A Life Far Removed from Durian Trees

Quite a few things since the last post: - S' aunt and uncle came to visit. Took them to the usual spots plus the military museum and the Saleh mosque, which was a first time for us. - Bought a treadmill and an elliptical trainer. Takes too much time to go to the Movenpick if you want to exercise every day. Feel guilty about spending all that money so I HAVE VOWED TO EXERCISE EVERY DAY AT 6 AM... - Hillwalking last Friday. It was nice to get out but still sore. - Found a fellow Malaysian. He's 39 going on 29...good fun. Called us lame because we still haven't been to lots of "cool" places in Sana'a. So our New Year's resolution is to go out more! - Arabic teacher gave birth to a beautiful baby girl on December 5. No classes until February. - Discovered smoked beef and smoked chicken breast at Shumaila Hari supermarket - great for deli-type sandwiches! I've also acquired a taste for non-alkie beer, which is widely sold in Sana'a. There's...

Saudi forces 'fighting in Yemen' - Al Jazeera

Before I get into it, some updates: 1. Weather is now 11C - nice! Not looking forward to Dec/Jan when it's colder inside the house than outside! 2. Arabic teacher giving birth in 2 weeks and she will be off for a month or two. (Looking forward to the break because I am way behind in revision!) 3. Tomato prices have gone up 200% 4. I now have a bullet-proof bathroom. (Friends who are planning to visit - don't worry, it's been planned for a while - just a precaution) 5. I'm allergic to something here - my eyelids are itchy Ok, the hospital. There are a lot of hospitals in Sanaa but they look more like clinics. Some are funded by the Saudis, some are private, there's an Iranian one that's been shut down by the government for political reasons. So my maid was screaming in pain. We pull up at a hospital and someone comes by with a wheelchair. I think I was expected to push her to A&E but the porter took one look at me and didn't think I was up to it (and I di...

I've had so much DRAMA this week. My maid/cleaner and one of the guards were fighting. Guard called the security supervisor and then there was some counselling. Some workmen came to the house and some small items were stolen. They did a bad job and have to come again on Monday to fix things. Promised to reimburse me for the stolen shaving stick and deodorant (they insisted!), but didn't seem surprised or try to deny that one of them had done it. The maid and guard accused each other of stealing, to get the other in trouble. Big bust-up in front of the house. Doorbell rings and security supervisor is back again. Told me I had to decide which one to get rid of - cheeky since he's not paying my maid's salary. I said guard should go (not that he would lose his job, just assigned to a different house). Supervisor says ok but guard hangs around until S comes home and begs to be reinstated. S says ok but no more fighting. More workmen come round to fix the wiring. Then ...

Last weekend we went to an art show held by the International Womens Association (IWA). It was hosted by an English lady who lives a typical HUGE Yemeni house. Let's put it this way, it was big enough to be used as an art gallery! They showcased (and were selling) paintings by about 10 Yemeni artists, with some of the proceeds going to charity. The nice thing was the artists were there to explain what the pieces were about. I bought a Shawki Mohd Abdul original called "The Golden City". I felt sorry for the guy, nobody had bought any of his stuff yet. I did like the painting...and compared to the other pieces, it was a "bargain" at $50. What the heck, it was for charity. I did like one particular piece that was on glass, but we've had glass items broken before during moves. S was hung up on this one abstract piece of a woman's face (only after we were told what to look for did we see it) but he thought it was too expensive at $150. To me the price of art...

The world of the Arabs

A couple of days ago, our driver showed us a video clip of a lion killing a man. In a cage. Somewhere in Iraq. I didn't see the beginning but did see the part where the lion was sitting calmly with his mouth around the man's neck. The whole thing was being filmed on someone's phone I think, someone who was standing outside the cage waiting for help to come. Help finally did come - a guard came with a gun or electric stun gun and shot the lion. Two loud shots. Lion collapses (stunned? dead?) and two people rush in to retrieve the man. But they were too late. Apparently he was the lion's trainer and had been in the cage alone with the animal. Pretty shocking. I couldn't eat my dinner.

