A Life Far Removed from Durian Trees

Not sure if they still show that at the end of Malay movies ("The End"). We finished the Arabic textbook today, yay! It was my last class... I feel weirdly happy even though (i) I didn't get a proper certificate and (ii) I wouldn't say I can speak fluently. But there it is. Something achieved. "Tammat dirasat al-arabi" (The study of Arabic has been completed) I'm guessing that's where the Malay word "tamat" came from. (Image from www.tate.org.uk : Pakistan 19th century, Victoria and Albert Museum)

One of the fun things about living in a new country is discovering what's in the supermarkets. And when you live in places where the electricity is iffy (so you try not to leave food in the freezer before going on holiday) and the stocks in the shops are unreliable, canned foods are very convenient. No freezing necessary. Keeps for years. And you can buy stuff for a special dish while waiting for the other ingredients to show up on the shelves. In more recent years, it's been amazing to see the kinds of things that are canned. In Angola, a lot of the canned foods are produced in South Africa. Not only were there exotic African foods, but also, for the most part, South African products are halal. In Yemen, I get the impression most of the tinned products come from Saudi Arabia and the UAE. You can find Middle Eastern foods such as grape vine leaves, tabbouleh , hummus , pulses , etc. (A word of warning: canned hummus blows!) But I think the most "bizarre" stuff can be...

After messing around with matches and candles and smoke and soot, I finally learned how to burn charcoal properly and neatly. Just put it on an electric stove for a few minutes. Then turn it over and leave for a couple of minutes. Some parts should have a reddish glow, especially if you blow on it. Then put the charcoal piece in a bukhoor/oud burner and sprinkle the good stuff on top. No need to keep blowing to keep the fire going. And no allergic reaction! Here's a good demo .