Family Stew

I have to say. No matter how ridiculous and crazy my family is, I love them. Rather I love the ridiculous things that happen in my family on a day to day basis equating my love for them.

My family here in New Mexico consists of four very different, yet very similar, individuals who all hate one another but are brought together through family ties. Enter my mother, a divorcee who's life has been filled with trial after tribulation, but she has come out rather sane despite the severity of everything she has faced. Followed by my aunt, a slightly neurotic and bipolar (but still lovable) high school teacher who has essentially lived in her parents house her entire life (shes now going on 37). Next are my grandparents, two wonderful people whom without, my mother and I would be absolutely nowhere, but who hate us all (including each other) despite their never ending love that they dish out daily with phone calls (when in New England) and worldly advice.

Put all of us under one roof, add a dash of salt, and you have family stew. A wonderful, and yet terrifying, (and stressful on the taste buds) dish that could fill your stomach for ten years. Each day that you swallow a spoonful of this family stew, your mouth is presented with a different and exciting flavor.

Take today for example. A rather slow day given the fact that it was a Monday, and so things called for a dash of paprika and chile to add a little zest to the soup.

The day began with my aunt (as previously mentioned a high school teacher) showing me the film Heathers, a pre-Columbine high school movie filled with teen angst and black humor leading to murders and suicides. She spent the entirety of the film cackling her head off (funny given that shes a high school teacher and has been teaching since the year of the Columbine shootings).

Later in the evening, while watching yet another movie (Under the Tuscan Sun, a personal favorite of mine), my aunt caught my mother smoking a cigarette. Now in her defense my mother thought that if my aunt was watching a movie with me, the coast would be clear for her to light up in the back yard. However, that was a stupid move on her part as my aunt loves to keep tabs on my mothers activities throughout the day in order to report every move she makes to my grandparents (don't you just love sibling rivalry?).

So in an attempt to make herself seem more innocent, my mother claimed that she had stolen one of my cigarettes from my purse. So not only had she been caught in the act of something this entire family finds to be the dumbest thing one can do (smoking) she then incriminated me by saying she was smoking my cigarette. (thanks mom haha)

My aunt, who has to deal with the games that teenagers play everyday, has learned how to play said games quite well. She came inside and immediately plopped on the couch next to me and demanded that we cook candy tomorrow (secretly I think shes trying to make me regain all the weight I lost this year in order to be thinner than me again). My mother then followed her into the family room and mouthed something that I couldn't make out behind my aunts back. When I couldn't figure out what she was trying to say she turned to my aunt and asked, "So are you going to tattle on me?" (fifth grade much?) My aunt turns to me, gives me a funny look and says, "I caught her smoking a cigarette."

I look from my aunt to my mother, and back to my aunt and I couldn't help but burst out laughing. The whole time I'd had a headphone in one of my ears, and the fact that I wasn't taking what my aunt said seriously (because I know my mother has been smoking because I smoke with her all the time haha), but the fact that she caught my mom in the act and their reactions is just hilarious to me. She looks at me wide eyed and declares I must be listening to porn (oh yes)

Clearly baffled by my response to the situation, my aunt turns to my mother and just glares at her, so my mother repeats her question. My aunt looks down at her cookbook and mutters that my mother is trying to cause a fight. My mother (bless her heart for opening the door to this amazing response on my part) misunderstood what my aunt muttered and heard "she's tightly wound up." Confused she repeated what she thought she heard, and when my aunt didn't respond I took up her cue and stated, "Yes mother. You're a frigid ice queen in need of a good humping." Receiving the response "You slut!" from my mom.

My aunt looked up from her cookbook, her mouth hanging as open as a barn door on a hot summer day, utterly speechless at what the two of us had just said. She had the whole dear-in-headlights look on her face, and my mother and I nearly fell off our seats we were laughing so hard.

God bless paprika and chile to add a little extra spice into your homely family stew.

Welcome Back To Me

So here I am. After several months I am finding myself returning here to blogger.com. Things in life kinda just took control for awhile and I didn't really find a reason to write here anymore. But now I am back, mainly out of boredom I guess.

My life in Egypt is now over. I have returned to the United States, and have yet to see if its for the better. Since my last post much has happened. I have broken up with my internet boyfriend, fallen in love with someone else, graduated high school, left the man I love behind in Egypt, and moved back here.