Back in Sana'a after a three-week break. Weather has cooled down and is the perfect combination of cool dry air and sunny days. New shops have sprung up and a couple of buildings near the house are almost done. But the best thing of all is in the supermarkets. The Asian food shop now has a better selection of Asian veggies and food. Yeterday we found TEMPEH as well as kangkong, fresh tauhu, taugeh, gado-gado mix, chives, bok choi, lemongrass, etc. At Shumaila Hari, smoked beef is now available in the deli section and you can also get bottled sambal paste, frozen and fresh liver (me LOVE liver), frozen and fresh chicken breast/drumsticks/thigh/wings/etc., laban (said to be even better than yoghurt) with live AB cultures, and most other things. I guess the big deal for me is that all this is HALAL. You could get various meats in Angola but only the frozen imported beef was halal...I can count the number of times I ate minced meat in those three years! Al Jazeera reported yesterday th...

= Kannot Fry Chicken lah Remember KFC's Ramadan special offer? S went there two days in a row and came back with nada. The first day, he got there too late in the afternoon - they were closed. The second time, he went a bit earlier and they were open...but they couldn't cook until the electricity came back on. After waiting in the parking lot for 30 mins, S came home. Nevermind. Back in Malaysia in 10 days.

Bored with our own cooking, S and I went out for iftar twice a couple of times last week. Once at the Sheba Hotel and once at the Movenpick. Same price ($30 pp)but I thought the food and atmosphere of the Movenpick were better. Both places had the cheek to charge extra (500 rials/$2.50 each) for the small bottles of water that they open for you without asking first! Otherwise, it was nice. At the Sheba, we saw our old friends (the waiters) who were there last year when we'd just arrived. We stayed two weeks before we moved into the house. One, whose name happens to be the same as my late grandfather's, even remembered what I liked and plonked a heap of omm ali (like bread and butter pudding) in front of me. Bless. The Movenpick was snazzy (5 star hotel I think) and had a bigger spread. I think one of the chefs is from Malaysia because there was kuih sugee (my favourite) and the nasi goreng tasted really asli and I'd heard about him. Today, we're having KFC. There's...

Today we get a new driver. After a year of putting up with the antics of M and thinking a replacement one might be even worse, we decided to call it quits. He has a good heart. But his last, last, last, last, last, last chance was used up a couple of days ago: after the usual morning wake-up call and saying he's on his way, he disappeared. The whole day. Phone switched off. No news. We thought, what if he had an accident rushing to work? Poor guy, hope he's okay. The next day (we'd made arrangements for a standby driver), he showed up at work. All smiles. No explanation, except that he was sick and there was no electricity so he couldn't charge his phone and call us. Unbelievable. He pulls these stunts; shows up late for work; drives erratically; uses the car for his errands and to shuttle family around; goes home (which is far) to sleep during the day using OUR petrol money; always rushes us because he's got plans; makes a sour face when he has to work the...

MURTABAK!!! Discovered along the famous shopping area - Jamal Street - last weekend during an evening walkabout. We bought eight! You can buy plain, with egg or with veggies. We didn't see any with minced meat but I'm told you can get it. WHY HASN'T ANYONE SAID YOU CAN GET MURTABAK IN YEMEN?!?! And not just during Ramadan!

...that's my driver during Ramadan. He stays up all night and then struggles to wake up in the morning...even though S goes to work an hour later (9 am instead of 8 am) during Ramadan. It's come to a point where S gives him a wake-up call at 8.15 am. When S asks, "Where are you?" it's the usual answer, "On the way, boss." which I now take to mean he's in bed and is on the way to the bathroom to be on the way to work. After he sends S to the office, he goes home to sleep (with the petrol that we pay for). When he has to take me to Arabic class at 1pm, he wakes up again. Each time so far, he drove right past my teacher's place until I say, "You passed it." In the afternoons, when's he's more awake, he uses the car for errands - buying qat, food, pampers, etc. (again with our petrol). This whole month he sounds like Barry White, but croakier - I don't know why. Today, he had to go for a safety course in the morning and finished...

