Don't Tread On Me

Although I'm Egyptian by heritage, I've always been American in my head and in my heart. (Of course I'm a Muslim but I'm not talking about religion here so don't go commenting about that) Even after living here in Egypt for 8 years now, you can't shake where you were brought up, what you've always known since being a child or the way you think.

But now I find, I've surprised my self in my reactions to things. I won't go into details but someone recently made a remark to me about our decision to live here. Now I'm the first person to complain about Egypt but can I just say? That little dig? It made me defensive. I felt attacked not just personally but on a patriotic level. Now we all know there are a lot of things wrong with Egypt but there are a lot of good things about this country as well. The same is true of any country of course.

I think that part of why I feel the need to defend Egypt at times, comes from my blood, but I believe it's primarily from living here. As much as I complain and roll my eyes about people here and the way they do things, I've also seen the best of it. The warm hearted people. The hospitality. You know your Neighbours and share your food with each other. The sunshine year round. The beautiful sea. The all around relaxed environment. Never feeling like you're not welcome, just to name a few.

Tensions of late in the US regarding Muslims are at an all time high and I sincerely worry about that as a potential problem if we were to go for a visit.

In the end I'll always identify as American first, but don't you ever imply that Egypt is not a good place to live or bring up children. It only makes you sound elitist and arrogant. /rant

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Let's Talk About Shoes

Shoes ah, shoes. One of my favorite topics. I love "window shopping" for them online. I love how on Zappos you can look at the shoes from every which angle and zoom in on their beauty.

How sweet are these?

What about these?

These are adorable.

And who wouldn't want to fill these shoes?

In real life, I wear more practical shoes, within my price range, but given the right sale and the opportunity I might entertain the idea of owning a pair of the above.

I've posted on shoe purchases before here's a little review:

And here are a few pairs I've gotten recently:

These are my Eid shoes :) I got a matching purse.

I got these about a month ago in Cairo, they're surprisingly comfortable while looking very cool.

Now these are the softest, most wonderful flip flops. I walked all day in them and they still felt good.

What are your favorite shoes?

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Bold If True

I've seen this post around and copied it from Bubbli, fun!