I wish that I could say things with my family in Egypt were on good terms when I left, but unfortunately they weren't. As I may or may not have mentioned in previous posts, things had been tense between me and my parents (dad and stepmom) on and off throughout the whole year, but I suppose it all came to a head in May, and just never got any better. But sometimes that's life I suppose.

Graduating was amazing. I have never been so excited and so scared all at once. At the beginning of the year I thought that I would never fit in at the Modern English School of Cairo, but I can now say that I have truly found a home in Egypt. I made so many amazing friends that when it came time to walk down that stage and shake hands with the people handing out our diplomas, I felt as though I were ending an amazing adventure. But it also felt like I was beginning something new and amazing as well, a new adventure that is just the beginning of my life. I know that while I may have had to say goodbye to many dear friends and even my boyfriend, that it isn't really goodbye. While I don't know whats entirely in store for me in the near future, I know that I will see all of them again as well as Egypt. There are still many things and places that I had yet to do and visit there that I know there is a whole other adventure awaiting me at some point in my life that will take me back to Cairo.

As many people have told me, my life is just now starting. Only it feels as though someone has pushed pause on the dvd remote. I suppose that's not necessarily true though. While things have taken a different turn from what I originally planned, things are slowly beginning to happen, I'm just a very impatient person who gets excited about all the possibilities that life has to offer that I wish something new and exciting, or even something old and loved, would happen everyday to make things more exciting.

Originally, the plan upon graduating from high school was to take a year off from school before attending culinary arts school. Well unfortunately that isn't exactly what's happening. I am now attending New Mexico State University come August 17th. I am planning on triple majoring haha, but something tells me that isn't exactly going to happen. I am currently only signed up for classes through one advisor. My three majors (at least that I plan to pursue) are Hotel and Restaurant Management, Music, and French (in no particular order lol). But we will see I suppose.

Next on the list of my life involvements would be work. While I still plan (and will follow through on this plan as it's my life long dream) to be a chef, I am going to be starting at Convergys, a telecommunications company who answers calls for AT&T customer support haha. I think that it may prove to be an interesting job, and more to the point it pays well and I get insurance benefits which is pretty good.

So while there are some bad things, there are also some good things. While I had to say goodbye to some friends, I have already said hello to some new ones. And while I had to say goodbye to my boyfriend in Egypt, I know that I will get to say hello to him again soon enough. So if life is just beginning, I am here to face everything that life has to throw at me. Bring it on life, I'll take everything you've got to throw my way and throw more right back at you.

Plane yummies ^^

So as I was packing for my senior trip to Singapore and Malaysia, which I'm leaving on tomorrow, and I thought that I would check up on my frequent source of vegetarian dishes and see if she had anything of spectacular delight that I could make as a goody for the plane. I was in luck! She recently posted a recipe for a Chile Lime Tequila Popcorn that is to die for! So as soon as my packing was done I thought what the hell? and so here I am twenty minutes later, bagging my yummy popcorn and looking forward to the trip tomorrow^^ Check out the recipe! Thanks for another great idea Heidi!

Non-Uniform Day

Funny conversation with my friend N that just happened>

N: Tomorrow's a non-uniform day!
Me: No it's not, it's next week.
N: Eih!? I would have looked so bad! (laughs)
Me: Yupp. Were you really gonna not wear the uniform tomorrow?
N: Yeah! But I'm not gonna come so its ok.
Me: You're such an idiot.

I Never Liked Boobs

Here at the Modern English School in Cairo, we have two breaks a day between our classes. Each break is about thirty minutes, and that half hour is filled with the cheerful sound of little egyptian children beating each other up, and the smell of said little egyptian children, the smell of b.o. and feet, such a sweet, mouthwatering scent. These golden half hours that give us a break from work, are also filled with hilarious conversations and us seniors trying to avoid being caught breaking the uniform regulations. Here is a selection from one of those hilarious conversations between myself, my friends N, Y, and K. It starts out with my friend Y and I leaning up against N's shoulder's for pillows:

K: N, you look as though you are going to be breast feeding them.
Y: (jokingly) Mamy!
Me: You know, I never liked boobs. Even when I was little. I refused to breast feed and forced my mother to pump.
K: Lovely. (turns bright red and laughs hysterically)
N: My breasts. (pushes Y and me away)
K: You never liked boobs at all?

