One year here

We made it! We survived our first year in Egypt.

It has taken some time to feel at home here.  Even the feeling of being at home can change in an instant as well, so we're still adjusting.  However, it's a night and day difference from when we first landed.  I remember when I had gathered the courage to walk with Benjamin around our block, and now we're walking all over.  It's still odd when I realize that this is our life.  We live in Africa, in the Middle East, in the middle of a country in political upheaval and in a culture that's night and day from what we're used to.  Then again we lead very normal lives, so our day to day life is very much like what it would be in the US.  It's not like we walk out the door and have to avoid droves of protesters and tanks (which is what I suspect my mom thinks happens).  I run errands in the day, Benjamin goes to Nursery School and Seth goes to work.  I take Benny to play dates, swim lessons and get home and cook dinner.  Not at all unlike what we would be doing if we lived in the US. 

Okay, maybe we're doing stuff that's a tad different from back home.

Sunset on The Nile.  Feluccas need to be on the Mississippi.

So what has a year brought us?  New experiences, friends and travel all from The Far Side of the World (Take it away Coral Reefers)...

In a year we moved into our first apartment, lived there for a year, and it grew to become home.  We had to move because of new work orders saying we couldn't live on the ground (aka first) floor. So now we're up on the 6th floor in a new apartment that we really enjoy.  I had a goal to make this place feel more like home, so I got the MBR and Benjamin's room painted.  It has made a big difference in making this new apartment feel more lived in as opposed to a temporary dwelling.

In a year we traveled to Dubai, Ain Soukna (a bunch of times as it's only an hour away), El Gouna and back to the US for Christmas.  A lot of time spent on desert roads and in airplanes (hooray for silver status, c'mon gold!).  I absolutely love that aspect of our life.  Traveling is one of the reasons we wanted to move here.

The Fam in front of the Burj and Dubai Mall

103 degrees and 100% humidity?!  I'm still runnin around like a crazy man, and Mom you get to do the same.

The B's at the Stella Beach Club in Ain

In a year Benjamin started a new nursery school.  He loves it and he loves his teachers.  A great thing about his school is that we walk to it every morning and afternoon.  No more car service getting there!

Halloween party at school. That's Benny's buddy Noah in the picture.  His teacher, Ms Fahira, is on the left.

In a year I have become more money savvy when it comes to purchasing produce, riding in taxis and taking caution when giving money to just about everyone here.  I have grown jaded (not fully) and assume everyone is out to cheat us.  Cause yea, they pretty much are.  I have a long cautionary tale of our dealing with a shop on Road 9 and a fan, but I wont get into the details.  It's boring, it's long, it's back and forth and it gives me the mad rage.   Just know that Seth and I were cheated out of $100 and I wont rest until the shop owner's thief ass gives it to me.  His shop has been closed for a month, and we routinely stalk it when we're on Road 9.

In a year I have become sick and tired of the stares, the winks, the kissy sounds, the whispering, and the over all creepiness of a lot of Egyptian men.  It's not just expat women who are sexually harassed, it's a common thing to even veiled women.  It's unacceptable and a huge problem in Egypt.  I actually broke down crying in our kitchen one afternoon after having a horrible morning of being called at, stared at, etc. It's just gross and makes you feel terrible.  It's top of the list (neck and neck with being constantly cheated) of things I do not like about living here. But, like any bad situation sometimes you can find a funny moment. Like when I was walking home and this had to be 13 year old kid called out to me and asked if I wanted "the sex".  Just the site of a skinny little nerdy kid asking in broken English if I wanted "the sex" made me laugh a good bit.

Egyptian kids smoke, so I guess that makes them ready for "the sex" at a pretty early age.  They all adult and stuff. 

In a year I have become fluent in Egyptian Arabic.  Okay, lies.  But just ask Benny what to say.  He knows all...

Ziak? Queis! Humdelah.  Mooz be laben? La, Meyer.  Shokran.

Because, seriously, the child is full on Egyptian sometimes.  What's his favorite book?

