Mad about Rain

In a water scarce country such as Egypt, water comes at a greater price than other places on earth. Unlike the song about rain that I grew up with in Canada "Rain, Rain Go Away, Come Again Another Day", Egyptians sing a slightly different version, that welcomes the rain.

The song goes like this,
"Ye matera, ye matera, ruhi ruhi, ala ara2at bint okhti" Come rain, come rain, hurry hurry, fall on the bald head of my niece.
This year, Egypt has seen an unprecedented amount of rainfall - more than I can recall in any year previous year I've been here. But I saw my first Egyptian rainbow last week, and its fabulous arch painted the entire sky. Let's hope for more rainbows.

One thing is for sure, after the rain is gone -
Cairo shines and sparkles

Encouragement when Learning Arabic

Arabic calligraphy needs its own post,
but I couldn't pass the opportunity to
display how beautiful the language is.

In Egypt, people are MOST encouraging when it comes to learning their language. The Egyptians are fully supportive of anyone trying to talk the talk.

From my earliest visits here, when literally all I could utter was "Salam Alaykum" (peace be upon you), the people would be so encouraging and clap their hands and say how fabulous an Arabic speaker I was - and basically, all I knew was "Hello".

That sort of encouragement goes a long way, and it really makes it a pleasure to learn a language, as challenging and dynamic as Arabic, in both colloquial and classical forms.

Fabulous Tailors

I always love going to these open shops in Egypt full of piles and piles of fabric and sometimes a sewing machine halfway into the street. You can get your curtains sewn, buy cushions for your sofa, fix broken zippers, reupholster all of your furniture - or at other tailors, have entire suits and evening gowns made, wedding dresses, or just get your pants hemmed. I've even seen one that sews "imported hair" together to make ladies wigs. It's easy, its inexpensive, often its quite nicely done.

Fabric/sewing shop in Heliopolis.
Note the stacks of cushions for outdoor patio furniture.
I had some made for my balcony.

A Beauty that Doesn't even Recognize Itself

Egypt has beauty that doesn't realize its own beauty. Sometimes the harsh sounds and the startling images blind us to the beauty right before our eyes. Beauty that lies in every step, in every gentle rosy sunset, in every silently whispered prayer, in every aspiration and dream kept chained inside. Loveliness moving in and out of the cascade of colors and onslaught of imagery: Glimpses of tenderness. Kind words. Splashes of color. Lyrical language. Sweetly sung songs.
Of these, the most beautiful is that which is silently unaware of its own fairness.

Night Swimming in January

A few nights ago, I took my daughter to a swim class after sunset.
Quite fabulously, it is January.

My daughter's swim class at the club. She's at the top corner of the pool.
Note the silver orb of the moon at the top left.

This is how children look in Canada in January:

(Randy from "A Christmas Story",
filmed about 10 minutes from where I grew up
for more on Canadian winter bliss watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HW4IZ0Flh3M)

Need I say more?

Healthy and Delicious Fast Food

An Egyptian restaurant selling
"foul" and falafel sandwiches

Egyptian fast food is unbelievably fabulous. I still am utterly amazed when Egyptians or other expats go to McDonald's or other American chains here (which are all quite popular), and spend about 10 times as much as they would for Egyptian fast food, on food that is infinitely less healthy and infinitely less tasty.

Egyptian fast food has a whole variety of yummy helpings - from Kebab sandwiches for meat lovers (that come second only to Turkish Döner kebabs) to a wide selection of vegetarian and even vegan delights (watch out for my upcoming post on why its great to be a vegan in Egypt).

One of my favorite Egyptian fast food restaurant experiences was eating in a restaurant called "The Gash" (which means, I believe, the donkey) where we actually had to move our tables and chairs as we were eating in the middle of the street when some cars came up behind us. Talk about fabulous food on the go... ;)

Preparing falafel (in Egyptian, called "Tahmeya")

Saying "I love you" with your car horn

Music  and poetry is everywhere,
even in honking your car

In Cairo, the roadways are the very pulse of the city and are as musical as the rest of Egypt. 

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Well, fair enough. On the roadways here, the drivers have their own system of messages conveyed just through the beats of the car horn. 

If you beat it out to: ba-ha-bak (I love you), then you are saying thank you to the car ahead of you for being nice, maybe letting you pass. There is also a wedding march that echoes across Cairo streets from throngs of cars every weekend from all of the regular wedding festivities.