappropriately towards me, there are 10 that are respectful. Mostly the older men. Or the younger guys who have obviously been around more Westerners through business or socially.