What's his favorite thing to eat?

And the man digs a ride on The Nile

And hanging out with Sara

In a year I have been so fortunate to have made some great friends.  Women who I am so happy to call friends.  I didn't know what to expect when it came to this expat life, especially with making amigas, and have been so glad that the people I have met have been nothing but helpful and supportive.  And who can forget Miami and Rockin Sushi Nights?! What what!

And I just realized expats (and mom's) may not get the Bridesmaid's reference.  Just know what I just wrote is supposed to be funny.  

Seth's year has been up and down.  He has been extremely busy at work, so he is looking forward to our upcoming vacation back home.

Want to help Dad file his TPS reports?  

And Seth still cycles with his group on Friday mornings.  Geaux Dad!

We have had our up's and down's.  We have had moments of frustration, joy, tears and laughter. I wouldn't change a thing about our expat life- except my $100.  I want that $100 back pronto.

Cairo Days

Big shout out to my friend Andrea for letting me use her computer!  Thank you mam!

Why am I having to use someone else's computer?  Sigh, actually huge sigh, because we don't have internet.  Still.  After 2 months.  No internet. Total "Cairo Days" have been the result of our quest for getting internet.

First I need to discuss the total suckage that is not having internet.  Like when I'm randomly thinking about art work (because I'm super classy and think about art all the time), and try to remember the name of the creepy artist who went to French Polynesia and painted the natives.  I can't do that!  It's very annoying not to be able to search for the random things I question all day long.  Oh, and in case you were wondering the artist's name,  it's Gauguin.

I like his work, but the dude was a total creep

So, what's a "Cairo Day"?  A Cairo Day is a day where you can't get the simplest task completed because of several things.  Language barrier, cultural differences of what asap means to you vs an Egyptian, inshaallah mentality, or just any other reason that leads to you wanting to bang your head against a wall and head for the nearest airplane to take you West.  

I tried to change our internet from our old place to our new on on the day we moved.  April 1st or 2nd...I forget.  I was told several different things, all conflicting information, which has been trying and lead us to where we are today.  One example would be how I gave the company our new phone number, they copied it down incorrectly (even after I corrected the mistake.  several times.  as did seth), and claim that the line (the incorrect one) is already in use.  Then they said they called us over and over and over again to let us know about the problem.  Where did they call? Our old phone number.  The phone number that leads to a flat that is abandoned.  And yes, they have both our mobile numbers.

I can see how this totally sounds like some lame First World Problem...

but there is more to the story than just that one annoyance.  But getting too much into it makes me crazy, so we will leave it.  




Other than that everything is great with us.  We took a great beach trip, are enjoying the weather here and Benjamin and I will take a flight back home on July 1st.  Plenty more to blog about, big sigh (I sigh a lot when thinking about internet) once we get internet.  All will be better once we get internet....big sigh

Our new digs

Blech.  We have to move apartments.

Which really sucks because we love our current apartment.  It's actually called a  flat, but I can't call it that even though everyone here does.  Because then I'll get in the habit of calling it a flat thus pulling a Madonna, and calling stuff by its international name.  However tempted to call fries "chips", because I end up having to call them that anyway, I won't do it!

Apartment, not Flat.  Pants, not Trousers.  Fries, not chips.  America, frick yea.

Anyway, since Seth's company has been taken over 100% by another company we are under their rules.  They have a no 1st Floor (but here it's Ground Floor) policy.  There is also a no villa policy, but we couldn't afford to live in a villa anyway.

I went by today because I wanted to see what some of our pictures would look like over there.  That's me, where one (Seth) sees functional space or if there are any gaping holes in the floor, then I'm the one wondering where our Christmas tree will go and where I'll hang our pictures.  Probably while Circus music is playing in my head.

So the pics shown below are our new place.  This is not our furniture due to most places here come fully furnished.  Sometimes you get lucky (like our new place) and sometimes you end up in a place that looks like it was decorated by Liberace:

Seriously. This decor is very popular in Egypt.  Why?  I have no answer.