Bold if true:
I am a cuddler.
I am a morning person.
I am an only child.
I am currently in my pajamas.
I am currently pregnant.
I am currently single.
I am currently suffering from a broken heart.
I am left handed.
I am married.
I am addicted to my myspace.
I am online 24/7, even as an away message.
I am a little shy around the opposite gender at first.
I bite my nails.
I can be paranoid at times.
I don’t like anyone.
I enjoy country music.
I enjoy jazz music.
I enjoy smoothies.
I enjoy talking on the phone.
I have a car.
I have a cell phone.
I have/had a hard time paying attention at school.
I have a hidden talent
I have a lot to learn
I have a pet.
I have a tendency to fall for the “wrong” guy/girl
I have all my grandparents
I have at least one brother
I have been to another country
I have been told that I am smart
I have been told that I have an unusual sense of humor
I have OR HAD broken a bone
I have Caller I.D. on my phone.
I have changed a diaper
I have changed a lot over the past year.
I have done something illegal.
I have friends who have never seen my natural hair color
I have had major/minor surgery.
I have killed another person (really?)
I have had my hair cut within the last week.
I have mood swings
I have no idea what I want to do for the rest of my life
I have rejected someone before.
I have seen The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
I have seen the television show The O.C.
I like Shakespeare.
I like the taste of blood. (ewww)
I love to cook.
I like to sing.
I love Michael Jackson
I love sleeping.
I love to play computer games.
I love to shop.
I miss someone right now.
I own 100 CDs or more
I own and use a library card
I read books for pleasure in my spare time.
I sleep a lot during the day.
I strongly dislike math
I watch soap operas on a regular basis.
I will try almost anything once.
I work at a job that I enjoy.
I would classify myself as ghetto.
I would get plastic surgery if it were 100% safe, free of cost, and scar-free.
I am currently wearing socks.
I am tired.
I love to paint/draw/sketch/sculpt.
I have had/have a broken heart
Smoked cigarettes.
Rode every ride at an amusement park.
Collected something really stupid.
Gone to a rock concert.
Helped someone.
Gone fishing.
Watched four movies in one night.
Gone long periods of time with out sleep.
Lied to someone.
Been dumped.
Failed a class.
Taken a college level course.
Been in a car accident.
Been in a tornado.
Watched someone die.
Been to a funeral.
Burned yourself. (accidentally)
Ran a marathon.
Your parents got divorced.
Cried yourself to sleep.
Spent over $200 in one day.
Flown on a plane.
Cheated on someone.
Been cheated on.
Written a 10 page letter.
Gone skiing.
Been sailing.
Cut yourself.
Had a best friend.
Lost someone you loved.
Shoplifted something.
Been to jail.
Had detention.
Skipped school.
Got in trouble for something you didn’t do.
Stolen books from the library.
Dropped out of school.
Been in a mental hospital.
Watched the “Harry Potter” movies.
Had an online diary. (kinda)
Fired a gun. (does a water gun count ;D)
Gambled in a casino.
Had a yard sale.
Been in a school play.
Been fired from a job.
Taken a lie detector test.
Swam with dolphins.
Gone to sea world.
Attempted suicide.
Voted for Pop Idol.
Written poetry.
Read more than 20 books a year.
Gone to Europe.
Loved someone you couldn’t have.
Had surgery.
Had stitches.
Taken a taxi.
Seen the Washington Monument.
Had more than 5 IM’s/online conversations going at once.
Had a drug or alcohol problem.
Been in a fist fight.
Suffered any form of abuse.
Had a hamster.
Petted a wild animal.
Used a credit card.
Gone surfing in California.
Dyed your hair.
Got a tattoo.
Had something pierced.
Got straight A’s.
Your parents sent you to a shrink.
Been handcuffed.
Known someone with HIV or AIDS.
Taken pictures with a webcam.
Started a fire.
Had a party while your parents weren’t home.
Gotten caught having a party while they were gone.

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Shopping In Egypt

The thing about shopping in Egypt, is the prices in most shops aren't set. I could pay 100LE for the same item someone else payed 90 for and yet another person payed 150 for the very same item. It just doesn't seem fair to me.

When you ask for the price of an item, the shop keeper can decide what s/he wants to charge for it, in that moment. Depending on how you look or where your from the price can range from reasonable to outrageous. I've seen foreigners get ripped of more times than I can count and that's when they haggle, even! Of course this doesn't apply to big stores like Carrefour, Spinney's etc, or brand name chains. There are even small some shops here that have set price stickers on every item, but they aren't the norm.

I've learned to bargain with shopkeepers after paying the quoted price when I first got here. Man, was that stupid. The guy would say 30 LE and I'd take out the cash and pay it! Laughable! You don't even take your wallet out, you have to agree on a price first, and you'd better not act like you're in love with the item in question.

This past week I went to get a dress for Zayneb for Eid. We stepped into a shop and right away I spotted a pretty dress amongst the gawdiness that surrounded us. I pulled it out and asked the woman how much? She said 130LE. Zayneb loved it, and was excited to tried it on. Perfect fit. She was so happy to find a dress she loved. She's in that in-between age where clothes in children's shops don't fit anymore and women's dresses are too long or not a style for younger girls. No Junior's dept.here. So I go to pay and she says 140. I say, you said 130 before. She swore she didn't I'm kind of mad at myself for not fighting it but she loved the dress and I just paid the 140 and left. She kept trying to push more stuff at us, I just thought I'd misheard her and that in the end there's no price sticker on the tag. Zayneb later told me she heard 130 at first too. I'm kicking myself, not for the 10LE, but for not being more assertive but that's something I'm working on. Other people I know would just leave 130 on the table, take the dress and leave. Or start to leave, hoping for a price break, but I knew we wanted that dress.







