Gnome's Home

First Impressions

2010-06-25T17:18:00.000-07:00

I left Vancouver at 3:55 a.m. on June,24th and flew for 13 hours until I arrived at Hong Kong. From Hong Kong I flew another 2 and a half hours until I reached Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon as it used to be called. There was a little bit of craziness on arrival because neither my Mother nor the person who hired me at the school had bothered to mention that I would need $50 USD in order to get my working visa. After much confusion I found a bank machine that would accept my Canadian debit card and all was well. Did you know that Vietnamese money is called dong? Anyway $50 USD equals a million dong, I found it all a little confusing but was much relieved when everything got sorted out. I was picked up by a lovely Korean woman named Saemi who took me to the school where Valerie works. The drive to the school was fantastic we drove past all these great sights. The electrical wires here are insane they are bundled together in huge strands that look like something out of the matrix. The river we drove over was full of boats that people live on, it was so pretty. The school is actually a series of store fronts in the bottom of an apartment building, they are moving this August into a more traditional school-like building. This year was the inaugural year for the school and they only had 280 students. I met all of Valerie's fellow teachers and it went by in a jet-lagged blur. I met my boss who looked at me and said "I expected someone physically quite different" I have a lot of dance stuff on my resume so I guess he was expecting a lithe dancer-type. Thats ok I wasn't expecting to be employed by someone who looks like a garden gnome. It looks as though I will be teaching kindergarten and I will only have 7 students. I may be staying a little bit longer than intended (by maybe 5 days) which will be fine. They are not paying me as much as I was quoted which sucks but it is still MUCH better money than chapters. I can't wait to get out and take some pictures. Last night we went out for dinner with some of the teachers from the school to celebrate (it was their last day of work). We had all kinds of lovely dishes, after eating we went to a place called Fanny's which serves gourmet ice cream, YUM! The ice cream place was right across the road from a spot called the Drunken Duck. I wasn't really excited until I got here and I have gotten really excited. The culture is much more gentle than Egypt and the people are very kind and polite. I look forward to exploring this wonderful place. Tomorrow we may be going to Hoi An or Halong Bay, either spot sounds lovely.

The Book that changed my diet

2010-06-15T12:24:00.000-07:00

As many of you know I have been a vegetarian now for nearly two months. I was inspired to make the change in my diet after reading Skinny Bitch. The book actually suggests veganism which I am working towards. I think the thing I value most about this book is it's focus on ingredients and it's explanations as to why certain foods are horrid (e.g. aspartame turns into formaldehyde in your body). Since reading the book I have become much more careful about reading labels. However I have made the mistake now several times of assuming something is vegan and then reading the label only to discover the ingredients include milk and egg products.

New blogs

2009-08-01T22:32:00.000-07:00

www.nomibnia.wordpress.com

and

www.nominia.wordpress.com

I really only update when I travel or so something interesting...so not that often.

Moving Day

2009-02-28T14:15:00.000-08:00

I started using blogger back in 2001 because at the time it was a neat new gadget to play with. Now it is no longer keeping up with what I want. So I am working on creating new blog(s) with wordpress...stay tuned for links...

Old friends are the best friends

2009-02-15T15:06:00.000-08:00

Jazz came back. Amber stole him from Allan's drive-way. This is an old picture of Jazz, he doesn't look like this anymore. His coat is kind of ratty and his eyes are all weepy. I'm doing my best to fix him up. I can't believe how much I have missed him. He follows me everywhere I go and spends almost all of his time curled up on my bed. My little old man is home at last.

In case you didn't know.

2009-02-11T16:38:00.001-08:00

I'm famous.

(In Wawa).

A loooooooong time ago

2009-01-20T16:31:00.000-08:00

When I was little I had a great friend her name was Melli and she lived next door to us in Gizo. We had so many fantastic adventures together. If nothing else I am grateful to facebook for putting us back in touch. This was Melli, her Uncle, and I at the beach when we were about 7 years old. We were both really short so we looked closer to 4 than 7, ha ha ha.

The Rock Hyrax

2009-01-15T08:28:00.000-08:00

I have been, for the most part, uploading these in sequence. However for this post I am uploading a bunch of pictures of the rock hyrax from all over the place because we would come across this funny little creature in the strangest areas. There are two varieties the rock hyrax and the tree hyrax. We saw tons of rock hyraxes sitting atop large boulders in the Serengeti so when we saw this little guy in a tree at a rest stop we assumed it was a tree hyrax...not so according to Prospa it is another rock hyrax, in a tree.

Monkey

2009-01-15T08:18:00.000-08:00

The vervet monkey is sometimes called the turquoise monkey. I couldn't figure out why at first and then I read a bit of the guide book that said something along the lines of "they become particularly colourful when agitated. Huh...

Then we came across these little monkeys sitting by the roadside. Take a good look at the last picture uploaded and you will see why they are sometimes called the turquoise monkey.

If it smells like phunk it must be us!

2009-01-15T06:14:00.000-08:00

I would argue that the success of any trip depends a very great deal on who your traveling partners are. Valerie and I were really lucky. Emily and Kelly were so much fun! We enjoyed our time with them. Their sense of humor and adventure made the trip that extra bit better. There was a span of about 4 days when we couldn't bathe so we didn't smell very good. No one harped about it. We did make fun of one another but that almost goes without saying. I want cool tats on my feet like Emily. The video posted above is of poor Kelly, he falls asleep in any kind of moving vehicle, this is him sleeping and his head bouncing around.

Lion in a tree

2009-01-15T06:06:00.001-08:00

We saw two animals on our safari that were wearing radio collars. This lion had a huge leather collar on, I'm not sure if you can tell from these pictures though. I wish blogger would let me post bigger photos.

Hello Creepy

2009-01-12T08:54:00.000-08:00

This is the secretary bird, and one of the creepiest looking birds we came across. It isn't really clear in this picture but the area around the birds eyes is bright red. Then they have this fan of black feathers that stick out around it's head. This bird is a hunter, as we stopped to view this pair they destroyed another bird's nest and ate her eggs.

Black Death

2009-01-12T08:47:00.000-08:00

The cape buffalo also know as the black death. This animal is a member of the "Big Five" which is the top 5 most dangerous animals in Africa, the list includes; lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos, and the cape buffalo. Looking at them you wouldn't think they were so very scary, all they seem to do is stand around and chew their cud. Apparently they are are notoriously unpredictable and capable of inflicting massive damage with their horns.

Safari Part 7

2009-01-11T06:50:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning. I probably took more pictures of this group of elephants than of any other group of animals. It was amazing.

Visitors

2009-01-11T06:44:00.000-08:00

Good-Morning People of the Tent, I come in Peace! I have to admit that sleeping in the tents gave me some anxiety at first. I poked the tent with my finger and whispered at Valerie "Nylon, Mother, Nylon." She laughed at me, as she does. Inside the confines of the eating cage Prospa told us that we should stay inside the tent at night and if we hear strange sounds that we should stay put inside. For all of my worries the only visitor we had at the campsite was this little fellow.

Safari Part 6.6

2009-01-11T06:34:00.000-08:00

As we were driving along Valerie hollered at Prospa to stop, he did and then reversed to try and find what Valerie had seen. In that 30 seconds these Jackals had already decided to leave. It took me too long to turn my camera on and to try and focus it on the running animals to get any kind of decent image. I still can't believe we saw them. They were so graceful.

Safari Part 6.5

2009-01-11T06:25:00.000-08:00

On our second day in the Serengeti we stopped for lunch at a picnic spot. Not a minute after we were out of the vehicle rain poured down up on us. It was our first rainfall in Africa, and it was a welcome surprise after being deprived of bathing water at the campsite. As the rain fell these tiny birds manifested around us hopping up and down hoping for some lunch treats.

Safari Part 6.4

2009-01-10T20:01:00.000-08:00

I took this picture while on safari. Leopards are really the only thing we didn't see on safari. I showed this shot to Prospa and he was stunned, he asked me how I had done this. When I told him he nearly peed himself. This picture is a close-up of a postcard.

Safari Part 6.3

2009-01-10T19:51:00.000-08:00

We saw these lions from a distance. I thought this is what the entire safari would be like, that we would only see animals from far away. These pictures were taken with my zoom focused as far as it would go 20X. The other thing I find interesting about these shots is the proximity of the lions to the migrating herds. Every now and then a zebra would wander over and whinny at the lions but it didn't start off any kind of panic.