Can't sleep - too much Cadbury's at dinner. Last week S and I were invited to break the fast by S' Yemeni colleague, Q. I was pretty excited about the whole thing because apart from my Arabic teacher's parents' house (where we have lessons), I'd never seen a Yemeni family environment before. Q has two young daughters, one being maybe 3 years old and the other just 10 months old. His wife, B, was shy at first but afterwards became more talkative and wouldn't let me go home. While the boys rushed through their meal, us two girls talked so much and hardly got through our food. Well, I wouldn't say I talked. I managed to ask a few questions in Arabic and then tried to make sense of what B was saying as she rattled on. I tried to eat as much as I could but there was soooo much food! On top of that, B's eldest daughter kept taking the ladies' dishes away to the men's dining room for her father - she just adores him. B cooked everything herself and ...

We're now in day 2 of Ramadhan. The weather is Sana'a is very pleasant, not so dusty because we've had a lot of rain and last Friday, it hailed with little marbles of ice falling all over the garden. There's also been a lot of jet fighter activity in the skies... And we've had a lot of power cuts, day and night. In some areas, I think 12 hours a day. The local papers reported "billions of $$$" in lost revenue due to the blackouts. Ice cream sellers were badly hit and had to throw out loads of the stuff. Families had to go to hospital because they didn't realise their food had gone bad. Gas prices have gone up. My Arabic lessons are now in the afternoons, during lunch hour, because there are no taxis in the morning for my teacher. During class we talked about food a lot. I haven't ventured out in the late afternoons when the streets are supposed to be in absolute chaos. Many expats wives have run away for the Holy Month - it just cramps thei...

...now don't get too excited. Some places we're not allowed to visit in Yemen (except Socotra)... Shibam, Hadramaut Mahra - Omani border Sana'a-Hodeidah road Jibla Socotra

I went to a local dentist last week. Apparently I've been grinding my teeth at night. The clinic is on Hadda Street, one of Sana'a's main streets and is quite a big clinic. My guy was actually an orthodontist - and a professor. His name was on stickers all over the place so it was probably his clinic, but there were a few other dentists also. It was busy but I didn't have to wait. I go in and am met by a very pleasant, middle-aged man. There's a big corporate-looking desk and a sitting area on one side of the room. In the other, The Chair and where it all happens. I'd never seen a purple dentist's chair with matching purple cabinets before. Anyway, Prof had spent some time in Malaysia, methinks on sabbatical at University Sains Malaysia in Penang. He liked it there. "Malaysia is a good country." He had two female assistants and that day his son was also there. He gave me some meds after the first appointment but I went back after three days,...

My first political entry. I am by no means a political expert but I need to say this. Malaysia is not a perfect country. We have our share of ethnic tensions, corruption, crime, etc. but the more of the world I see, the more I appreciate that Malaysia is a pretty good place and that things could be worse. True, there's a lot that frustrates me about how the country is run. But after living in the US, UK, Africa and the Middle East, I've come to appreciate what we have in Malaysia. Compared to the current state of other African countries that gained independence around the same time as we did, we did pretty well despite racial tensions and economic disparity etc...and now serve as a role model for many developing nations. A lot of people that I've met seem to respect Malaysians. Just the fact that it's very green and with lots of water is something most Malaysians take for granted but is in itself a really big thing for many people living in arid places. We have great fo...