That little incident just further cemented my opinion that shop owners here are rarely honest and it doesn't matter if she's wearing a scarf or that it's Ramadan. They will always charge you as much as they think they can get out of you. If it had been a European tourist coming into the shop they might have paid 200 or more for the very dress.

The funny part is so many of them tout "It's not Egyptian" as such a big selling point! Hey! It's not Egyptian, so you know it's good!

Some here argue that it's the shop owner's right to charge what s/he wants and if the client agrees and pays it, that's their problem. They agreed and paid. I say things should cost X amount of pounds and it should X for everyone. It's just not honest business otherwise.

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Life Is A Circus

I feel like this summer has just flown by. Ramadan is already 1/4 over. School starts after Eid and we still haven't bought anything. There's still some summer homework to finish. We're trying to think of what to do for Eid. We'll see.

The good news is I'm practically done with Eid shopping. Everyone has new outfits and shoes except Dawood needs to find a pair of shoes he likes. E need to get his stuff too. That's not my department though. I'm super happy with my Eid purchases and I'll be sure to post photos.

We went to the circus last night, me and the kids and my friend and her daughter. It was nice. A small circus, there were only about 15-20 people watching but it was good. Not amazing but good. Some photos:

So we're going away for a few days again, hope to have some good blog worthy material happenings or something cause this blog is on life support.

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Ramadan Days

Hey everyone, I hope you're all well. Those of us fasting, I hope it's not too tough, inshaAllah. It's a long day. I find we get more thirsty than hungry but alhamdulillah it's been fine.

We hung the decorations and got colored lights for the kids' windows. I always want to make our holidays fun and festive for the kids. I need to get Eid gifts and clothes sometime soon. I'm working on my Eid outfit already.

Fasting has made me want to cook and bake more, It might be the hunger or tradition, I don't know.

I made these cupcakes yesterday, Recipe for chocolate cake here, Cream cheese frosting, here.

Highly yummy, if I may say so myself.

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Blessed Ramadan

Art Credit

I hope this month will be one of the best for you all.

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Green Green Grass

I love this cafe/playground we go to sometimes. We always take our shoes off and the kids love laying in the grass and doing cartwheels and stuff. Lawns are few and far between here so it's great to enjoy the grass between our toes, even if it's sod.

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Yeah

I don't know what it is about summer, but I just tend to blog less. I guess it has to do with not having those mornings to myself, and feeling all around lazy. I thought I'd post a little randomness/update to refresh this here blog o' mine.

So, what's been up...Nothing major, lazing about for the most part.

I took this a few nights ago from the window at Mcdonalds. Cute little kitty family.

I tore a hole in my favorite abaya on piece of wood on a chair at a cafe. I really hope it won't be too noticeable, I love that abaya. I have this stuff that's supposed to be good for these things, it's like fabric tape that you iron to mend? I don't know, InshaAllah it will be inconspicuous.

I really, really love wedges, I got a new pair recently and they are so comfortable and I'm taller plus they are very cute. Wedges are the short girl's dream come true. In regular heels/stilettos I wobble and threaten to topple over or feel pain upon walking a short time. Wedges give you height and feel good! I hope they never go out of style.

I watched a movie recently that I really liked. The Lovely Bones. It's weird to even say I liked it. It was so chilling at times. Saoirse Ronan plays the main character and she did an amazing job. She was the young girl in Atonement. I don't want to go into a summary, if you're interested, Google it. It was visually stunning at times and disturbing at others but all in all, very good.

The kids wanted to make marshmallow kabobs. Can you tell we made too much? We ended up eating only some toasted and saved the rest for later. It got a bit sickening.

I really want to get menial tasks such as summer HW, catch up on the laundry, giving the apt a good cleaning done before Ramadan starts next week. InshaAllah, to have more time for worship. I do not plan on having any dinner party/ iftars here this year it's just too much work and not enough space. Iftar's out? That's what I'm talking about.

How much more arbitrary can this post get? I don't know, lets see, There's a circus in town so we want to go soon. I hope it's the acrobats and stuff kind of circus not the abuse animals kind. Hopefully, if we do, I'll post about that.

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