We interrupt our regularly scheduled...

2009-01-10T16:15:00.000-08:00

The conflict in Gaza really upsets me. I have signed petitions, I have watched the news, I have tried to understand. I have Jewish friends and I have Islamic friends. I find the whole scenario heartbreaking. One of my Egyptian students started a group on facebook called "We hate Israel." This is coming from a nine year old boy, how can someone so young know what it is to hate? I know this sounds silly but I wish there was something I could do, something pro-active. I would donate blood to the red cross but I am not allowed (malaria). I have signed this letter from Amnesty International, perhaps you will to.

Safari Part 6

2009-01-10T10:22:00.001-08:00

Our first game drive in Tanzania. We saw a giant spider web, and a crazy birds nest. Also we were there in the season of the short rains which as it turns out is also the major migration season for wildebeasts and zebras, lots and lots of animals. It is impossible to convey just how many animals we saw, as far as the eye could see there they were. Then when we drove on for hours they were still always there as far as the horizon, it was incredible. When the wildebeasts started to run between the trucks Emily whispered "...Mufasa..."

Safari Part 5.5

2009-01-10T09:23:00.001-08:00

This was our campsite in Tanzania. The third picture is the caged area where they kept us during feeding time. The last picture is the area where all of the cooks prepared our meals.
I had mixed feelings about this campsite. First of all it was out in the open, there were nothing between us and nature, as was demonstrated on our first night when a giraffe walked into camp. Second, they told us that they put us in the cage at meal time to protect us from baboons who liked to steal food, right baboons. Finally there was never any water for bathing, and we spent three nights and four days there, four hot African days in a truck with no air conditioning. On the up side it was beautiful, and quiet. The skies at night were fantastic, soooo many stars!! It was nice to be forced into the meal area at night time because it meant we had to be social, we couldn't just go and hide in our rooms. I learned how to play a card came from northern Ontario called yuker, it is so much fun!! We met all kinds of interesting people there from all over the world. My favorite encounter was with this touch looking guy, he looked like Vin Diesel except old. It turns out he is an American veterinarian living in Nigeria working for U.S.Aid, he is in charge of a group working against bird flu in Africa. We called him Vinnie the Vet (but not to his face). We also enjoyed our encounter with the French group, when they discovered there was no water they all took sponge baths from their water bottles in full view of the other campers wearing nothing but their underwear. Last but not least there was the mullet, he was from somewhere in Eastern Europe. The mullet followed us around from campsite to campsite and every time we saw him we got the giggles. It wasn't just that he had a mullet, but he had curled the bottom, and he insisted on wearing a shirt with the sleeves cut off, and camouflage pants.
Gamba our cook was awesome, he is such a nice guy. For breakfast every morning we would have fried eggs, toast, fruit, pancakes, and hot dog wieners. Lunch was almost always a boxed lunch which included; chicken leg, bag of chips, bag of nuts, boiled egg, apple juice, cheese and carrot sandwich, chocolate bar, and an orange. Dinner was always huge, it included some kind of soup, a main course and then dessert. On Christmas eve he hung up a Merry Christmas banner and made us a special cake. We all wore silly Santa hats and I had stockings hung by our table for the other three, we out christmassed everyone else there!

Safari Part 5: The drive from Kenya to Tanzania

2009-01-10T09:02:00.000-08:00

We drove, and drove, and drove, and drove some more. When that was done we drove even more!

We left the Mara lodge around 7:15 am. We arrived at the campsite in the Serengeti around 3pm. It was a loooong drive. The border crossing was kind of cool, but we weren't allowed to take any pictures. We said our good-byes to Joshua the coolest guide ever, and met our new guide Prospa, and our cook Gamba. We were going to miss Joshua a lot. Prospa was kind of...well difficult. His knowledge of the area was amazing, and he knew every animal, he just wasn't really a people person.

When we arrived at the gates of the Serengeti park we were met by Vervet monkeys, I really liked the one who sat at the table just chilling. As we left the gate we drove past a puddle with the saddle billed stork starring at us as if to say "Who the fuck are you?"

Safari Part 4.8

2009-01-10T08:46:00.001-08:00

Our last evening in Kenya. We saw lots and lots of animals, mostly because of Valerie's eagle-eye performance. Our guide was amazed that she spotted a pride of lions hanging out on a ridge. As we bumbled around in our van we heard that another cheetah had been spotted on the other side of the ravine. Joshua took us to a crossing point with a very steep incline. In the top picture you can see a van approaching the crossing but it doesn't really show you how steep it was. As we sat and watched three trucks go down we marveled at how each vehicle drove at a nearly verticle angle down the track. When it was our turn Emily balked, she didn't want to do it. Valerie backed her up and told Joshua to find another way. So we didn't see the second cheetah but with Valerie's crazy eagle-eye we saw spotted mongoose (mongeese?) and the timid bat-eared fox.

Safari Part 4.5

2009-01-09T07:07:00.000-08:00

During the middle of the day most animals sleep so we went to explore a Masai village. As we pulled up to the village Joshua told us that two Masai were attacked the night before by a lion, they killed it but one of them had to be taken to the hospital. Imagine for a moment living in a place where lions roam free, and that on an every day walk in your neighborhood at anytime you could be attacked by a 400 pound carnivore. We would see Masai people walking freely about the inside of the Masai Mara reserve, and lions aren't really even the worst case scenario there.

Our visit to the Masai village was interesting. We didn't take many pictures of the Masai out of the villages because we were trying to be respectful of their wishes. So in order to take some pictures of them we paid $20USD to enter a special village, witness traditional dances, and take as many pictures as we wanted. The thing is, it felt a little bit like Disney-Masai town to me. I think they built the area to keep tourists out of their space, this way they could control the images that people capture. Which is fine. It just didn't feel very real, and I know authenticity of any kind is a construct but I just felt silly wandering around the fake village. They made us all wear the giant lion-mane hat and then they danced around us singing and I'm not good in situations like that. I'm not a joiner, I'm a watch and mock-er! The dances were cool, and the songs were beautiful. As we were being included people kept asking us our names and introducing themselves, which we learned later is a part of the hard sell. After the tour we were taken outside to the market, where people were shouting out our names and trying to get us to buy things. The money from the market, and the admissions to the village go to the maintenance of schools, and clinics.
Its funny, I like traveling, I just don't like being a tourist. I think there is a difference, tourists pay lots of money for strange experiences like visiting fake villages and paying money to have a lion mane hat plunked on their head. Travelers go to places and try to get a sense of the place, learn the language, meet people and form friendships. Perhaps the distinction is as phony as the village, who knows...

Safari Part Four

2009-01-08T02:06:00.000-08:00

On our third day in Africa we had an amazing day. We got up early in the morning to go for a game drive because most animals are most active at early morning or late afternoon. We saw so many wonderful things. The best part of the day for me was seeing an ancient bull elephant coming over the horizon. He was magnificent. We came across another strange tour at the same time we saw the aged elephant, four people in a little hatchback driving across the Savannah. Not only was it strange that they were in a little city commuter car but they weren't even sticking to the trails they were off-roading it. As we starred in puzzlement at the little grey car a whole other group of elephants appeared, and they had a tiny baby elephant with them. The baby was so small the grass came up past it's shoulders. Joshua guessed the baby was about a week old. We left the elephants to the people in the grey car and drove off in search of leopards by the riverside. I couldn't believe it when the cheetah wandered down the hillside in front of us, it just walked softly by and disappeared into the scrub.

Safari Part 3.5

2009-01-07T15:52:00.000-08:00

Everyone meet Bernard.
Bernard is amazing and Emily wants him to be her husband. I on the other hand think he should be my husband. We met Bernard at the Lodge when he and several other Masai men performed their tribal dances. They also sang Jambo Bwana (a much nicer version than the one I have linked). After the performance he stayed behind to answer any questions his audience might have. From this encounter we learned there are several reasons why the Masai wear their red blankets.
1. They believe the red scares away animals
2. It identifies them as the Masai tribe.
3. It hides blood in battle so their enemy can't tell when they are wounded.
Battle happens frequently because Masai believe all cattle belong to them so when they take cattle from another tribe they are just reclaiming what was once theirs. You can see how some might find this logic disagreeable.