So here is the new place. (We aren't moved in yet, hopefully by this weekend inshaallah):

View from the front door, right when you walk into the place.

Another view from the living room.  Pretty excited about the wood burning fire place.  Notice the pictures already (kinda) in place.

The kitchen

Benny's room.  I can't tell you how stoked I am that he will have  a bed like this.  And, most importantly, his cool Pottery Barn sheets fit it!

Master Bed Room

Another angle of the living room.

So, so long old place.  You were our first haven here in Egypt.  A spot that we came to really like.

Hello new place.  I'm sure that you'll soon be considered home too.

Our roommate

When we brought Benjamin home for the first time it was really odd to see that all this stuff we got would actually have some sort of use to it.  That cute lamb swing, all those different shaped towels and cloths, all those clothes and the Pack and Play we had set up by our bed, were now being used.  I'd see his baby wash, baby lotion, baby oil  and other baby items mixed with all my stuff.  His clothes were in our laundry loads.  His diapers in our trashcan.  It was odd.  Like we had this new roommate who just blew in the house and took over.  If he was an adult you would have a house meeting to discuss how he was sneaking his clothes in your wash and keeping you up at night...not to mention peeing the bed all the time.

Now, 2 years later, I still stop and realize that our house is consumed with reminders that this isn't just a house for adults.  I realize it when I step on his most favorite "Big Truck" (which is a Hot Wheels Land Rover Discovery- kid has good taste) at 1am, or open our spoon drawer to find the case of his Toy Story DVD mixed in with everything else.

I decided to take some time to capture all the signs of how our home life has changed. And how our 2 year old roommate totally dominates everything.

Our bedside table
Normally by your night stand you would  have the usual things.  Lamp, books, US Weekly...uh, I mean, New York Magazine and The Wall Street Journal.  Not anymore.  Now the books are devoted to Pigeons, Pookies, Good Night to all kinds of places and things, and the ever important "how to raise your 2 year old and reference this to make sure they're normal" guide aka What To Expect.

Our bed
Aaaaaah, bed.  A lovely place to rest your weary head and sleep.  As of November 14, 2009 our bed became something else completely.  Our bed became a pee, poop, puke (the 3 P's of Babies, if you will) collector.  It became a place I'd look at longingly at 2am and try to remember what it was like to sleep through the night.  It became a place where I get into and feel something weird at my feet.  It's normally some kind of truck...

My purse
Do not ever, and I mean ever, leave your house without a snack, several toys (one Monster Truck is a must), and some watered down juice of some sort.  My life revolves around snacks and juice now.  Oh yea, and I guess your wallet and cell phone are important too....but don't you forget that snack!  Take my eyes but not my 2 year old's goldfish!

Wall space is white, thus mus be colored upon
Two year old's can't be trusted with crayons.  Especially mine.  Yea, you get the obligatory coloring on the wall, but we also get the coloring on the gate in front of our house.  How he managed to get out of the house with that one is beyond me.  Then again, I probably figured that tearing it away from him was more trouble than scrubbing it off the gate.

Your light beige chair you loved so much

Rewind to Summer of 2009. A young couple walks (on waddles due to her 7 month pregnant belly) into a furniture store in Houston, Tx.  They decide on a couch set and a nice looking, but comfortable, reclining chair.  The waddler likes this chair because it doesn't look like it would recline.  The walker likes it because he's envisioning watching LSU games and playing Death War 2 or whatever the thing is that he plays on his Xbox.

The couple insist on a dark colored couch set, but somehow think the chair can be any color they choose.  Why would anything happen to this chair?  Not with this $50 extra we're paying for the "no stain" spray that the company will put on it!

Cut to March 2012.  Who knows what's on this chair now.  Juice, Pee, wouldn't surprise me if someone puked on it once or twice.  Was the $50 worth it?  I'll let the picture be the judge of that...