Another funny exchange with the bus lady

So on the home from school today, there was another amusing exchange between us high school kids and the bus lady. I got on the bus today and sat in the back seat with this girl who is in the spring musical We Will Rock You with me, and as we were heading home she was showing me a video of Chris Brown (shes madly in love with him). Now mind you, I don't really care for Chris Brown much, and even less since he beat up Rihanna. So when the girl next to me is on the verge of an orgasm at the sight of him I couldn't help but to burst out laughing (and of course I have a very loud and boisterous laugh). So of course my sudden laughing caught the attention of the bus lady who proceeded to turn around and just flat out stare at me and the girl next to me. The following conversation ensued:

Girl: "Can you stop staring at me, I hate it when people stare at me!"
Bus lady: "No."
Girl: "Why?"
Bus lady: "Because it's my job to stare at you."

Now at this point, the only other kid on the bus was the boy mentioned in yesterday's post, and he had been talking on his phone to his mother this whole time, but now he's hung up and is staring at the bus lady as if she were Medusa and had petrified him in his seat.

Boy: "Since when was your job to stare at us?"
Bus lady: "Since now."
Boy: (in english as the prior convo had been in arabic) "Hey lets just sit here and stare right back at her and make her feel awkward."

So we all then proceeded to stare right back at her, and the bus lady didn't quite know what to make out of our reaction to her staring at us, so feeling uncomfortable she turned around and faced back to the front of the bus. As soon as she had turned back around we all burst out laughing hysterically, at which she turned back around and stared at us more. So this time I spoke up.

Me: "What do you want?" No response "Why are you staring at us?!"
Bus lady: "Because. Can I know whats so funny that has you all laughing?"
Boy: "It's none of your business."
Bus lady: "Everything is my business if it is about the school."
Girl: "It has nothing to do with you or the school."
Bus lady: "Is that a mobile phone? Because I'm supposed to confiscate your mobile phones!"

She seemed to give up trying to torture us for the day and then spent the rest of the bus ride staring out of the window. Honestly these people who work at my school have no clue of how to work with children. And they are so damned nosy!

Snow days or (rather lack thereof on my part)

So I woke up today to yet another E-mail form the weather channel informing me that Westford public schools have been closed due to snow. Yet again.

Honestly? How retarded is that superintendent? This is approximately the 25th time this year that schools in New England have been closed due to snow. What now that I have moved away from the area you decided to have all of your snow days? So not cool.

I wake up to yet again another boring morning here in Egypt, and all I can think is how I can't wait till I wake up and I'm not in this bed or this room. I can't wait until I go home to the states, as much as I have enjoyed my time here.

So yes a typical morning. Me having a pity party and wishing I could skip school. The usual.

Returning!

So I have decided to return to writing my blog. So I thought I would start off with a little rant about how dumb the bus lady who rides on my bus with us loser highschoolers each day is. Today when I got on the bus I sat in my seat and opened the curtain (I happen to enjoy the warm sun you know). The bus lady turns to me and asks me to close the curtain. I'm baffled and like huh? So mind you I have long since decided that I don't like this woman so I asked her why and she replied " I don't have a good reason. Just close it." So I told her no, and when the other boy got on the bus she asked him to tell me in english (the convo had been in arabic, but im just a dumb american so what do i know right?) and he and I just exchanged looks that said shes psycho.

So we are halfway down the street when the bus lady turns around again and demands that we close the blinds because she doesn't want men to see her. (now I am really accepting and understanding of religious women who feel the need to cover themselves given that they are Muslim, but this woman, while she is veiled is a hypocrite who wears clothes so tight there is no room for imagination). So the other boy says to her no that she has her curtain open so men can see her from that window, and so she says no its from that side I don't want them to see me. Whatever.

Ok honestly. Women out there who choose to be (or are raised etc etc) Muslim, I fully understand and support you, but when you choose to put on the veil it is to be "modest". Whatever "modest" is supposed to mean, I can assure you that when you wear clothing that is so tight fitting that it leaves no room for any man to want to imagine you and also it gives you a camel toe, I have to say, you aren't modest.

Plus its just damned ugly and not something I want to see.