A new day

First of all, you may have noticed that I went back to my old layout for the blog. I know it's not as pretty but I felt like the other one was kind of...distracting. I plan on adding photos more frequently (more on that in a minute) and I don't want the bright colors and design to take away from that.
So I'm still not going outside. Now it's less about the allergies and more about the sandstorms! Today is the 3rd day. You know when you heat up the oven and then open it to put something in? That's what I feels like when you walk outside. You open the door and it's like opening the door to an oven. And then once you're outside, even if the wind isn't blowing there is a fine silt in the air. At night, you can see it in the beams of the headlights of cars. It gets in your teeth, your eyes, your hair. It's gross. So since I'm not teaching today I'm going to stay in and hope it's better tomorrow. No one seems to know how long this will last. We were warned about this, but we were told that it would happen in late winter or early spring. Oh well.
My latest obsession has been the blog www.soulemama.com. When I was doing my baby registry I found a book about having a creative family and it looked so great. Then Heather told me that the author had a blog, that she got started doing a blog and then wrote the book. So I checked it out, and a week later I am now reading all the archived blogs from as far back as 2005! So in addition to inspiring me to make baby clothes, and learn more about Waldorf education, she has made me want to be a better blogger. This woman has 4 kids and she manages to blog pretty much daily AND post lots of great pictures. So since it's only been May for a few days, I'm going to try and post everyday or at least every other day for the rest of the month. We'll see how it works out!

The Great ? Outdoors

I am sad to say that outdoors is not my favorite place to be right now. I have been plagued with nasty headaches that I assume are pregnancy related, but are exacerbated by Spring (and the usual dust and pollution) in Cairo. As simple walk to the yoga studio or the market can make the entire right side of my skull tender to the touch. It's so unfortunate because the weather and the trees and flowers are truly lovely right now. I was especially excited to see the Indian Jasmine blooming on the median at the end of the street. I want to be out in the sun before it becomes brutally hot and I won't want to leave the AC!
In other news, Spring has given us some great fruit. I am gorging myself on peaches, and 2 different kinds of melon. They are very small and I assume they are cantelope and honeydew, based on the color. But they are much sweeter than the melon I've had in the states. There is also a curious little fruit called loquat that we actually had for the first time in Greece and now we are getting them here as well. The are small, orange, oval shaped fruits with a thick skin. The taste can be slightly acidic, but when they are truly ripe they are very sweet. It reminds me of a cross between a kiwi and an apple, maybe with a little starfruit thrown in...

The Calm Before the Storm

Well, here's the lowdown. Greece was spectacular. I didn't want to come back at all. It was relaxing and perfect and we had the best time. We've been back a week and I still have a half unpacked suitcase in the hall. My allergies have been awful since we've been back and I can't wait to go to the doctor tomorrow and find what I can take while I'm pregnant. It's miserable.
So things are back to normal...for now. I think this is the calm before the storm. We're back in our routines for now but all of that is going to change soon. We have visitors coming in a couple of weeks, and they will be in Egypt for 3 weeks. They'll be traveling all over the country but this will be there home base. The semester will be over in a month, that means all of the normal end of semester things, but it also means that there are people who are leaving Cairo because they are only here for a year. And then there are people who are coming back next year, who we aren't going to see for 2 months, maybe more in some cases. So, I feel there are going to be a lot of parties, dinners, coffees, and "one last" this or that. And then of course there will be all the last minute preparations for leaving the flat for 2 months. Don't get me wrong, the countdown will begin soon and I can't wait to get home, but there are still things to take care of here. It's amazing that we've only been here a few short months, in the grand scheme of things, and I've already grown so attached so many people here. I am really going to miss them and it's going to be strange to be away for so long. But this is the life!

a much needed break

Tonight we leave for a 10 day trip to Greece. It couldn't come at a better time as I am starting to get a little crabby with Cairo. You know when you spend too much time with a friend in close quarters that you normally like but after a while you start to think about ways you could murder them so they would shut up? That may be a bit extreme and, truth be told, I've never wanted to do that to any of my friends, but you can understand the sentiment. I'm tired of the noise; the cars, the yelling, the constant construction, the dogs, even the sweet birds are getting to me. Now there are a few explanations for this. First, I always get more antsy after I buy my ticket home. The same thing happened before Christmas. And yes, I have bought my ticket home and I'll be arriving on June 14th for those who don't already know. It's almost like as soon as I know the exact date, I think of everything else in terms of that. If we're planning something in May I'll think, "that's one month before I leave" it makes time kind of drag. The other big excuse that I'm becoming VERY fond of is, I'm pregnant. This is the ultimate Get Out Of Jail Free card although I think this time it is legit. My patience has officially bottomed out. I am tired of being tolerant of every little odd thing that goes on here. I know that's not very open and understanding of me but I'm trying to be honest and I think that's one of the things this baby is doing for me is making my ability to bullshit almost non-existent. I also think that you can just get sick of looking at the same stuff all the time. It happens to everyone. It could be your dream city, there are things that are going to start to wear you down after a while. So here's the plan, 2 days in Athens, and then 7 days in Hydra which is one of the Saronic Islands that has NO MOTORIZED TRANSPORT! That's right, no noise or pollution or honking! By the way, I've been counting and I've heard 23 honks just since I started this post. Hang on, make that 27. 32. Ok, I'll stop now. Anyway, we are very excited to eat some good food, breathe some fresh air and read books instead of computer screens. I'll be back in a couple of weeks with a fantastic slide show and many wonderful stories. Happy Easter, Happy Passover, Happy Orthodox Easter, and there's an Egyptian holiday next monday that translates to "smell the spring" day. So happy Smell the Spring Day, too!

The First Visitor

Well, being a tour guide sure is exhausting! My first visitor just left yesterday. Laurie is one of my oldest friends and her trip was kind of last minute which made it fun. I've known for about a month that she was coming. She arrived last monday late at night. We spent the week, shopping, eating, pyramiding, felluca riding, antiquities exploring, mummy gazing, traffic dodging, Opera and Ballet watching, sunbathing (intentional and unintentional), birthday bashing, knitting, lounging, and movie making. I'm sure I'm forgetting things but you check out her blog, maybe she'll fill in the gaps...
In other news Ira has been away all week in Germany giving a paper at a conference. He gets home tonight and I'm very excited to see him. We leave for Greece next week!

Indiana Jones and Lost

We went on an AUC trip to some archeological sites on Saturday. They were pretty great, the best part was one of the statues was on Lost this week!! I had heard that this season was going to have lots of Ancient Egypt references, but this is great! Also we heard a story about a man named Horace in ancient Egypt. If you don't watch Lost, sorry, but if you do how cool is that?! AND remember Hurley was doing a watercolor of the Sphinx and the pyramids last week?? I've got all the ins and outs! Oh, and the place where we were was the place where Indiana Jones discovered the Lost Ark in the movie. Not as exciting to me, sorry. Enjoy the slideshow! It's probably best viewed at a larger size, there are lots of great details that are missed in the small version.

I did it

I have established the dreaded Mommy Blog. For my fun single friends who think I have gone over the deep end, DON'T JUST STAND THERE FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, COME HELP ME! And for the parents and future grandparents, I know this is the stuff that you guys live for. Enjoy!
www.cairoyogibaby.blogspot.com