Food consumption.  Often lack thereof 
And then there is eating.  I'm all for my roommate eating, since there is a mini panic that sets in every mother's chest when you realize he hasn't eaten anything all day long. So, in the times when he will actually eat you do a mini dance of joy and happily remove food from your plate to give to him.  Here he is playing sly after he decided to spit out a large wad of chewed up Cinnamon Toast (which he says toast just like me, the way Seth makes fun of, which makes me a little happy on the inside).

So, life has changed to obsessing over what he has eaten, and continuing to eat while there is a gigantic wad of half eaten bread on my plate.  

All good times, and just some ways our lives have changed.  For the best.  Because 1/4 juice 3/4 water concoctions, Goldfish obsessing, Where God? Where is that Monster Truck?!! mini panics and sleeping with your husband, your 2 year old, and his entourage of a monkey, a "biii truck" (big truck) and whatever else is his favorite are now the best times of my life.

Egyptian Lemon Juice

Egyptian Lemon Juice is amazing.  I crave it on a daily basis.  Also- it's something that's seasonal.  Pssh! Who ever heard of this only eating fruits and vegetables when they're actually in season?! Madness!  So since it's seasonal I get it while the gettin is good, and oh man is this stuff good.

I tend to use this pic a lot.  I still swear the kid loves this stuff.

Lemon Juice on a ridiculously hot day at the Khan el Khalili Souk.

I'd see Lemon Juice on menus when we first came here.  I can not describe my love for all things citrus, so when I saw that I got excited.  However, I had visions of getting a full glass of pure lemon juice and then not knowing what to do about that.  I love a lemon, but not a pure lemon.  I was so happy when a friend of mine ordered it one time and I see this glorious concoction before me.  Lovely lemon aid style lemon juice, but with a total kick. Like a little zip to it.  Where is this flavor coming from?  The peel- it comes from using the peel along with the lemon.

We order it with mint- makes it off the charts amazing.

So now you can enjoy it at home.  You'll love it.

Moving to Egypt?

Night view of Cairo.  Looks so much cleaner at night...

Before we moved here I spent countless hours researching, planning and reading anything I could get my hands on about expat living in Cairo.  I'd go here a lot.  Having real life experiences was a big asset to me.  I was so glad I found that website.

I also read a lot of books. A lot of information was helpful, but a lot of it was totally out of date. One example being a book I read saying that you couldn't find Diet Coke anywhere.  Totally false.  Coke products are everywhere, even Coke Zero.  I'm sure that when they wrote that (sorry, name of book and publication date's name have escaped my memory)it was true.  Not anymore.

A ton of great information was to be found, so I figured I'd write something too in case this is ever found by someone searching the internet looking for any type of information about packing up and moving to the Middle East.  Just in case your husband comes home and says "You want to move to Egypt?" then you have a good laugh together, he says no, then you figure what the hell and go for it.

So, if the random ramblings are found by someone trying to figure out exactly what they'll be doing in Egypt, here you go. I wrote two blogs about living here already like here and here. They may also help.

These were my concerns or what I was curious about*...

Is it safe?
That's a tricky question.  Do I feel like I can walk out my house with my son and take him to the playground? Totally, without a doubt.  Do I feel like I can walk around Mt Sinai anymore?  Nope.  And honestly, if I didn't have a 2 year old in tow I wouldn't hesitate to go there.  So, that's why it's a tricky question.

Post Revolution Egypt is, from what I've been told, less safe than it was before.  This is true because police are pretty scarce and are not feared like they once were. However, I see police all the time.  There are at least two or three sitting outside on my street corner everyday.  We also live in Maadi, so that's a huge reason (affluent area, a lot of expats, a lot of oil company HQ's, home of many Ambassadors) why they're very present.

So, it's a tricky question.  Yes, I feel safe.  If I didn't feel safe  I wouldn't live here with my 2 year old.  Like any enormous city there are dangerous aspects to it, but I do not go looking for trouble.  I play it safe.  Just like you would if you lived in New York or London or anywhere else in the world.  There have been reports (2 reports that have been told to me) of taxi drivers mugging and trying (thankfully, not successfully) to sexually assault women, so now I use an extremely trustworthy driving service.