That night Bernard was wearing a traditional outfit with a lion mane garter on his leg. One of the Italian women asked why he wore this garter. It turns out that last year as he was walking home, Bernard was attacked by a lion (he showed us his scars). He killed the lion by himself with only a spear. Bernard probably weighs 160 pounds soaking wet, a male lion can weigh over 400 pounds. The garter was to signify his kill. At this point in the evening I would have to say nearly every woman in the room was in love with Bernard, he totally could have got some.

Safari Part Three

2009-01-07T05:40:00.001-08:00

So we headed off on our first safari in Masai Mara. Right away we spotted more Thompson's gazelles, they were everywhere. Then we spotted buzzards in a tree, hyenas, hippos, wart hogs, topis, and more. Then over the radio came an excited voice crying "SIMBA!" So we raced across the Savannah to the place where the lions had been spotted (Simba is swahili for Lion). As we neared the area where the lions had been spotted I saw something large and white in the grass, at first I thought it was a carcass because it was so still. As we got closer I realized it was the tummy of a satisfied and very sleepy female lion. There were four of them just lounging in the tall grass, several vehicles showed up while we were there and they barely stirred at all. We returned back to the lodge full of glee our first outing had been so exciting! That evening after dinner we were treated to a performance by several of the local masai.

Safari Part Two

2009-01-07T04:23:00.001-08:00

Baboon roadside, giraffe welcoming committee, rift valley, Kelly negotiating, and Valerie with the shop proprietors.

I'm not doing a very good job of uploading these images in any kind of order.

Anyhoo...

We began our second day in Nairobi, in our hotel with the crazy security. We had four security guards at the front and for each floor there were three different locked doors that you had to go through to get to your room. There were cameras everywhere.

The night before we had met with the safari line representative who had come to give us our itineraries and to ask us for our input on the safari (we were given feedback forms to fill out later). She also told us that since there were only four of us they were upgrading us to a leisure camp at Masai Mara (we were supposed to be camping). We would be staying at the Mara Leisure Camp.

To get to Masai Mara we had a loong bus ride, but it was fantastic. We saw so many cool things. On our way out of the city we saw our first Masai people, wearing their distinctive red blankets. Joshua warned us against taking pictures. An American took pictures of a Masai woman and her children bathing nude at a water hole and turned them into postcards, since then a photograph equals a rock being chucked at you or worse. Understandable really but sad. I was really frustrated because the Masai are beautiful, I have never seen a more photogenic group of people in my life. It was like being a diabetic fat kid in a room of sweets. Stupid Americans.

We drove through several towns and watched as the landscape gradually changed from urban to rural to the Savannah. We amused ourselves at rest stops by buying new kinds of treats that we had never tried before. I bought a candy bar called U & Me, only to discover it was a twix in different clothing! I also rediscovered the Jamaica bar, which we don't have in Canada but we used to get in the Solomons... mmm chocolate and rum flavored raisins. Toilet breaks were very similar to those in Egypt, holes in the ground and you needed to supply your own tp. We stopped at a scenic spot to take pictures of the rift valley. I chose this moment to play with my new camera and erase all pictures taken thus far...oops. Thank-god for travel mates and their knowledge of all things camera, they taught me how to use the panorama setting. There was also a shop there roadside and we went in with the intention of buying little to nothing. Bloody hell. Between the four of us, two large wooden chairs, one small wooden chair, 25 postcards, three fabric wall hangings, spoons, t-shirts, book marks, and more. We also discovered to our delight that Kelly is a master bargainer, he got the price down to half of the initial offer from the seller. In fact the shop guy gave up his bargaining duties and had the owner come over to debate with Kelly, I was very impressed. In future I plan to take lessons from him, he didn't yell, he didn't freak out he just planted his feet stayed calm and pleasant and got his asking price. I think Joshua was a bit taken aback when we loaded the van up.

I had ceased to pay attention as we drove, choosing instead to focus my attention on an Eve Ensler book I had bought when Emily shouted "Look at that!" It was our first African wildlife spotting, a Thompson's gazelle just hanging out by the roadside. Shortly after we came across some baboons, and then giraffes meandered across the road in front of us. Fuckin awesome.

When we arrived at the lodge it was quite something. There was a massive thorn wall around the place, and the inside was beautiful. From our rooms you could see a watering hole where Masai people brought their cattle and washing up. We had lunch out on a patio surrounded by tropical flowers, you would have had to slap the grins off of our faces. After we had unpacked and had a chance to look around Joshua took us on our first game drive...

Safari Part One

2009-01-07T03:35:00.001-08:00

We were so excited. Everything had been packed for days, extra batteries had been bought, flashlights found, etc etc. After months of planning, we were more than ready. Our flight was due to leave at 11:45pm, around 9pm our friends arrived in a taxi to pick us up. Our traveling companions were Emily and Kelly two residents of a tiny northern Ontario town called Wawa. They have known each other since the age of four, been through school together and then University. When they graduated they decided to go into international work together so they headed to Egypt, which is where Valerie and I met them. They work at the same school as Valerie and I.

Anyway we arrived at the airport and checked our bags, everything was going well, no long line ups. Our flight is through Kenya Air, which is fun because I have never been on their airline before. We even bumped into some of the other teachers from the school who were also on our flight they were doing a safari through Uganda to see the Mountain Gorillas. So we board our plane and wait. About an hour after we had boarded the plane there is an announcement that some part of the plane is faulty and needed to be replaced, and that we would be sitting and waiting for the part to be fixed before leaving. Which would be fine except we were all sitting in a closed airplane with no real ventilation and it began to get very uncomfortable. It was hot and the air was very dry, and they wouldn't let us get off or open the doors. The man next to me kept asking for water and I was worried he was going to pass out. Finally after 3 hours they let us back into the airport where we discovered what was going on. The Egyptians had decided that the part the Kenyans wanted wasn't necessary so instead of finding it they told the Kenyans to take off. The Kenyans said no, they wouldn't go without the piece. Anyway they argued about it until 5:45 am, when finally the part was replaced and we took off. The flight to Kenya was about 6 hours from Cairo with a quick stopover in Khartoum. We arrived in Kenya a bit nervous, we weren't sure if we were going to be met in Nairobi or not. And Emily couldn't remember where she had put the contact info for our safari. Also during out wait we had time to sit down and read our lonely planets which made us a little bit more uneasy. According to the Lonely planet, Nairobi is now the most dangerous city in Africa even beating out Johannesburg, it is commonly referred to as Nai-robbery.

We were met by our guide-to-be Joshua, and he was great. He taught us the swahili word for welcome: karibu! As we walked out of the Nairobi airport we saw our first glimpse of our safari van, it was super, a mini-van with a customized roof that pops up and allows for picture taking. Joshua worked for a company called Safari Line who would be taking care of our Kenya stay. We had about an hours drive from the airport into Nairobi proper where we stayed at a hotel. It was an interesting drive, Kenya is much cleaner and orderly looking than Egypt. The people do not look as poor, and there appears to be a solid infrastructure. Even so as we stopped in traffic people started to appear trying to sell us things (see picture). Joshua warned us to keep our windows closed because the sellers would try to grab things within reach. The variety of things for sale was amazing, you could buy Milhouse dolls on sticks, hats, shirts, fruit, perfume, and freshly roasted peanuts. Valerie leaned out and bought some peanuts from a young man with a big smile. We saw lots of brightly coloured buses and several with theme paint jobs, we saw a David Beckham bus, and several Obama buses (his father was Kenyan).

Our experience in Nairobi was strange. We saw so much fear and so much security but we didn't feel threatened or scared. Everyone we met was helpful and kind. We even went out at night to a restaurant and walked back to our hotel (something both the guide book and our tour operator told us not to do). Perhaps we were naive, I don't think so. We went to sleep that night, excited and exhausted. We were in Africa!!!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T08:26:00.000-08:00

Well I don't have enough time or a fast enough Internet connection to post about the trip right now. However I will say this: IT WAS FUCKING AWESOME!!!!

Also it turns out none of the courses offered this summer at VIU are useful to me so I will be spending my summer in Cairo again from the end of April to mid July.

For the next few days I will be in the Sinai buying goats and taking lots of pictures.

I arrive back in Canada on January 6th, you probably won't hear anything from me until then.

And tonight...Nairobi!!

2008-12-18T21:11:00.000-08:00

We leave from Cairo tonight!! I AM SO EXCITED!!

