A Life Far Removed from Durian Trees

We moved in today, yay! And in two days, we leave for Malaysia. Back on October 9.

Just to say we're both ok here. The US embassy in Sana'a is further northeast while our hotel is in town centre. From where I am, you wouldn't know there'd been an attack unless you turned on the TV. Everything seems to be going on as normal. From the BBC: Deadly US Embassy attack in Yemen

I was speaking to another expat yesterday about how everything changes in Yemen during Ramadhan. She told me this (true) story: Kid: "Hi, Coach, I just moved to Sana'a. I'd like to take tennis lessons with you." Coach: "Ahlan wa sahlan. You are welcome to Yemen, kiddo. Yes, I can teach you tennis. But it's Ramadhan now so we have lessons at two o'clock." Kid: "Ok! When can we start?" Coach: "Tomorrow." Kid: "Ok, see you tomorrow afternoon, at two." Coach: "Huh? No, two o'clock in the morning! Are you crazy, kid??? It's Ramadhan!"

I'm hoping we can move to the house this weekend. We spent the last few nights going to carpet and curtain shops, and after all that, brought home a sample moquette (wall-to-wall carpeting) that looks almost exactly like the one in the house already. Which I knew would happen, but S never makes a decision without going to at least 3 different shops. The old carpets have been torn up and the carpet guys will come tonight or tomorrow. Then the cleaners will come. THEN can we move in. We decided it was too much to try to buy new furniture right away - everything happens at night during Ramadhan and we're going home for Eid in a week or so. But after more shop visits, it looks like MDF is king in Sana'a. What worries me is that I have not found a single lounge set that I like, and that it's going to be either IKEA or palacial kitsch. I haven't seen much of the city apart from the shops. We've had dinner at the hotel every night, even though I would love to eat out,...

Day 5. Still staying at the hotel. Yesterday (Thursday i.e. "Saturday") we went to three furniture shops in the Al Asbahi area, but found that 99% per cent of the stuff was made from "high-quality MDF". Plus they were really ornate, like what you would see in a Marie Antoinette movie. We only had a couple of hours because shops open really late during Ramadhan (after 2 p.m.) and the driver wasn't available after iftar. Even though we could have gone out again after dinner with one of the standby drivers (shops close at 4 a.m.) , we weren't up for it. Didn't even have the energy to go for the outdoor concert downstairs at the hotel! At this rate, I bet we'll be in limbo for another week at least. Today the shops don't open until 4 p.m. and some won't open at all. S is working and I'm at the house now, testing out the internet connection and it sure is better than in Angola! I was supposed to measure the rooms etc. before we try some more f...

Greetings from Yemen! It took me a while to log in just now because Blogger appeared in Arabic. As usual, with my luck, I clicked almost every link on the page before finding the right one. ( Note to self: fix this) Day 1 in Yemen. As I write this, I’m in our new house, waiting for S and an IT technician to come back with the new password for my internet connection. Right now there is a man still working on the toilets; he brought along his son (~10 years old) Khalid - his little apprentice. It doesn’t look like we’ll be moving in right away – perhaps in a couple of days. I just can’t get over how lovely the house is – you can see beautiful flowery shrubs and greenery from every window in this place. Apparently we live next to a VIP working at the UN. (His house is in the middle of the street and they’ve cordoned off one stretch of road to his villa – using terrorist-proof concrete barriers, mind you – so we can only access our house from one end of the street.) Opposite, someone is bu...

Last night, we had dinner at the best roticanai place in town: Suvay's Guys, it's as close as you get to the real thing in this part of the world! Ask for the paratha. Dinner for three (very hungry) people who ordered starters, two main dishes each, masala tea, gulab jamun and kulfi was...£23 Afterwards I asked the Suvay's people what CD they were playing - it was pretty good. It was the soundtrack to Bheemaa (a Tamil movie I haven't seen before). On the way back, we walked by an Indian music shop. - Hi, do you have the soundtrack for Bheemaa? - Yes. You want original or... (nervous blink, blink, blink) - Err, how much? - 6 pounds. (hands me the box, phone starts ringing and he starts chatting on the phone. Makes me wait until he's done) - But this is the movie, I just want the songs please. - Oh, songs! Here is audio CD. Three pounds. For three quid, you get three songs in iTunes. In East London, you get an entire "audio CD". Tonight, the Melati Restaura...

From the BBC (07:33 GMT, Friday, 5 September 2008 08:33 UK): Angolans vote in landmark polls Voting has begun in Angola in the first parliamentary elections for 16 years. Although 14 parties are taking part, the contest is primarily between long-term rivals, the ruling MPLA party and opposition Unita party. On the eve of the poll, the head of the country's electoral commission dismissed Unita's claims of unfair campaigning by MPLA. The poor but oil-rich nation has been at peace for six years, when 27 years of conflict came to an end. As the election got under way, people were reported to have begun queuing at polling stations in the capital, Luanda. Some eight million voters are registered in the country - more than a quarter of whom live in the capital's very overcrowded conditions. 'Safeguarding peace' The MPLA, which is the dominant political force in the country, is widely expected to win the election and consolidate its hold on power. The electoral campaign was...

Ramadhan mubarak to all our family and friends! For us this year, Ramadhan kicked off in Ilford, Essex where we're staying for a week (hubby's aunt's place) before flying to Yemen. I called up the Ilford Islamic Centre (after a quick Google) on Sunday night to confirm if we would fast on Monday, and a nice man said, "Yes, sister, Ramadhan is confirmed to start tomorrow, insya-Allah"...which left me a little confused. Is it confirmed or is it insya-Allah? Anyway, maghrib here now is 7:49 p.m. I think this is the longest I've ever fasted. Next week, we'll be in Yemen. Maghrib there is around 6:14 p.m. but I think the thirst will get you because it's so dry. During the last week of Ramadhan, we'll be home in Malaysia. As far as I remember, I haven't been home during Ramadhan since I left for college in 1994! A few years ago, we arrived in KL ready to raya because we had flown via Dubai where it was already Eid. But Malaysia was fasting for anot...