It got heavy there for a minute, so I figured I'd put a pic of me and the kid for  a change of pace.

What about grocery stores?
There are four grocery stores within walking distance to our apartment. One, that isn't in walking distance, is on the Nile. That's kinda cool. I can get my laundry detergent 12 feet from the Nile.

Typical produce for sale at Kimo Market in Maadi.

Deli section.  You can get a ton of brie here, just know that.  

Like grocery stores in the US, some are great and you like them and some suck but you go to them because they're convenient.  On a typical once a week grocery haul I have to go to two stores.  One because it will typically carry the diapers I like (see below), and I can get most of my list there.  The other one is for  produce.

Can I get diapers?
Yes, diapers are very easy to get.  The three brands I've used here are Pampers, Molfix and Baby Joy.  The Pampers here are not like the ones in the US.  Pampers and Molfix aren't good at all.  They're the most expensive brand and for whatever reason always give Benjamin a diaper rash.  Two of my other fellow expat mom's have said the same.  Baby Joy is inexpensive and awesome.  I highly recommend that brand.

Is Milk available?
Yes, fresh milk is very available. I get Dina Farms brand because you can see through the bottle.  So many times I opened the Labatina brand milk (it does not have a clear bottle) to clumpy, disgusting curtled milk. If shelf stable milk is okay with you they have that as well.  Shelf stable milk freaks me out, so I don't get it (in the US and here in Egypt).

Juice?
Welcome to Egypt, the land of juice!  There are tons of fresh juices available that are extremely delicious.  Like Egyptian Lemon Juice (that recipe isn't too accurate because what makes it good is they add the lemon peel to the juice too). It's amazing and one of my most favorite things here.

Don't be fooled by the face.  He loves this stuff.

Freshly squeezed juice is always available. I'm talking fresh mango, fresh pineapple, fresh orange juice, fresh watermelon- if it's in season they'll have a juice. No high fructose corn syrup for us.We get freshly squeezed orange juice every week. We're super spoiled with that. There are also tons of packaged selections in the grocery stores.  Everything from apple to red grape to pineapple.  Juice boxes are everywhere too.  One thing that's different here than in the US is they sell them individually.  Nice because you can get a variety.  Annoying because then you have a lot of loose juice boxes to deal with.

What's tv like over there?
Out of 400 channels there are about 6 or so ones in English.  We get BBC News, Euro News and CNN. However, CNN has just vanished and I have no idea where it went.  For local news we check out Aljazeera in English.
Movies on tv are plenty and typically pretty good stuff.  Then again, I have seen Step Up and The Way She Move like 100xs- the things we will watch for just a little bit of English and American culture.

You can get a paid network called OSN for (I think) $50/month.  We have to move apartments this month and may end up getting it.

Meat?
Do not buy local beef.  It's disgusting!  One of the first meals I made here was spaghetti.  It was something that  I knew I could get (because there is pasta all over the grocery stores, tons and tons of different sizes, etc) and spaghetti sauce in brands I knew (and you'll pay a good bit for as well...now I make it from scratch) and saw that ground beef wasn't at all expensive.  We ate our first bit of spaghetti and something was way off. It was gritty and had a nasty fat coating.  It took me several more tries to realized that local beef was nasty.
So now we get beef from Gourmet Egypt. You order it online and it is delivered to your home.  Simple.
Local chicken is fine.  They sell it just like at home.
You can also get turkey.  It's fine too.
Pork is available, but it's going to cost you.  Unless you're here for the US Gov and can go to the Commissary. If you have Commissary privileges just know that you need to share the wealth and slip your buds a bacon or a bottle of wine from time to time.  It's just the nice thing to do for us less fortunate oil people.

Please US Govnt workers...can I have some more?

Alcohol?
Warning: Local Egyptian wine is on average really rank.  It's very hit or miss.
If you're going to get Commissary privileges then you have nothing to fear.  And just remember that thing I said about helping the less fortunate out...