This is our itinerary, we aren't staying at any of the lodges listed, we will be camping. I started my anti-malarial meds yesterday morning. I wasn't going to bother but apparently there is some new super-duper strain of malaria which can kill you in 24 hours so pills it is.

Kind of a funny aside here but you can walk into a pharmacy in Cairo and buy any pill over the counter. Valerie didn't need a prescription to get her anti-malarial she just walked in and showed them my bottle. Imagine the possibilities...

After a 6 hour flight we arrive at Nairobi (which is apparently also know as Nai-robbery). From there the four of us, jet-lagged and probably confused looking white people, will attempt to navigate our way to the hotel.

I think it is safe to assume that once we are on our way I probably won't have access to the Internet.

I will be in the Serengeti for Christmas morning. :)

Anyway best of the holiday season to all my friends!

The whale has been edited...

2008-12-17T03:10:00.000-08:00

The whale has been improved upon. I think the new artistic sensibility comes from the theme of the morning after as the whale is now sporting red blood-shot eyes, and a boner. Really it was just a matter of time. See if you can spot the changes, sort of a fun wheres Waldo kind of game.

My favorite.

2008-12-17T03:01:00.000-08:00

This kid is awesome. He doesn't do anything half way. His passion for everything is astounding. I wish I had some of his verve. I took this picture when he was goalie in a footy game, look at that concentration!

I'm just like the beatles*

2008-12-14T02:05:00.000-08:00

When my students from last year saw me they screamed! They all came running at me, hugging me, and saying "Miss Naomi! Miss Naomi! Will you do drama with us??? We thought you weren't coming back! Look we can still do your dances!" I was so touched, it was really nice to see them all again.

*Except for the money, adoration of millions, and musical genius.

Its getting cold in here so put on all your clothes...

2008-12-14T01:58:00.000-08:00

This morning when we arrived at school there was frost on the ground. We could even see our breathe in the cold morning air! WTF? The sun is out but there is a very dry cold that settles on Cairo at this time of year. The worst is being out in the desert. Guess where we are going after Tanzania and Kenya? The desert. Last time we went out into the Sinai desert at X-mas time it was frigid. The nights were so cold we slept in all of the clothes we had brought with us. Brrrr

In other news I hear my Canadian friends have snow...ha ha!

Total Loss

2008-12-12T21:12:00.000-08:00

There is a brand of candy made in Holland called Total Loss. How do I know this? I spent 7 hours in the Amsterdam airport wandering around peering at things through a jet lagged haze.

So lets see where to begin...

My Aunt, Cousin and Clara the German exchange student arrived in Nanaimo on Friday. We spent the day showing exploring Nanaimo. We returned home only to discover that Jimmy had taken over the living room with some of his buddies in order to play some kind of online game. We giggled amongst ourselves, at the follies of geeks killing Zombies, as we went upstairs. Ha ha ha nerds, we laughed as we sat there watching youtube videos of the muppets (Danny boy and mahna mahna). Clearly we were much cooler. Saturday we headed down Island through Chemainus and Duncan and onto Victoria. We checked into the swan hotel down near the harbour and had dinner at the reef (go there!! Best food ever!!). That night we made our way out to Butchart Gardens to see their annual X-mas light display. About ten years ago Valerie treated Heather, Kim, Cameron and myself to the same adventure and we had always planned to go back. It was a bitter sweet evening. The lights and displays were delightful but there was a certain sadness that comes with all things related to Cameron. We left the island Sunday morning.

I stayed in Vancouver until Tuesday night when I flew out to Cairo via Amsterdam. I really like being back in the Gypt. I arrived at 2:15 am Cairo time and Valerie and I stayed up chatting until nearly 6am. I am not quite back on schedule yet, this morning I think I was awake around 4am. yesterday we went to a giant craft fair that was held at a local sporting club. To say the least it was a little strange. To be in a Islamic country walking around booths with home made christian X-mas trinkets was surreal. Some of the items on display: Italian designer knitwear, homemade cookies, Kenyan crafts, alabaster crafts, dollar store style X-mas trinkets, Bedouin jewellery, aprons made of fabric covered in ancient Egyptian designs, etc, etc. Almost all of Valerie's co-workers were there, they all had this week off in celebration of Eid.

I don't know whether or not I will get paid for doing any work at the school. There is a slight possibility I will be working with a sixth grade class for a week. I will be doing drama with at least two of the classes, Valerie's current class and her class from last year. There are a lot of new teachers at the school and they all seem pretty cool.

I have been offered a position teaching summer school again this summer and I am mulling it over.

Valerie has her sites set on positions for next year. I think the most likely scenario is her moving to Syria and working in Damascus. The owners of CISE are opening a new school there and she is hopeful they will consider her for one of the initial positions.

Exit, Naomi, stage right

2008-12-08T22:52:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow at 6:30pm I shall be leaving. My flight routes through Amsterdam, I have about 7 hours in the airport. Usually with these trips I have so many last minute things to do and so much running around to get done. This time I have almost everything covered. I need to find some first nations cards and a book to read in Amsterdam but aside from that everything is ready. I will be in Cairo until the 19th and then we fly from there to Kenya, and then onto Tanzania from there. After Tanzania I fly back to Cairo for a few days and then home again, home again jiggedy jog. I don't know if there will be any work lined up for me over the holidays but I will be doing a stomp workshop with Valerie's class.

Funny

2008-12-05T00:10:00.000-08:00

I know he has caused quite the fuss in Britain for his hijinks on the radio but I get a kick out of Russel Brand.

Africa!

2008-12-03T10:09:00.000-08:00

I'm going to Africa in 6 sleeps!!!!

The new and more absorbant model

2008-11-27T23:34:00.000-08:00

I finally have my diagnosis, I know why I haven't been well. I have a disorder that amongst other things makes my insulin levels very high. Which means I am at risk for diabetes. So now I have to start on a low carb, low sugar, lame diet. Basically I can't eat any baked goods, salt, popcorn, pizza, potatoes, fried foods, ice cream, and any candy or anything that tastes good. Which considering my eating habits means some major changes. Changes that aren't happening over night. Tonight I bought myself some rice pudding, big no-no, and I ate it all! Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I was fine but today I had a bad moment.

There are some other aspects to my disease that aren't sitting well and I am trying to take it all in. It isn't easy. I have to make major changes in the way I live my life or I could get very sick. I don't want to wallow, but I have to take some time to let this all sink in. It is one thing to yo-yo diet because you want to lose weight, it is another thing entirely to be told you have to eat a certain way or you will get diabetes or worse.

Because it has been a billion years since i last did one of these...

2008-11-26T23:10:00.000-08:00

Your fairy is called Berry Goblinfilter

She is a bringer of riches and wealth.

She lives in fruit orchards and vineyards.

She is only seen on midsummer's eve.

She wears red, cerise and purple berry colours. She has gentle green wings like a butterfly.

Get your free fairy name here!

Poopsy McGee and Poopsy McGoo

2008-11-25T19:34:00.000-08:00

I believe this child may be half alien, her energy is astounding.

Never trust my judgement

2008-11-25T19:25:00.000-08:00

I talked my roomie into wearing this, at the party, earlier in the afternoon.

The knee bones connected to the something bone...

2008-11-19T01:52:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how much I am enjoying school. Anthropology was the right choice. I am fascinated by all the biological stuff I am learning, particularly the skeletal structure. What I found most interesting this morning, as I was going through a box of human bones, is the amount of variation that exists on the inside of the body. We are all as different on the inside as we are on the outside. How cool is that? Right yes, not at all really, I'm a giant nerd. :)

I don't really have anything interesting to post at the moment. Which is probably just as well, Terry Pratchett wrote in one of his books of an ancient curse "May you live in interesting times."
Which is funny and apt because of course interesting times are always times of change and often conflict.

At any rate I will be posting as often as possible when I am in Africa. I am so excited about this trip, I try to fit the word Africa into almost every conversation I have these days.

The end of an era

2008-11-13T11:51:00.000-08:00

Juli the German intern leaves today on a jet-plane for Brussels. I took her over to Vancouver on Monday and we spent three days poking around in a wet and miserable city.