Last night, I went to my first Yemeni wedding. It was a special one because the groom was German and the bride's sister had also married a foreigner, a Belgian. It's more common for a Yemeni man to marry a non-Yemeni, so this was quite special. The wedding itself was traditional. I was advised to wear my best dress and do my hair and make-up ("it's like a competition"); not to bring a camera (confiscated at the door) and not to get a present (only family and close friends bring a prezzie). I wore a blue baju kebaya (traditional Malay dress) and wore a black balto (Yemeni robe) over it. I went with a friend, and it was her friend's sister's wedding. The venue was a big square hall with tables and chairs for about 500 people. The colour scheme was yellow and gold. There was a walkway across the centre of the room, from the door to the stage (like a catwalk). At the stage (which was like a Malay pelamin ), there was a sofa and canopy and flowers. But unlike...

Almost completed our first year here. Now we're into the rainy months, which means nice, clear, cool air once the rain stops. The mango and tangerine season are over, and the jasmine wreaths sold in the streets will become more expensive. The pomegranate tree in our garden has given fruit (?) but the birds got to it before we did. School broke up a month or two ago and so it is blissfully quiet during the day...except for the generator during electricity rationing hours. People are preparing for Ramadhan (~3 weeks to go). My Arabic teacher already bought her kids outfits for eid , because she hates the crowds during Ramadhan...which by the way is when shops close at four a.m. She said during the month, most people eat, watch TV, shop or party all night long - and then sleep through most of the day. The Arabic channels will show the best tv series from all around the Arab world and have already started to air ads about the line-up for this Ramadhan. I thought everyone stayed up all...

I'm seriously thinking of changing this blog to something like "yum-yum yoghurt". Because I've discovered this very beautiful thing. I believe it's the secret why the French (and south Indians) are thin. (OF COURSE, not all Frenchmen and Indians are thin but they do eat more of it than other nationals and tend to be slimmer, non ?) Anyway, because I tend to put on weight even after short trips abroad, I decided to be careful on my recent one. So instead of the breakfast fry-up, I went for 'continental' and instead of a light lunch and heavy dinner, I tried the opposite. Thus I came to eat yoghurt every morning (plus a few other things of course). And to my surprise I felt really good - hard to describe but perhaps 'lighter'? I didn't feel like food was sitting in my gut after a big meal - you know that sluggish feeling? Even if I had a big dinner (couldn't escape!), I didn't feel bloated the next morning. So guys, have yoghurt in the ...

...and I mean Yemen! Been out of the country for two weeks for work, and as nice as it's been, I'm ready to head back home. Spent week 1 in the office in the UK - my annual pilgrimage to HQ to touch base with people. I even volunteered for a 'Lunch & Learn' - did a 20-min presentation to all company and then we got sandwiches for lunch. My first presentation since university! Week 2: in France while S is on a course. I'm working but in the afternoons, we walk around, eat out, go to the beach, etc. Nice being in the city again. My husband says I'm a moaner. Maybe. But after working in the office and then in a hotel room with grey walls, I've realised I prefer to work at home. Initially enjoyed getting dressed for work and putting my face on and the 5-min commute meant I didn't have to wake up at some crazy hour. But walking around in heels all day (mine aren't even that high) and having to work in polite company in an open-plan office... One week ...

This ain't PMS - this is my personality!

That was my score from today's Arabic test. Would've been higher if teacher hadn't put in new words and new grammar...but who cares? I'm the only student in the class! And she ain't gonna hit me. Finished book #1, which was the basics of Yemeni Arabic. Next: foos-ha i.e. formal Arabic This has been the hardest language I've ever learnt. How do you memorise words that don't sound like anything you know? farhan(ah) - happy ( ok, I have a cousin called Farhanah...easy ) dhaki - smart ( also easy, I have a smart cousin whose called Zaki ) shittaa - winter (right, think of a s****y winter) saidaliya - pharmacy (a little harder) mustaqba l - future (damn it!) mus-tash-fah - hospital ( what the...??? ) ...and groups of words sound similar, e.g. colours: aswad - azraq - ahmar - akhdar - asfar - abyad ...and then there are the many, many grammatical rules. Take numbers: even numbers have genders! Sometimes you use masculine numbers with feminine nouns, or...