If you're a regular Joe then you have to either stick to the local stuff and pretend it's good (it is not good) or stalk anyone who has returned to Egypt from an out of the country trip.  You have two days to take them to the Duty Free shop and get your 3 bottles (4 at the airport) of whatever you like.  If you have family coming in then you have hit pay dirt.  There was no shame in our game when we asked if Benjamin's passport counted and we could get 3 more bottles.  They said no, he was too young.  I wanted to point out the 7 year old driving the car and smoking outside, but figured I'd leave it.

You know how if you go to a friends house for dinner you typically pick up a bottle of something to bring? Yea, doing that here is a huge commitment.  You have to really like those people.  Because parting with your hooch is difficult to do.  A friend of mine said how they brought a bottle over to a dinner party and the hosts didn't serve them the wine they brought, so she sneaked it out the house when they left.  Normally that would be really rude, but I can't say I blame her. I would of been right there sneaking my wine under my coat.  And if I have to burn a buddy bridge for some wine then so be it.

If you're a beer drinker then you have three brands to choose.  All three are local, but not that bad.  I like them okay.

Will we make friends?
Absolutely!  However, you're going to have to step out of your comfort zone and introduce yourself to people.  I joined a Mommy and Me class our first week here to meet other moms, find out what they do with their little critters and get contact information. I got the name of a lady who ran the local playgroup and off I went. I was meeting a friend and she received a text from someone she didn't know saying she was a fellow Aussie and wondered if they could have coffee sometime.  We all agreed that if that happened to us back home we would think them a stalker, but here it's totally normal to do stuff like that.

At a friend's Halloween Party

Yaaaar! A Pirate, his monkey hiding in the bush looking for treasure.

Halloween party at his nursery school.  The pirate thing had been done, so we went with Drew Brees.

Dying Easter Eggs with new friends

There are other organizations where you can meet other expats too.  Visit the CSA (go to their New to Egypt class- you will not regret it), the BCA and Ace Club. I'm also friends with some women I met in my spinning and Pilates classes.  I met them at Body Fit Cairo.

Also, the expat community in Cairo is wonderful.  The majority of the people I have met have been completely helpful and generous with their advice and time.


And here are some discoveries that I've found...

Getting around town with a stroller is hell, but you just have to do it.  If you're staying at home with your little guys then you'll need to be mobile with them.  You'll soon discover that people here walk on the roads for a reason.  They walk on the roads because 9 times out of 10 there is something wrong with the sidewalk.  They're finished but then the tiles come up, so you have a gaping hole in the middle of your path.  They have street lights smack in the middle of the sidewalk, so you can't get around them.  Getting off and on the sidewalks takes all your upper body strength because the sidewalks are at least 2 feet from the street.  It's a total pain in the ass to get around.  A necessary pain in the ass thought. So, get a jogging stroller.  The best quality and needs to be the easiest to fix if it breaks.  You will not regret it.

Tea is king in Cairo.  However there are a ton of coffee shops that offer latte's and all the delicious foamy goodness you've come to love.  I didn't try to see if they had a Tall Non Fat Moca Peppermint latte.  One pump Peppermint, Easy on the Moca because who knows what I would of been served.

Sweets are everywhere and they're delicious.  Egyptians have a big sweet tooth, so you don't hurt for delicious baked goodies.  Ramadan sweets are the best.

If you recognize the brand it's likely it's going to cost you.  There are the exceptions to this like Coke and Heintz products.  But, just as an example: Ragu Spaghetti Sauce is like $6.00 here, Lucky Charms is $7.00 and Oscar Meyer sliced bacon was $20.00.