When I got back late Wednesday my new roommate has moved in, and there was a funny smell.
As it turns out Jimmy the new roommate had to move out of his last place in a bit of a hurry so he stashed his things all over the place. Rather unfortunetly for him one of the places he stashed his things (in particular his mattress) was inundated with fish guts. Yes, his mattress was marinated in fish guts. So he got it steam cleaned with some fancy chemicals resulting in the funny smell. So my house still smells a little bit weird. Jimmy doesn't drink, he seems very respectful, and he fixed my internet.

Ladies and Gentlemen...my new roommate

2008-11-09T14:45:00.001-08:00

His name is Jimmy, and I stole this picture from facebook. He is a theatre student at VIU. Honest to god he is almost exactly like Ryan at 19 it is a little scary.

Motherfuck!

2008-11-07T09:16:00.000-08:00

In order to get into Tanzania and Kenya you have to have the yellow fever vaccine. I got mine yesterday along with Hep A, Typhoid, and Polio. Good times. Then this morning I got an email from my mother. The clinic will not give her a vaccination for yellow fever because she is over 60. Apparently there is a 1 in 40 000 -50 000 chance, that when injected with the vaccine for yellow fever, people over 60 experience multiple organ failure. She has already paid for the tickets. I'm fairly certain there will be some way around this it is just a frustrating process.

A cunning plan

2008-11-05T19:37:00.000-08:00

A few years ago I watched an episode of sex and the city where Carrie had to defend her lifestyle to a married woman with children. She wondered why in this day and age we only celebrate rituals for families. Seriously, all of my friends who get married have big parties for their weddings. When people have children there is the inevitable oohs and aaahs and baby showers. As a single woman who has no impending children or wedding in the near future, I ask you...wheres my party?? So when I turn (shudder) 30 next year, I am going to celebrate it like an anti-wedding. I will have a fabulous gown, a big party and there had better be presents and friends from afar!! I know that Amber wanted a party like this for her birthday so I invite her and any other ladies of a similar age to come and celebrate with me, we will get gourgous gowns, a ridiculous cake, and dance the night away on August 25th 2009!

creme de la creme

2008-11-04T20:17:00.000-08:00

I'm going to miss Julie the German intern. We are having so much fun together. Tonight I was sitting here innocently doing my homework when I hear this funny little sputter from behind me.
Me: Why are you drinking whipped cream?
Her: Oooh no wonder the milk tastes so strange.

So she decides that her banana bread would taste nice with whipped cream, and enters into the kitchen. We have no electric mixer so she decides to whip the cream by hand. That was about 20 minutes ago. Right now she is seated in front of the tv still whipping away. I don't have the heart to tell her its just not going to happen :)

We spent the night at Jessica's earlier this week and Julie decided it would be ok to steal some of Jessica's fancy chocolate. She is such a funny girl. When we were at the turtle she would borrow people's toothbrushes and sneak into boys bedrooms and steal their covers.

Decisions, decisions

2008-11-01T22:14:00.000-07:00

I met a potential roommate this morning. I am a little uncertain. He is a theatre student, young, and comes across as a little naive. I need a roommate and I need one soon for financial reasons. He really needs a place to live.

Reasons I am hesitating:

He was evicted from the last place

He told me he wants to have a "porno party" he plans to screen the full length pirates porn film.

He is young (read immature)

Reasons I think I might offer him the place:

I have references from three people

He is a theatre geek - kind of my people

He seems nice if a little less than brilliant

I am going to draw up an agreement between the two of us and get him to sign it outlining some rules. I will also provide him a document outlining what I will provide for him (ie cable, internet, phone). He is less than ideal but I think he might be ok for the next few months.

Donkey Fucker

2008-10-29T14:15:00.000-07:00

Cloris fucking Leachman

I haven't been posting much lately because I haven't been doing much lately. :) So for the time being you are going to get a lot of random shit that I find funny.

As if anyone needed more proof that I'm a GIANT nerd

2008-10-28T10:58:00.000-07:00

My name is BRUCE trailer.

Lingua Franca

2008-10-27T15:16:00.000-07:00

I honestly don't know what is going on in my head. When I was in Egypt I started using Arabic words to replace English in order to improve my Arabic. Now that I am back in Canada I find myself still wanting to use the Arabic AND pidjin, what the heck??!! There are just some phrases that work better in other languages. For instance I love the Arabic word Yallah, it means hurry up, come on, lets go, move your ass. It is short, and to the point-not unlike myself. The same is true for pidjin, I have to keep myself from using pidjin phrases, but why now? Weird. So if you hear me mutter something you don't understand the next time you see me, its not the devil - I am not speaking in tongues rather I'm just a little linguisitically challenged at the moment.

Robber barons

2008-10-26T20:31:00.000-07:00

Apparently it was a good time for me to leave the hostel, they were robbed. Laptops, cameras, ipods, all gone. The owners are not going to reimburse anyone for their loses either. Oy vey.

Binge and purge

2008-10-22T14:07:00.000-07:00

New resolution: buy less stuff. In fact, I am going to purge a great deal of my belongings in the next little while. I'm having a clothing swap on Nov 22nd if anyone is interested and I'm going to donate a huge amount of my books so if you want to go through them before I chuck them come to the clothing swap!

I enjoy moving around, I do not enjoy lugging around extraneous crap with me. It took me one day to pack and move all of my crap out of Allan's house, why oh why has it taken me the better part of two weeks to unpack and organize? Possibly because I have no shelves. Right now the majority of my books are occupying my linen closet and window sills.

I also have a huge pile of boxes in my dining room which is slowly dwindling. I tried walking them over to the recycle box behind the mall but a security guard caught me and said it wasn't for public dumping. So now I am sneaking over there after dark on my super secret box eradication mission.

Commercial time

2008-10-20T18:06:00.000-07:00

I am not a fan of commercials but I like this one.

Dingo?

2008-10-20T18:05:00.000-07:00

They made a movie about Dingo, Allan and myself but they got the name wrong.

Moving

2008-10-16T10:56:00.000-07:00

Well I am in. My new place is pretty dang cool if you ask me. There are a few things I am concerned about, for instance: what does it mean when you constantly have condensation on the inside of your windows? I don't currently have internet but that will change as of Monday.

I am glad there wasn't a huge amount of stuff to move but I do wish I had taken at least one book shelf. Right now I have a living room full of books and nowhere to put them.

Allan has sent me two emails asking for us to get together.

I am down to my last $25, but I have resumed the area so something should come up soon. I am beginning to regret telling Julie the German intern she could move in with me, she isn't paying me regular rent. She did pay for my hot yoga though $208. I thought there would be more work to be done on the place, and that just having someone there with me would make me feel safe. But I'm fine there by myself and the place is ready for someone who is paying to come and stay.

My tickets for X-mas are booked I am leaving December 9th and coming back January 6th. Anyone want to housesit?

Spectacles, testicles, watch, and wallet

2008-10-09T22:12:00.000-07:00

Tonight should be my last night at the turtle. Should being the operative word but if all else fails I am paid up here until November first. However, I have my keys the power is on, and all seems to be going smoothly. Saturday is the big move.

Tonight I was flicking through some images posted by one of my roommates on facebook. It was ho hum stuff mostly and then there it was...at first I must admit I was puzzled,
"what the heck is that? It looks kind of like a small...oh geez"
It was one of my other roommates testicles.
I'm going to miss these guys. The girls not so much they are kind of bitchy and all in love with the same guy (testicle poster). With the exception of Julie the German intern she is pretty cool, also she is coming with me to live in my condo.

Also we have chosen our safari. We will be going to both Kenya and Tanzania which means lots of vaccinations (fuck).

New nickname

2008-10-08T20:08:00.000-07:00

Funny that I should write a post about nicknames and then two days later get a new one. My roommate Mike has taken to calling me Chomsky, after Noam Chomsky...get it? Gnome Chomsky har har har...

Holy Shit

2008-10-06T21:55:00.000-07:00

Julie the German intern scared the crap out of me this week. After our shits and giggles Saturday night she went to sleep it off in another room. I found out the next day she had a minor stroke, and that she has heart problems. I tried my very best to convince her to see a doctor but she refused because she didn't have medical insurance. Anyway tonight at dinner time, she had another episode and I called the ambulance. I wasn't 100% sure it was the right thing to do but one of the other roommates suggested it and I followed through. It is going to cost her $1000. They looked her over and said there wasn't really anything they could do but reassure her that nothing is permanently damaged. So for the moment she is OK, and $1000 poorer. I am shaken, I lost a friend a long time ago under similar circumstances and I am... well shaken. I made an totally inappropriate joke as she walked out to go to subway

"try not to die"
says me.

