It's good to be normal again
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-Fava-Bean-Dip-Foul-Mudammes-9154
In Yemen, you can buy tins of foul of various kinds: Egyptian, Lebanese, Yemeni, Sudanese. So far I've tried the first three and they're all good although honestly I couldn't tell the difference. With tinned foul: just fry onions, garlic, tomatoes and then add the tinned foul and cook for a bit and add chilli powder/curry powder/salt. (My driver says kind of like cooking scrambled eggs)
Foul is a great option for dinner if you're trying to lose weight. You can eat it on its own but you can also have it with (brown) bread if you can eat carbs.
3. My day guard is back after a week away, during which time several stand-ins take his place. The temp guys don't take out the trash, don't check the water tanks or do the walk around the house. My guard always comes back happy and a little chubby after going back to his village and seeing his wife and child. Over the next few weeks, he loses the weight again because all I see him eat is boiled potatoes and at night he sleeps at the mechanic's garage next door. I feel bad for him but am glad he's back!
Once when we got back from Malaysia, we gave him and the night guard some new shirts. They wore them right away and looked like twins because the shirts were almost identical. Bless.
4. Mangoes are dirt cheap in Yemen now apparently because Saudi has refused mango imports from Yemen. Don't know why. My local favourite is the samak mango, i.e. the type that is shaped like a fish. When we were at our local fruit and vege shop, a Yemeni explained that many types of mango grow in Yemen and the names are based on how they're shaped. He also said that Pres Saleh makes a lot of money from his own mango farms.
5. On 12 June, 7 Germans + 1 Brit + 1 South Korean were kidnapped in the Saada region, which is where there is the Shiite rebellion...and also where they make a lot of nice baskets, incense burners and other household stuff.
OK enough of the random. Till next time...
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-Fava-Bean-Dip-Foul-Mudammes-9154
In Yemen, you can buy tins of foul of various kinds: Egyptian, Lebanese, Yemeni, Sudanese. So far I've tried the first three and they're all good although honestly I couldn't tell the difference. With tinned foul: just fry onions, garlic, tomatoes and then add the tinned foul and cook for a bit and add chilli powder/curry powder/salt. (My driver says kind of like cooking scrambled eggs)
Foul is a great option for dinner if you're trying to lose weight. You can eat it on its own but you can also have it with (brown) bread if you can eat carbs.
3. My day guard is back after a week away, during which time several stand-ins take his place. The temp guys don't take out the trash, don't check the water tanks or do the walk around the house. My guard always comes back happy and a little chubby after going back to his village and seeing his wife and child. Over the next few weeks, he loses the weight again because all I see him eat is boiled potatoes and at night he sleeps at the mechanic's garage next door. I feel bad for him but am glad he's back!
Once when we got back from Malaysia, we gave him and the night guard some new shirts. They wore them right away and looked like twins because the shirts were almost identical. Bless.
4. Mangoes are dirt cheap in Yemen now apparently because Saudi has refused mango imports from Yemen. Don't know why. My local favourite is the samak mango, i.e. the type that is shaped like a fish. When we were at our local fruit and vege shop, a Yemeni explained that many types of mango grow in Yemen and the names are based on how they're shaped. He also said that Pres Saleh makes a lot of money from his own mango farms.
5. On 12 June, 7 Germans + 1 Brit + 1 South Korean were kidnapped in the Saada region, which is where there is the Shiite rebellion...and also where they make a lot of nice baskets, incense burners and other household stuff.
OK enough of the random. Till next time...
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