Adventures in Cooking

We had a friend over yesterday, which was a perfect opportunity for me to try a new recipe. I made Italian Wedding Soup. One great thing about living here is all the fresh produce. The picture is what I started with: spinach, carrots, basil, parsley, green onions. Those, along with ground beef, orzo pasta, and chicken broth were all the ingredients. But the recipe didn't call for carrots, so now we have extra. Oops. The unfortunate thing about the fresh produce is that it takes a lot of prep, particularly the herbs. But fresh basil and parsley is super cheap, and tastes so much better than dried!

I was thinking about my sister-in-law as I made this. She's a big fan of Italian food, and I wish she could have been here to share it with us. The friend who got to enjoy it with us is not feeling well, so I sent him home with leftovers, some banana bread, and some carrots, green onions, spinach and herbs. There was way too much for us to eat before they spoil!

Kitty Update

The kittens Jeff and I are watching are growing up. We hear them outside the window and like to watch their antics. Unfortunately, one of them is growing bigger and faster than the other. The big guy gets off the roof and plays under mama's supervision while the little guy crouches on the corner of the building and cries. It's really sad. The other night Jeff and I threw some food on the roof and he gobbled it up.

Some Recent Conversations

I am about to record some conversations I've had in the last week. These are all with people who speak English. I know that as a guest in this country I should not be critical of people's language ability when they go out of their way to communicate to me in my language, and that is not my intent. Rather, I wish to share with people what it is like living here, and all the little daily things that happen that make life stressful in a very different way than stress at home. And for the sake of privacy, I will not use my real last name.

Convo #1
Phone rings at home
Me: Hello?
silence
Me: Hello?
Caller (male): Yes, I'd like the fax number for the petroleum company.
Me: You have the wrong number.
Caller: The fax number please!
Me: This is a house.
Caller: I need to send the fax!!
Me: I am at home. You have the wrong number. This is a house.
Caller: This is a house? Sorry.
Caller hangs up

Convo #2
I am calling an office at the university bus company with a question regarding how to get a bus pass.
Me: Hi, I need to know how to get a bus pass for the Spring semester. I can't seem to register online.
Bus Rep: You need to go online and register.
Me: I tried that, and it won't let me.
Bus Rep: Just go online and complete your schedule.
Me: I can't! I already tried and it only shows me last semester's schedule.
Bus Rep: Oh, you already registered last semester?
Me: Yes.
Bus Rep: You don't have to go online, you just need to go to the Student Services Center and get a receipt that shows you paid, and then go to the transportation office for your new pass.
Me: Where is the Student Services Center?
Bus Rep: It is by Gate 1.
Me: Which gate is Gate 1, is that the one where visitors go?
Bus Rep: I don't know about that, but it is by Gate 1.
Me: Where is Gate 1?! I don't know where that is.
Bus Rep: It's by the Student Services Center.
Me: Thank you, bye.
Commentary: I gave up on this conversation. I was so frustrated. I spent maybe a 1/2 hour trying to follow this lady's directions, when all I needed to do was go to the bus help desk by the gate where the bus drops us off and exchange my old ID for a new one.

Convo #3
I called the mail office to check if a package from my mother-in-law arrived.
Mail Office: Hello.
Me: Hi, my name is Sarah Smith, and I want to check if any packages have arrived for me.
Mail Office: Doris Smith? Just a minute.
Me: No, my name is Sarah.
Some conversation happens off the phone in the mail office.
Mail Office: Mrs. Doris picked up her package.
Me: My name is Sarah Smith, not Doris.
Mail Office: Oh, you're not Mrs. Doris? Just a minute.
Mail Office: Which department?
Me: The ELI.
Mail Office: What?
Me: The ELI - English Language Institute.
Mail Office: Are you a student or professor?
Me: I'm a teaching fellow.
Mail Office: Oh.... well when it arrives we will deliver it to your department.
Me: Okay. Thank you. Bye.
Mail Office: Bye.
He didn't sound like he knows what the ELI is, so I'll keep checking!

One Last Hurrah

Last week, Jeff and I went to Alexandria for a night. We were celebrating Jeff's birthday and we realized between Jeff's work, office hours of other businesses, and so on, we could only spare one night before I returned to work. So we went on Tuesday morning and returned on Wednesday night. We ate okay Chinese food that was somewhat overpriced, enjoyed lots of coffee shops, and watched a movie on our satellite TV in the hotel room. The only touristy thing we did was visit the Mahmoud Said Museum. Mahmoud Said was an artist during the early to mid-20th century, who, according to the guide book helped form Egypt's artistic identity. He was a judge by day.

We stayed at the Union Hotel, which was great. I've tried to stay there several times before, but it's always been full. For $20, we got a clean room with a private bathroom and breakfast. Compare this experience with Michelle from last April.