Oh dear, such a me moment.

Beatlemania

2008-10-06T12:35:00.000-07:00

Saturday night I went out to Acme Food Co (highly recommend) with Julie the German intern. Much fun was had by both of us. We each had a martini, and then I had another one. One of our roommates Luci was rather loud the night before, so I decided that standing in the street under her closed window singing (off key and loudly) Lucy in the sky with diamonds, was a fab idea. The only person who heard us was negative IQ boy, thank-goodness.

Things are progressing with the condo I should be able to pick-up the keys on Wednesday.

Two of my roommates came into my room today to ask for help with assignments, the funny part being I could actually help.

One of the things you may not know about me

2008-10-04T20:23:00.000-07:00

I am a huge fan of Bruce and this is one of my favorite songs.

Roommates and other fatal diseases

2008-10-04T16:02:00.000-07:00

Last night was a doozy. I was totally beat so around nine I went to bed. My roommates started drinking around 6-7ish, and kept on drinking, and drinking, and drinking. Ten is when all is suppossed to be quiet, not so. In fact the merry band of miscreants didn't leave the turtle until 11:45ish. They were really quite loud. Once they were gone I was wide awake, so I watched an episode of grey's anatomy and was just about to drift back to sleep when Julie the German intern walked into my room. THEY WERE BACK! For the sake of being discreet I shall refer to the boys as A, B, and C, and the girls as 1, 2, and 3. Julie the German intern shall be playing herself. B and C had hooked up with 1 and 2, so A really wanted to hook up with Julie the German intern. Which is why she ended up hiding in my room. 2's friend 3 who doesn't even live here wandered into my room like a drunken hunch back demanding to know where 2 was. When I said I didn't know she lurched back out into the hallway declaring loudly that 2 was a whore, not once, not twice, not even fucking thrice, but several times. 1 tried to sleep with B but he has a gf so he slept on the floor of his own room while she slept in his bed. 2 arrived home to discover 3 and her bf shagging in her bed. And worst of all they broke into my ice cream and left it melting on the kitchen counter.

addendum

2008-10-03T23:42:00.000-07:00

Namool, comes from Lindsie, mildly amusing. It kind of reminds me of a science fiction name from the eighties, like Goser the Gazarian from Ghost Busters.

Just for the record

2008-10-02T15:12:00.000-07:00

I like nicknames and I like most of mine.

When I was tiny wee I was given the moniker Gnome. I like being called Gnome, I associate it with family and friends and with special times in my life. Feel free to call me Gnome.

When I was in the Solomons Peter nicknamed me Yankee 4-eyes. 4-Eyes needs no explanation. Yankee came from his warped sense of humour after he discovered how little I liked being mistaken for an American. You can try and call me this but I won't respond well, perhaps a middle finger or a pie launched in your general direction.

When I went to Frances Kelsey high school there was already a Naomi there so Mr. Carr gave me a new nickname Peg. It was kind of cute, I played a peg legged pirate in the play. I see people from that time in my life every now and then and they can't remember my real name but if I say Peg they smile in recognition. That year at the awards ceremony they gave me an award and retired my leg (like they do with athletes jerseys). I don't mind being called Peg, I don't love it, but I don't hate it.

When I entered University there was a very funny girl named Jamie who labeled me Nomi. We had a guest proff one day and we were going around introducing ourselves, he asked me who I was, and before I could say anything Jamie said "Thats Nomi and shes cute." I don't mind this nickname.

Mark started calling me Gnomes and other people picked up on it. Of all my nicknames this is the one I like the least, I really don't want to be called this. For some reason or other I find it offensive.

And last and not quite least of this non-comprehensive list of nicknames is ... Nanaimo Bar!! My grade four teacher thought that calling me this until I got ten out of ten on our spelling quizzes would be motivation to do better. Didn't work, in case you were wondering, I was rather independently minded when it comes to spelling - still am!

Crazy is as crazy does

2008-10-01T16:25:00.000-07:00

Two rather interesting individuals residing in the hostel at the moment.

Crazy middle aged lady walks around talking to herself and random people. She once popped her head in the door of my room and started telling me how she was once a student at Harvard. According to her she studied the police while at this prestigous University and they have been chasing her ever since.

Crazy middle aged man seems normal it takes awhile to figure out he is totally loopy. During my one month stay here he has claimed to have been: a black ops specialist, a currency exchange expert, a sailing guru, fluent in Chinese, and he often wanders around sharpening a leatherman. He was picked up north of Campbell river wandering around in the woods wearing a balaclava and brandishing a machete, he was brought here for mental health treatment. He is always in the kitchen waiting to have a conversation with you so it can be hard to avoid him. Today I was wearing a snug shirt and he walked up behind me and goes "Oh, you have a big snarl in your back," and proceeds to try and kneed my back. The snarl he was referring to was my bra strap. Moron.

Well she looks like a movie star

2008-09-30T21:44:00.000-07:00

Kiu, one of my brothers appeared on an episode of painkiller Jane, he even has his own imdb profile. Really all it says is his name and that he appeared in one episode, but not bad for a guy from the Islands. He married a danish woman who raises wolfhounds and jack russels, and sells his own art.

Hot hot hot

2008-09-29T19:47:00.000-07:00

Today I went to hot yoga and it was an experience. To begin with I didn't think we were going to go because Julie the German intern hurt herself. How did she hurt herself you are asking...

She went jogging in bare feet (why is a whole other story).

Anyway, we went to hot yoga and it was weird. I had to drink 2-3 litres of water beforehand. I was not allowed to eat anything for three hours beforehand. Afterwards I was to drink plenty of fucking water as well. Anyway I thought it was supposed to last 45 minutes it lasted 90!! For those of you wondering, hot yoga is a form of yoga performed in a specially heated room. You sweat like a waterfall and it is really gross. It was good exerscise though. The instructor walked around using a Britney speaks microphone, wearing a bikini.

You know how you feel after a day at the beach when you have been out swimming in big waves and your entire body feels exhausted? That is how I feel right now.

An explanation

2008-09-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

''Mad, bad and dangerous to know'' was his (Lord Byron's) lover Lady Caroline Lamb's famous assessment of him, and even today one can scarcely read of his exploits -- his compulsive love affairs with women and boys; his drinking and excess; the scandalous liaison with his half sister, Augusta (who may have borne him a child in 1814); the bizarre athletic feats; his exile in Italy and exotic death in 1824 at the age of 36 while trying to foment a revolution in Greece

Paul Newman is dead and that sucks

2008-09-28T00:47:00.000-07:00

I got into some trouble yet again for saying something to someone when I wasn't supposed to. The problem was that I did not realize I wasn't supposed to say anything. This has kind of been an on going theme in my life.

Lets face it I'm just not very good at keeping secrets that I don't care about. If I know it is a life and death deal of course I won't tell anyone. If I know that telling someone your secret will cause you horrid embarrassment of course I won't tell anyone.

If, on the other and, I think your story is funny and harmless (and you haven't told me not to tell people) assume it will be passed along.

Also a great actor died today. Paul Newman, he was more than just a pair of blue eyes. If you want some kind of obituary go to a news site, I'm just a fan saddened by this loss.

Lost in Translation

2008-09-23T23:42:00.000-07:00

Julie the German intern and I were hanging out and she decided it was important to do a handstand. So she proceeded to try and do so. Only she wasn't quite getting it and fell a lot. Worried about the loud bumps (it was like 9pm) I asked who would hear her beneath us.

"Oh don't vorry," she said in her charming German accent "Downstairs they are beating off horses."

This of course is exactly the kind of thing that sends me into convulsions of laughter, I had tears running down my face as I struggled to control myself. (She meant betting on horses btw).

In other news it looks as though I may be able to take possession of the condo as early as the first of October, cross your fingers everybody!!

Also I may have agreed to do a King Swing bungy jump...not sure how that came about...huh.

Jump!

2008-09-22T21:32:00.000-07:00

Life is so much fun when you step out of your shell. I invited myself along to watch my roommates hurl themselves off of a bridge protected only by silly boots with bungy cords. It was quite the day. I am now convinced I want to try zip-cording!! It is only like $25 a go! Come on who is with me?? This is the place and it looks like sooo much fun!

In other news the soap opera here continues...and I am getting such a kick out of it all.