* Yemen jet crashes in Indian Ocean * A Yemeni airliner with about 150 people on board crashes in the Indian Ocean near the Comoros archipelago. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/africa/8125664.stm

I can't believe it's only been 1.5 months since I was home - it seems so far away. But then again I can't believe I've been in Sana'a for 9 months - that felt quick, granted I've really been in-country for about 1/2-2/3 of the time. From my last trip home, I brought back: frozen karipap (Malaysian word for - you guessed it - curry puffs), keropok lekor ("fish sausages" on the packet but somehow that doesn't do it justice...and neither does the picture below) and otak-otak ("brains" but I've just realised I don't really know what this is). I was gob-smacked and thrilled you could buy these pre-made-just-fry-it-for-4-minutes afternoon snacks - shows you how long I've been away and how I'm still stuck in the 90s. Anyway, these taste REALLY good, even better than some fresh versions. Sadly once this stash is gone, it might be a while before I can get some more. :o(

...was actually kinda fun. S' company had booked the entire amusement park for employees and families for a day, with a Southern Fried Chicken value meal as well! I went on 4 rides - it was cool not having to queue up for too long. The place was clean and although the rides were a bit rickety, it seemed like they were in good working condition. There's a bowling alley too but we decided to go some other time. Against my better judgement, I got on the 'Break Dance' ride - which should have been called 'Break Neck' or 'Whiplash'. Luckily I'd been forewarned about keeping my neck straight but if that thing hadn't stopped when it did, there would've been some major G-force chuck-up. I saw these little toys at the park entrance: Hajjah Barbie in her abaya vs LA Barbie. SOOOOO cute!

A few days after returning from Dubai, I got knocked out by a cold. Today (although with some coughing that makes me swallow my own phlegm - yuck) I'm much better. Brain is working again. No fever. No runny nose - just an alarmingly peeling one. At times like this, when I'm finally able to get around after feeling terrible, I feel very grateful for being able-bodied and healthy. (After a few days though, this feel-good feeling wears off...) Some random stuff: 1. No more pottery lessons - my teacher has gone back to France with her baby because her husband was kicked out of the country for a paper he wrote. I feel bad for him because he has always been interested in Arabia, spent many years studying Yemen and speaks Arabic like a local. 2. I've discovered foul (pron. fool), which is very easy to make, as tasty/spicy as you want to make it, not expensive and very nutritious. This is a good recipe but no need to put cinnamon/clove/turmeric: http://www.recipezaar.com/Egyptian-...

After almost two years since my last pig-out, I HAD LOTS AND LOTS OF DURIAN I mean LOTS, people Had heartburn for two days...but damn it was worth it S, my sisters and I went to 'Donald's Durians' near my parents' place in Petaling Jaya. A little pricey but Donald is a friendly guy and he gave us some other (small) durians to try out FOC. Needless to say the freebies weren't as tasty. Donald's set-up is very simple: a tent by the roadside and lit with flourescent lights. Plastic tables and chairs. Metal racks stacked with durians of different species, i.e. D88, D22, etc. You state your preference (sweet, not-so-sweet, creamy, bitter) and can pick your own durian if you're an expert but otherwise they'll choose one, weigh it and send it to the table open with some plain water. When you're done, there's a tap to wash your hands. They even cater for durian parties. AWESOME. We went in the evening but apparently Donald's is open during the day. ...

One thing I love about living in Yemen is that everything is QUICK. I mean there are (virtually) no queues in supermarkets, clinics, petrol stations, restaurants and beauty salons. The shopping arcades are never crowded and most shops I've been into, I'm the only customer. So if you need anything, it's always a quick in-and-out. And most big things you buy will be delivered the SAME day whether it's a fridge, an exercise bike or carpets...which you'll be lucky to get in the developed world. Even custom-made stuff, like our sofa, took only 2 weeks to make. In the UK, you'd have to wait six weeks. The water tanks will be at your home within a couple of hours of a phonecall. Same with the cable guy and plumber. To do errands around town, unless you're in the Thursday morning pre-qat traffic, it takes less than 10 minutes to get from A to B almost anywhere in Sana'a. So all these things combined make things go fast, fast, fast. At restaurants where the...