If you find something in the grocery stores that you just love then buy a lot of it. Something I've found is that just as you have grown to love it it's gone.  Stores can be totally inconsistant with what they have in stock.  They're going to have the usuals (bread, butter, milk), but not always the brand you like or in the amounts you need.  There is this drinkable yogurt here that Benjamin just loves.  For whatever reason it was nowhere to be found during Ramadan.  An entire month of having a crying toddler shouting "Go-gie!  Go-gie Mok!" (Yogurt Milk) was the worst. One weakness I have is for gummy things.  The more sour the better.  There is one brand of lovely gummy sour goodnss that can't be found anywhere anymore.  Since Ocotober, poof, gone.  If I see it again I'm buying 20 bags.

If you stand out in any way (me: 5 ft 10 inches, pale pale pale, and blonde.  Or "blonde" wink) then people are going to want to take a picture of you.  There probably going to want to take a picture of your kids too.  This will happen a lot when you go to the Pyramids or other touristy places.  You can tell them no.  I usually don't mind.  Unless I get a creepy vibe from them.  It's mainly couples or groups of girls anyway.

Having a maid/nanny/housekeeper is the most wonderful and amazing thing in the world.  We have been lucky to have 2 (one left to go back to Ethiopia) of the best women work for us.  Sara, our current maid/nanny/housekeeper, is amazing.  I have written about her several times in here.



If I could re-move here i'd bring...

Our bed.  Don't get me started on one of the dumbest things I've ever done and said "nah we don't need our lovely pillow top American style bed.  We will be fine without it."  You won't. Bring your bed.  If you bring it and don't want it call me. I'll buy it from you.

Benjamin's infant stuff.  When we moved we had a crazed 18 month old that woke up at 5am every morning. Having a second baby was the last thing on my mind.  Now we have a somewhat calm 2 year old and baby noise has started up again.  And all I can think of are his wonderful baby things stuck in some warehouse in Houston...and how we're going to have to beg to borrow things from our friends OR buy them at 30000% mark up.  Luckily Seth's company is awesome enough to send it for us.  Hopefully it makes it here by next month.

A lot of diapers.  Why I didn't buy the farm on diapers and have the movers send them is beyond me.  Live and learn.

Beach stuff!  You're only one hour away from the Gulf of Suez in Ain Soukna and five hours away from El Gouna.  Both great beaches.  Bring your totes, mini ice chests, sand toys and swim suits.

Bday and Christmas gifts for the following year.  Especially if they are large ones.

Think about the next time you'll be going back to your home base.  If it's two seasons from now (and you have little kids who will outgrow their clothes) then bite the bullet and get the mother load of the next size in clothes.  There is a Gap here- I haven't been to it- but if it's anything like the one in Dubai you're going to pay big time for the clothes there.  I kinda suspect that it's that way, hence why I haven't made the trip over to Mall of Arabia to check it out.

Favorite snacks you need? Protein Powder/Gatoraid/Cliff Bars (my husband cycles, can you tell?)  Get yourself to Costco and load up.  Don't pack them, have them sent with your other things.


Other blogs about living here...
Go with the Flow





*these are things that worried me before we moved here in April 2011.  Your concerns/questions may be different.  If your curious about anything you can email me or contact some of the other links I have on here.

Sarah Golden

I can cook.  Kinda.  I have an expensive degree that says I should be able to put a meal or two together, but on the whole I'm not that great.  I fully understand I'm not talented.

However,

I know a lot of talented people.  I have a friend who is an amazing painter, I have a friend who actually cooks really well and can serve you her food in dishes she made herself AND I have the most talented friend (who is also my cousin) who is an amazing singer/songwriter.

She's going to be on Season 2 of The Voice.  For obvious reasons (just check out where I'm located if you're lost on that one) I haven't been able to watch the first two episodes of the show.  Good news for you is that you haven't missed her!  She hasn't auditioned (is it an audition by this point?) yet.  I don't think she can say how far she got.  Probably one of those Bachelor type contracts where you can't say what happens, and if you do you owe them your kidneys.

So, ladies and gentleman, I give to you Sarah Golden.  Whose diaper I once changed, so Sarah remember the little people when you and CeLo go out for sandwiches...

 

and I think I put the same video twice.  And I can't delete it.  Awesome