I'm falling for her

2008-09-20T22:18:00.000-07:00

When I lived in Nanaimo way back in the day, I didn't like it at all.

I have to admit I feel quite differently now. The downtown core is nice, lots of cool resturants, and neat shops. I think one of my favorite things has to be the harbor. I went for a walk tonight along the seawall and it was so beautiful, the colour of the horizon and the water was breath taking. I even had a harbor seal follow me part of the way.

I'm quite happy here. A little lonely but overall content.

Roommates aka A constant source of amusement

2008-09-20T10:37:00.001-07:00

The guys are so drunk in these pictures, well one of them is anyway. See if you can spot the most inebriated fellow? Ha ha. These are from last weekend, apparently things got far more interesting this weekend - while I was away! I can't wait to hear about the mayhem.

For Lindsie from Namool

2008-09-17T22:23:00.000-07:00

True Blood is a series based on a bunch of novels written by Charlaine Harris. The show is written by Allan Ball the genius behind American Beauty and Six Feet Under. It is mysterious, supernatural and very sexy. True Blood is the name of a synthetic blood which means vampires can survive without hurting people so they have come out of hiding. It all takes place in the Southern states and has a cool atmostphere. I like the characters they aren't what I expected. In particular I really like Tara, the best friend of Sookie the main character. Tara says all the things I wish I could get away with saying. Sookie is a waitress who can hear what people are thinking. One day a vampire walks into the bar...

Get down with the sickness

2008-09-17T19:32:00.000-07:00

I'm still sick. I am not pleased. To keep myself occupied I have been watching some of the new tv shows. The new 90210 isn't very good, its a shame because the writer from Veronica Mars worked on it. True Blood from HBO is interesting and I think I might be a bit of a fan. There are very graphic sex scenes though so I have to be careful when and where I watch it. The other show I am kind of into is fringe, its well done, it can be a bit gory.

Oy vey

2008-09-16T07:41:00.000-07:00

Thin walls are not great. Last night I couldn't find my earplugs so I tried to sleep without them, which as it turns out wasn't going to happen. One of the other students was entertaining on the other side of the wall that my headboard rests against. His partner was very loud. At first they were just flirting and doing homework and she was being loud and flirty like a 16 year old, and that was obnoxious. Then they got quiet and naively I thought oh good, they are going to sleep. No. No they did not sleep. Then the ooing started, which I took to mean one of two things:
1) He had a perverted dove trapped in his room
2) His girlfriend was a really loud sexual partner.

It was not number one, although she really did kind of sound like a fucked up bird (no pun intended). When it was all over she said loudly (as if she knows how to speak any other way) "Wham bam thank-you mam!"

Petra

2008-09-15T20:16:00.001-07:00

Remember that time...

2008-09-14T21:32:00.001-07:00

So I wrote about our trip to Jordan and told the story of the shattered windscreen. Here for your viewing pleasure are some images.
The first picture is the two drivers duct taping the window to hold it together.

Pictures!

2008-09-14T21:02:00.000-07:00

Finally I have been able to connect my stupid camera to my stupid laptop. So here you go some pictures!
This one is of the little girls in the Dahab who used to walk into stores and restaurants and try to sell tourists bracelets. They rarely took no for an answer.

Palin

2008-09-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

This is very funny. It also touches on something I find really annoying. I do not agree with any of Palin's view points, I hate guns, I think the Alaskan pipeline is a horrible idea, and I think the whole notion of clean coal is about as scientifically sound as a moon made of blue cheese. That being said I am annoyed at some of the attacks on her. In particular the attacks on her being a mother while in office, there is concern she will not be able to govern properly. Several Presidents and Vice Presidents have had children while in office, why is it ok for the Father to do this and not for a Mother?

I will say this for her, I think she is a talented public speaker.

Peer Pressure

2008-09-14T00:36:00.000-07:00

Tonight was weird.
I went into the kitchen to make myself a cup of soup and this guy asks me if I'm hungry, I reply in the affirmative shake my cup of soup and smile. He says well if you make a salad out of my stuff here you can share my dinner with me. I said no thank-you, he persisted, I said no thank-you, he persisted, I said "Hmm I think I have some cucumber in the fridge." So I made the salad, and we sat down to a nice home cooked meal. He starts to tell me about his life and how he is a recovering alcoholic and that he is going to a costume party tonight and he wants to dress up as bat-man. I laughingly say the only costume item I have is my blue wig, and he goes cool can I borrow it. So there he is trying on my blue girly wig with his long black hair hanging underneath it. He wants me to braid his hair...suddenly I had somewhere else to be. Perhaps I'm just weird but it had gotten to the point where I wasn't prepared to have a pillow fight y'know? Enough girly bonding for one evening.

Then the three guy students who live here got involved in a drinking game with two other guests at the hostel, funniest fucking thing ever. They head off to a pub and leave me there where I wanted to be chatting with Julie the German intern. Julie wants to go to the pub but doesn't want to be the only girl...sigh. 15 minutes later I'm sitting in a pub starring at the pool table wondering how I got talked into this. Julie and I played two games of pool, she won once and I won the second, so then one of the guys comes over and I think this is it, I am about to have my ass handed to me. He leans over to me and says (bragging) "I've got a fisher price table at home." ITS SO ON!! Yeah I won. HA! Which is funny enough if you have never played pool with me but even funnier if you have, I can't make the stick hit the balls in any kind of logical way.

Also I am still sick and all night long I couldn't equalize my ears so I kept shaking my head. I'm kinda awesome.

Listening...

2008-09-12T11:23:00.000-07:00

I'm learning to listen to my body, for instance right now it is saying
"You need to slow the fuck down spend the day in bed with pillows over your damn head,stop taking the airy fairy hippy stuff and take some real goddamn drugs.

Oy

2008-09-10T19:33:00.000-07:00

So my day has been strange. I offended my anthro proff somehow, still haven't figured that out. I've been sick for a few days now, coughing up strange goo and all that sexy stuff. Anyway I decided after my second class today that I did really need to go to the clinic, where the doc tells me, "Oh its a virus there isn't anything I can give you, just drink plenty of fluids and get some rest." Because I was feeling like balls that just got the pointy end of soccer cleats I walked over to wendy's and bought myself a frosty (which melts so its liquidy kind of). After purchasing my liquid I wandered back through the mall watching hookers use the tester make-up to apply their evening looks...hot. I love Nanaimo. I came home and one of my roomates was making himself some steroid shakes. Oh, I watched an awesome movie, Forgetting sarah marshal is hilarious!!

Mr. Mraz

2008-09-09T18:34:00.000-07:00

I love this song!! So positive and such a fun beat.

Stoopid

2008-09-09T07:49:00.000-07:00

I'm ill. I'm not going to go into the details suffice it to say I have a very sore throat. Anyway last night I'm laying there in bed wishing the world would dissolve into some pink fluffy place when I hear some of the people who live in the hostel bitching about stuff. It is all very highschool and it made me want to move, like yesterday. I mean the building is great, my room is fine, and the common room is cool, but I'm not so sure about the politics.

Danger, Will Robinson, danger!

2008-09-08T10:59:00.000-07:00

I'm getting that ooh wouldn't it be nice to have a new pet vibe. Must not fall victim!!! Must not bring home new pets!!!

Hostiles in the hostel

2008-09-07T18:07:00.000-07:00

I have my treats that I really enjoy, one of which is organic cherry tomatoes. So I bought myself a small basket of them for $4, and placed them in the communal fridge. Where some fucker took them and ate them!!! Not only that but they took half of my cucumber. LOL Small worries really but how weird is that? Stealing cucumbers and tomatoes!! Life in the hostel isn't bad, my roommate won't be around on weekends because she works on the mainland. However some evenings eating supper can be a bit daunting there are always strangers who want to make conversation and to be honest, I could give a fuck. I know, I know that isn't very charitable but for the time being this is my home and imagine how you would feel coming down to dinner every night and having 6-12 new people there. There was an obnoxious man here the other night who kept trying to sell his bread, he had bought to much and wanted to sell it. He was really pushy, I said I tried not to eat bread and he looked offended. What is offensive about not wanting to eat bread?? In the daytime the location here is fantastic, at night especially on the weekends it can be a bit noisy. Last night and the night before the clubs were really loud. I also heard someone vomiting just under our window sill, it wasn't just some small puke either it was an operatic overture to the tune of the man's entire repast meeting the sidewalk...bleah.

