This blog is not dead yet because I am very alive! Updates coming soon.

happy new year

This blog is not yet antique shown to my grandchildren referring to the long break. It has not earned this honorable status yet. For those who wonder – yes, I am still in Cairo and not planning to leave. Rather the opposite. Seems like day by day there are more reasons to stay. For example recently I was witnessing a remarkable improvement. It did not even take two years to get a work permit and bank account. Now I can use a plastic card to withdraw money from ATM. I don’t have to keep the small savings under the mattress anymore like our ancestors. Thank you.

After Ramadan

Muslim fasting month Ramadan is over. I was almost relieved until I noticed what it brought with itself. Restaurants and cafes are full of people again, streets during sunset are crowded. It is like everyone woke up from a long dream. It is weird to see Muslim friends eating at daytime again.
A vacation is highly appreciated at this moment and that’s why I am spending next week sunbathing by the Red Sea with beloved ones. Oh what would I do right now without 360 sunny days a year.
Other highlights of last two months: giving food to poor people and considered being a Muslim, buying plane tickets home for Christmas, working my ass off, not putting on weight because of Ramadan.

normal life

Life is normal. Almost as normal as normal is. I have an interesting job, I have a home, close friends, money to buy food, nice weekends by the sea.

I am also in a challenging process at the moment – getting the work permit. I have been working on it for the last couple of months and I do not think it will be done soon considering current progress. But one thing is sure – when I am done you can read about it and especially people who like to google “work permit in Egypt” (“tööluba egiptuses”) because they are in a similar situation.

And I am happy that I find myself cooking more often then before when instant noodles were the national food.

This picture is from April when Mannu came to visit. We were on a picnic and suddenly it started raining which hardly ever happens by the Red Sea.

One year in Egypt.

Couple of days ago I celebrated my first anniversary here – one year exactly when I landed in Cairo. Back then I didn’t know anything about Islam or what is waiting for me here.

It has been an amazing year. I have met many great people, had lots of fun, found myself in challenging and also unpleasant situations very often, learned a lot, changed jobs, lived so far in 4 apartments, changed a bit and still stayed the same.

Life-changing experience they say. It truly is.

Today I found myself thinking, oh what a good and cool day, its only +38 C outside.

Some of my new extra cool coworkers.

How to lose weight?

Just two extra points added to your monthly “How to spend a lot of money for clothes, cosmetics and still stay fat and ugly” literature:

99) Eat only what you prepare yourself. Then you know exactly what is in your sandwich. In that case you can also prevent an angry waiter spitting in your Caesar salad because your date yelled at him for being slow.

100) Go for grocery shopping when you are full to prevent buying random carbohydrates. If it is not possible and luckily you happen to be easily influential then before picking up your sweets and cheese pass by the meat section. When you are lucky you will find some small cute skinned rabbits their eyes still on. For some cases featherless pigeons can also lose your appetite.

Back in Cairo - part 2

The balcony is dirty again, its +41 C degrees outside (around the same inside), the hot wind is blowing like a hairdryer. But I don’t really mind because now we have legal internet at home. No more running to cafes with wifi and “praying” for some connectivity.

Estonia was comfortable like always. After minor culture shocks in traffic it felt as good as before.