I've just finished reading the fourth Stuart MacBride crime novel (The Flesh House ) , and I have to say that I WON'T READ ANOTHER ONE. The first one was good. The second and third were okay. The fourth one: too much fluff in the middle, too violent and the ending was disappointing. S and I like his books because they're based on Aberdeen - it's nice to read a novel set somewhere you know - and MacBride is funny, dirty funny . If you plan to read the book, DON'T read the following line: The serial killer was a skinny lady who only appeared in the story line very late - I couldn't believe she had the strength to capture/drag full-grown men to her lair and skin/cut them into steaks in 30 minutes! AND after all that she got away...

If I know what's good for me, two weeks of every month, I need to lay off the coffee. But damn, it's hard. I need one cup - just one - in the morning to get me going. I only started drinking coffee after I started working. In the early years, I'd have tea most of the time and would only make a cup of coffee if I needed a buzz. But nowadays, the day just isn't the same without it. The new Nescafe 3-in-1's are nice. (For you posh people who only drink freshly ground coffee from an industrial coffee maker, I work from home!!!) Yemeni coffee is good too and you can buy either green beans, black beans or the ground version. Nescafe Chai Latte also does the trick but I haven't seen any in Sana'a since I bought a pack a few months ago! One more week...Give me strength.

One of my resolutions for 2009 is to be a better cook. Those of you who've ever been invited over know that S does the cooking while I clean...and maybe make dessert. I'd really love to be able to cook more dishes so this year my target is to try 2-3 new recipes each week. To mark my progress, I've put a calendar on the fridge. For each day I make a new dish, I write it on the sheet. So far (it's only been a few weeks), it's been going well. Admittedly, I've made only soups (basically boil and blend). But it's a great way to finish up leftover food, and S and I are trying to eat light in the evenings - we put on a few pounds during our last vacation. Today, I tried to make rendang. It didn't turn out like rendang as I know it - but would've passed as Thai red beef curry. Not sure if it's just me but so far every recipe I've tried from Betty Saw's Rasa Malaysia cookbook has bombed...she seems to rely on 'a tsp of MSG' a lot. Anywa...

...been reading too many corporate press releases! Anyway, a lot has happened since my last update: - Parents & rellies came and went - Went on holiday to Egypt with in-laws - Had our first dinner party in the house - My grandmother passed away - Yemen in trouble (recent attacks, economy on verge of collapse) - Found some long-lost friends on FB - Arabic classes in full swing - Don't know if my beloved pottery teacher is back in Yemen - Checked out Al Komeim shopping centre in Sana'a - Walked around the Old City - Tried out the Korean restaurant - very clean, quick service and food is alright - Moroccan restaurant at the Movenpick is also good - Took parents to a small Ethiopian place called AlMaz - excellent & not expensive - The chilli fried fish and fried lala at the Msian restaurant are awesome - Company drivers on strike (apparently they're not happy they can't work more than 12 hours a day, so our driver says he's "not allowed to" take us any...

The weekend turned out to be more exciting than I'd anticipated. On Thursday night, we had dinner at Felix Arabia in the Old City because Big Cheese from S' company were visiting. I noticed the waiters brought out wine ("grape juice") poured into discreet brown glasses but no wine bottles were to be seen. Then on Friday, we managed to get invited to a VIP tour of Wadi Dhar (above), which is an old palace built on a rock, about 30 minutes from Sana'a. We were surprised it was actually a touristy place - thought it'd be in the middle of nowhere. Because it was Friday, there were a lot of people, foreign and local. There was also traditional Yemeni dancing - men only - in the palace courtyard (below). There was one old man in the group who lives in Sana'a but comes out to Wadi Dhar during the weekend to dance. What was also interesting was that we had four armed security guards the whole time because of the VIPs. The real Men In Black - black suits, sunglas...