In other news...I am going to Tanzania at X-mas. And, I am coming back to Canada in January. I will be leaving Canada again in April for more fun time teaching at CISE in Egypt. I have to pay for the second trip which I think is fair.

I had a surprise in one of my classes, who should walk in late but Derrick!! Almost ten years to the day we began theatre school together.

My keen fashion sense

2008-09-04T07:44:00.001-07:00

The last two days I have gotten dressed in the dark. Not only have I gotten dressed in the dark, I have had to find my clothes in the dark. So I look, naturally, quite stunning. My roomate goes to bed at 9 and wakes up at 9. We share the same damn room so I get up in the dark and go to bed in the dark. I am going to have to re-organize somehow so I don't end up looking like I just rolled out of bed every day wearing the same clothes just because I can distinguish them by feel in the dark.

We had an offer on the house in Cumberland but it fell through when the poor bastard got a whiff of how much repair the house needs. Valerie is freaking out because her tenant leaves in October. I'm trying to be understanding but part of me feels she should never have let the property get to this state.

Moved

2008-09-02T07:50:00.000-07:00

This is my new home for the next two months. So far it seems pretty cool. My roommate is about the same age as my cousin and rather quiet, imagine my surprise to discover she is a first year theatre student. LOL I've never had to share a room with a complete stranger before but I don't think she will kill me in my sleep.

The hostel has a fantastic location it is right downtown walking distance from the Port Place mall, the bastion, the port and all the other interesting areas of Nanaimo.

I applied for my student loan early this year so imagine my surprise when my paperwork arrived two days before labour day, argh!!! I won't have access to my money until the week after next which means borrowing money from Mother, oh joy.

M is for Mistakes, Moving and Malibu rum

2008-08-29T10:55:00.000-07:00

The latest news:

1. Allan called me and asked if we could get together to talk, I said yes but then thought better of it. I sent him a short message saying I was sorry but I couldn't meet him, he would only end up getting hurt, and to please not call me again. I felt like a heel but I didn't want to get pulled into that horrible relationship mess again.

2. Valerie may have sold the house in Cumberland.

3. We take possesion of the condo in Nanaimo Sept 31st, but we have to wait until Nov,1, before I can move in. The condo is on Harewood ave near the Harewood mall. It is 900 square feet, and I have a tiny patio with an arbutus tree!

4. I am moving back to the Island on the first. My cell is 250 668 4121. I am staying at a painted turtle guesthouse, they rent their rooms out long term for students so i will be there until Nov,1st.

Whats going on...

2008-08-11T10:29:00.000-07:00

Phew, this past three weeks have been very busy. Where to begin...
Well Valerie arrived in Vancouver shortly after myself and we began to ponder the true nature of her finances. She owns two houses one in Duncan (where Allan is living) and one in Cumberland. The house in Cumberland has been amazing, she bought it for 30K in 1979 and she has mortgaged the heck out of it several times and it has allowed us to do many wonderful things. Now that house is in need of a lot of work, its foundation has shifted. Are we deserting this house which has supported us through hard times? Absolutely. The sucker is up for sale. We are selling it in order to pay for the condo we put an offer on in Nanaimo. Our offer was accepted last week. If all goes well (and we know how pear shaped things can go after last summers bookstore fiasco) we will own a condo on Harewood road in Nanaimo by the end of the month. The tenant will be staying on there until October 31st unless we can bribe her to leave earlier. Anyway this leaves me kind of homeless for 2 months. Sean of Sean, Sheena, and Eric has agreed to let me stay at his place for a month but two months might be pushing it. So I am contemplating going back to Cairo from Sept - early jan instead of Dec-April.

In other news I am now officially out of the house in Duncan. I was on a high when I realized I didn't have to go back there again. I got some closure, YAY closure!!! Jessica, Brianne, and Tabitha you guys are the best!! It was a pleasant experience moving with a bunch of ladies, there were no tiffs, no egos, it was very organic.

I have just finished the second day of my six day course on teaching English as a second language. Easiest course ever, and it is actually quite a lot of fun. There are no exams, no papers, and all you need to do to pass is participate. I should have done this years ago.

Jiggidy Jog

2008-08-05T12:50:00.000-07:00

I'm back. Well to be more precise I am in Vancouver. Tomorrow I will be travelling to the island and then on the 7th and maybe the eighth I will be moving all of my things and my Mother's things out of the Duncan house. So if any of you are into some heavy lifting or just want to stop by and say hey I will be at the Duncan residence all day on the 7th. Allan won't be there, his sister is getting married on Grouse mountain. Thank-god. Anyway it gives me two days in the house without him there. I spoke to him yesterday and he is quickly begining to hate me. Oh well, I can live with that. I have a new cell 250 668 4121 - BUT at the moment it is being utilized by my Mother so if you call or text it, she will be the happy recipient. Still looking for a place in Nanaimo, have found something that is tolerable but someone else made an offer first so have to wait and see. I start my esl certification course on the 9th so it will be a quick drive by visit :)

Final Day in Dahab

2008-07-17T06:03:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow morning first thing in the a.m. we are catching our bus back to Cairo. It has been a quiet few days. Today was weird. We were sitting there quietly reading our books minding our own business when suddenly the speaker above us starts blaring hits from the 90's. We listened to the peaches song, gettin' jiggy wit it, ace of base, and a few others. THEN they put on new country music. One of the songs nearly made me pee myself, something about how she thinks his tractor is sexy LOL!!! I am not a fan of country music, but that was funny. At the cafes here cats and dogs snuggle up to you at your tables in hopes of tidbits, the restaurateurs provide old windex bottles full of saltwater as an anti-animal device.

In order to return to Cairo we must drive under the suez canal, which isn't much to look at you can barely see the boats above. It is however surrounded by a large military presence. Lots of checkpoints and armored cars. All along the road for about a mile there are men posted in fox holes above the street in full on combat uniform, complete with metal helmets, poor bastards. I waved at a few of them on the way through they looked so hot and bored. Maybe on the way back I'll flash them, yeah that won't get me into trouble in Islamic Egypt :)

Dahab Day three

2008-07-15T10:40:00.000-07:00

I got a baby tan!! I am now slightly more beige than I was yesterday!!! Also I sunburned my knees. I don't know how I did that last bit but whatever. I am sitting here at the net cafe watching baby Egyptian mau kittens frolic, they are so cute, but their claws are freakin HUGE! I have sent off a whole bunch of postcards today, if you want postcards and you haven't recieved any yet that means I do not have your mailing address please send it to me.

Anyway Dahab is a beach resort town built up around the dive industry and it is growing by leaps and bounds. Almost everything a vacationer could want is available here from manicures, to pedicures to moonlight horse back rides to Bedouin gigolos, its all here. The street sellers are quite pushy and it tends to limit the amount of time one might spend walking around. Today I got called a prostitute, by a police officer LOL!! I don't think he realized I knew what he was saying in Arabic until I turned arond and stared at him, he had the good grace to blush. I was dressed conservatively too, prick!

Dahab day two

2008-07-14T09:04:00.000-07:00

I did fuck-all today. Not entirely true, I did read two books and try to start a tan. We sat by the beach in a cabana style restaurant, ordered food, read, slept, and saw some friends. It is charming here until you start to move around and then the hassles begin.
"Hello my pretty, come see my menu"
"Mama, mama, mama, bring you and your sister here for food"
"Mrs, mrs, mrs buy bracelet, why??? why won't you buy bracelet??"
"taxi? taxi? you want taxi??"
You have to smile because if you don't they try to make you smile by flirting or trying to be funny, which usually just serves to piss you off more. So smile damn it!! Business people try to become your friend right away so that when you have something to dispute or you say that the price is unfair they can act wounded, it is an amazing tactic I have seen it work in the most bizarre circumstances. There is also a gender issue, if you have a penis you get more respect. I don't deal well with that, I try but it is an exerscise in frustration.

Not dead

2008-07-12T20:54:00.001-07:00

Valerie and I are going on a jaunt to dhab for a few days. I may not have internet access, just wanted you to know I am not dead yet. I will be in touch with you all as soon as I get back :)

Bedouin Teatime

2008-07-11T22:30:00.000-07:00

This is the family that we took the goats to first. I was trying to be as subtle as possible when I took this footage so it isn't very good.