A Life Far Removed from Durian Trees

Last week I was invited for afternoon tea by a Russian-Yemeni lady. I thought I'd have tea and make polite conversation in broken Arabic for one hour and then take my leave. But no, I stayed until 10 pm. And had a really good time. In spite of the language barrier, we managed to communicate. It was a small gathering of Russian ladies (in their 40s and 50s) who'd married Yemenis - and their GORGEOUS daughters who spoke Arabic, Russian and English. The daughters were in their teens and twenties; some had married mixed-race Russian-Yemenis like themselves but one married a pure Yemeni (saw his photo - would say he's the most handsome Yemeni man I'd ever seen). Most of the mothers remained Christian but the kids were raised as Muslims. All the daughters wore the hijab (hair scarves) and balto (black robe over their clothes); some wore the niqab (face veil). It was a real eye-opener for me, being able to meet people from this special community. I think there are a lot of ...

My Arabic teachers says I'm one of her top two students, the other being a guy that I know. She said he pressed her to admit who is slightly better ( wah! so kiasu! ) but she reassured me that we're both the same. I think he is better than me - we're not in the same class but I know he speaks Arabic very fast while I stop to conjugate verbs. Even if I were the better student, she'd favour him anyway because he's " nasheit " (energetic/hard-working) and " zhaki " (smart)...and is a tall & handsome Frenchman. Can't compete with that... Anyway, today I am sooooo S.M.U.G. because I got 19.5/20 and he got 12/20. Still, I cannot win against Golden Boy because teacher said he did the test in 15 minutes while I finished it in 35 mins. *sigh*

It's half past midnight on the eve of the weekend. My favourite time of the week. Because I know I have two delicious days of no work ahead. Why? I'm a data monkey that gets no respect. Day in, day out. But, for the next two days at least, this chump chimp ain't stepping into the office.

a HARDSHIP allowance. Hubby is not happy. His work shirts haven't been ironed and he'll have to do them himself on his business trip. "But I have a maid!" he said incredulously. Yeah, it's a tough concept when you haven't had to do any ironing for the last four years. I took a deep breath. "Well, the electricity's been going up and down, on and off. And so the iron is buggered. Every time you plug it in, the fuse trips. The maintenance guys came today and had a look around. It's not the wiring, it's the iron. They came after the maid had gone home. She won't be back until the day after you leave." (blank stare, blink, blink) "Don't you remember we went through FOUR irons over three years in Angola? It's the electricity." (puppy dog eyes) "Don't look at me. Isn't this why you get a hardship allowance?" Today, I'm getting Iron #2. The first one died just after the one-year warranty ran...

The weather has been chilly - quite miserable in the house because there's no central heating. All we've got is one radiator on wheels in the tv room, and in the study a small portable fan heater that I've had since my uni days. Thankfully the bedrooms have a combo air conditioner and heater, so we turn that on half an hour before bedtime and then it's nice and toasty. The guard house is cold, I'm told (never been inside). So the night guard now wears a few layers of jackets and a winter hat. They've got two radiators in there but it's still not warm enough. The weather seems to be warming up. I remember January being my least favourite month last year too because of the cold. We're planning a week-long trip to Socotra in February - the last month before the winds get too strong and it gets too hot. Struggling to find friends to make up a foursome (ideal number) but to be honest, I'd prefer it just being the two of us rather than inviting casua...

Have you ever seen a man and his goats use an overhead pedestrian crossing? Sorry, I didn't have my camera.