I can't believe it's already February 2009. The weekend is here once again. Again, S has to work tomorrow morning, which really irritates me because the people in Europe who want to have meetings on a Friday morning are the same ones who are SHOCKED at the thought of working on a Saturday morning. Yeah, they should think about that one. As usual, we have nothing planned for the weekend except maybe finally getting some carpets (I can hear you all moaning "That again!"). Will probably go to the Movenpick Hotel to exercise - it's been a while! I love pottering about the house during the weekend - I like sitting in the qat room during the day because it's sunny, I can hear the birds and there's a lovely breeze when the windows are open. Also, the school nearby is closed so it's blissfully quiet. Today I finally called this lady about Arabic classes but she was in class and said she'd call back. Countdown to parents' visit: 1 week!

...but I still don't know the names of the dishes! Here we are having a traditional meal with the best views in town - the penthouse of the Burj Al Salam Hotel in the Old City. The only (?) building in the walled city with an (OTIS) elevator. Two things I learned: Hummus isn't Yemeni (according to a Yemeni friend) and, OTIS is Dutch (a Dutch friend says it's one of two great things the Dutch can claim fame to - guess what the other one is!) The near-fluourescent green stuff in the middle is yoghurt mixed with herbs and poured over a light bread that's kind of like crepe - a favourite during Ramadhan. The spiced lentil soup is tasty and even better if you squeeze some lime over it. This was just the first course of four! Then came the meats with various breads, then the lamb briyani and finally coffee with an eggy pastry with some honey. A must if you come to Sana'a!

I'm recovering from a cold that knocked me out for 3 days. While I was delirious with fever and drugged up, I took this picture of one of the birds that like to sit on the bougainvillea tree outside the TV room . Because the windows are tinted, they can't see me inside but I think this little guy was eyeballing me. Back to today's topic: living in a house where every day, someone comes to repair/replace/clean/cut/wash something. For instance, these last couple of days: Two security staff came to deliver a new safe (my husband is such a diva - he rejected the first two and was finally happy with the third one) The plumber came to clean out the water tanks outside The water guy came with a fresh load of ozonated water (which we use for drinking and cooking) An electrician came to fix the floodlight on the roof which blew The cable guy came to install a new TV line in the bedroom Of course, my cleaner comes Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays at 8 a.m. And then there are th...

I didn't know there were monkeys in Yemen until I saw some today. I told my driver this and he told me this true story about his pet "girl monkey". " I had this monkey for 3 years. The small one, not the big monkey. One day my friend came with a boy monkey and he stayed in the house for the whole day. We put the boy monkey and girl monkey in the cage and they played together all day. In the evening, my friend left and took his monkey with him. Before I went to bed, I tied my monkey's leash to its usual place. The next morning, I heard the kids screaming and crying. Then I saw that the monkey was dead. She killed herself! I swear to God, she killed herself. She went round and round this post, wrapping the leash around it. Then finally she jumped and hanged herself. You know why? She crazy for the boy monkey, I swear to God. She went crazy for him. After just one day, playing with him!" Then he added, "I told my friend: your monkey killed my monkey ! But ...

Happy New Year! This blog has been somewhat neglected. Developments since last entry: 1. We spent Christmas in Dubai - a few days of city life once again...bless... 2. We visited some friends in Muscat over the New Year - I like Muscat...sigh... 3. My parents and aunt and uncle are coming to Yemen via Jordan, in February 4. Last weekend we went to the National Museum (but I forgot the camera) and hillwalking (amazing) 5. No pottery classes until March, when my teacher comes back with new baby 6. Another group of Germans & oilworkers got kidnapped 7. Demonstrations in Sana'a against the war on Gaza And with that, I'm going to make a cup of tea.