Yesterday I randomly checked the news online since sometimes it feels as though I am living in a bubble here, and I was shocked to see the horrors that happened at VA Tech! What a senseless, unbelievable, tradegy! My heart goes out to all of you that lost a loved one.
Last night I had my first Arabic lesson....it was really hard and I was horrible at it! But so were the other 5 ladies in the class and some of them have lived here for years so that made me feel a bit better. The classes last a month and are somewhat expensive but its good because it gives me something to keep my brain active and the social aspect is fun. After the class we all went out for a beer and since it was only the second time Ive had a drink in the past few months, it only took me two pints to feel a bit drunk!
Yesterday when we were at a dive site, Nigel got his watch stolen out of his dive bag...the watch that I gave him and had engraved. :( Its the fifth time he has had stuff stolen. When things like that happen I am ready to pack my bags and leave. I have never lived somewhere so hypocritical where prayer chants ring out five times a day but everyone also tries to rip you off or steal from you. There hasn´t been one day that has gone by that I haven´t had to haggle over the price of groceries or a taxi ride. OK I am finished venting!
Miss you all!
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Saturday, April 14, 2007
La la
Hi all! I just got back from guiding two dives...they were lovely even though yesterday we had the first thunderstorm since Ive been here and the ocean looked like chocolate milk. Im just hanging out now at the dive center waiting for Nigel to finish up. Living in the apartment has been great although we have all sorts of insects visiting us from time to time. Nothing else too interesting to report! Hope you all got the pictures!
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Home Sweet Home!
Ah! I just wrote this huge blog and then a guy came and accidentally pulled the plug on my computer and it was all lost :( Oh well, here's what I can remember....
Yah! We finally found a place to live! After a few hours of sorting out the details with our landlady in Arabic, English and lots of hand gestures, we got ourselves an apartment! We moved in a few days ago and it has been much better than living in the hotel. Our place is five minutes down the road from the hotel where it is a bit quiter and there aren't any goats or screaming children roaming around. It's shaped like a big "L" and has a small courtyard, a bedroom sectioned off by a sheet, a small living room with 3 chairs, a table and TV (which Nigel is really excited about because it gets English movie channels) a kitchen with a working fridge and a bathroom that has fresh water which I am really excited about because I hate showering in salt water! Tonight Old School is on TV :) It's funny though because they cut out all the nudie bits so if you haven't seen the movie before it's a bit confusing. Our rent is dirt cheap and our landlady is really nice. Eventhough we can't really understand eachother she seems to enjoy coming over for chats. I went a bit crazy the other day and spent every pound I had in my wallet on groceries because I am psyched to have a kitchen although most the stuff I bought is just junk food and not things to cook because everyone knows I can't cook.
Nigel and I have been working pretty much everyday for Sinai Backpackers dive center. After his 11th day straight of working Nigel finally took a day off. He taught a rescue course and I got to be the victim which meant lots of free diving for me! We went out on a boat for the day and went to a dive site an hour away. It was beautiful and the food was surprisingly good and it was fun because Nigel and I got to do something cool together while he was getting paid. I am pretty confident now at being a guide and knowing all the dive sites. The restaurant owners all kiss the guides butts as well to try and get them to come to their place for lunch which is good for me! The other day on a dive we saw a huge grey moray eel and a spotted eel snake. I am still working at Tota but only one or two nights a week and it is pretty pointless since I can't bartend and basically just walk around and make sure people are ok. I get paid the same as I would bartending though and every time Nigel and I go in there we get all our drinks for free so I'm going to keep doing it just so I don't lose the hook up.
Today was my day off and I went up to the roof of our new place to lay out but was then joined by the landlady's visiting friend. She is from Cairo and although I could hardly understand her I could gather I was the first person she has ever seen in a bikini. She showed me all of the layers of clothing she was wearing then pointed at me and said "not in Cairo" and "only for husband". Then she came over and took note of my armhairs and tried to rub off my tattoo. Talk about feeling self conscious! I tried to write in my journal but she came over and practiced writing her name in it instead so it wasn't a very relaxing day but it was entertaining!
Well I am now sick of writing so I'm gonna go! Hope you all are doing great. Jules and Teen hope you are having a fabulous vacation!
xoxo
Yah! We finally found a place to live! After a few hours of sorting out the details with our landlady in Arabic, English and lots of hand gestures, we got ourselves an apartment! We moved in a few days ago and it has been much better than living in the hotel. Our place is five minutes down the road from the hotel where it is a bit quiter and there aren't any goats or screaming children roaming around. It's shaped like a big "L" and has a small courtyard, a bedroom sectioned off by a sheet, a small living room with 3 chairs, a table and TV (which Nigel is really excited about because it gets English movie channels) a kitchen with a working fridge and a bathroom that has fresh water which I am really excited about because I hate showering in salt water! Tonight Old School is on TV :) It's funny though because they cut out all the nudie bits so if you haven't seen the movie before it's a bit confusing. Our rent is dirt cheap and our landlady is really nice. Eventhough we can't really understand eachother she seems to enjoy coming over for chats. I went a bit crazy the other day and spent every pound I had in my wallet on groceries because I am psyched to have a kitchen although most the stuff I bought is just junk food and not things to cook because everyone knows I can't cook.
Nigel and I have been working pretty much everyday for Sinai Backpackers dive center. After his 11th day straight of working Nigel finally took a day off. He taught a rescue course and I got to be the victim which meant lots of free diving for me! We went out on a boat for the day and went to a dive site an hour away. It was beautiful and the food was surprisingly good and it was fun because Nigel and I got to do something cool together while he was getting paid. I am pretty confident now at being a guide and knowing all the dive sites. The restaurant owners all kiss the guides butts as well to try and get them to come to their place for lunch which is good for me! The other day on a dive we saw a huge grey moray eel and a spotted eel snake. I am still working at Tota but only one or two nights a week and it is pretty pointless since I can't bartend and basically just walk around and make sure people are ok. I get paid the same as I would bartending though and every time Nigel and I go in there we get all our drinks for free so I'm going to keep doing it just so I don't lose the hook up.
Today was my day off and I went up to the roof of our new place to lay out but was then joined by the landlady's visiting friend. She is from Cairo and although I could hardly understand her I could gather I was the first person she has ever seen in a bikini. She showed me all of the layers of clothing she was wearing then pointed at me and said "not in Cairo" and "only for husband". Then she came over and took note of my armhairs and tried to rub off my tattoo. Talk about feeling self conscious! I tried to write in my journal but she came over and practiced writing her name in it instead so it wasn't a very relaxing day but it was entertaining!
Well I am now sick of writing so I'm gonna go! Hope you all are doing great. Jules and Teen hope you are having a fabulous vacation!
xoxo
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