A Life Far Removed from Durian Trees

...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.

Arggghhhhhhhh! Internet has been very slow these last few days and this is why: Undersea cable breaks cut Internet in Mideast, Asia

- Malaysian restaurant found! - Shipment has arrived! The Malaysian restaurant. Oh yes, baby! Tucked away somewhere near the Old College, with no sign outside yet (“waiting for that licence”), this is like a Malaysian gerai . Opened in March. Authentic Malaysian food (more northern because the cook is the owner’s Thai wife); local prices; outdoor setting; can do takeaways; most of the customers are Msian students (all guys so far), Indonesians, Yemenia staff, Msian businessmen in town, and locals who’ve been to Msia. It’s basically a villa with the restaurant in the compound. The owner, a guy from Sarawak who used to work as a trader, lives on the upper floor of the house with his family – wife and two kids who are studying locally. They rent out the lower floor to students and someone gives English lessons. They grow kai lan and strawberries in the garden. Lots of ‘Visit Malaysia’ posters and brochures – donated by the tourism board because after all, it’s the ‘Malaysian Tourist Rest...

I recently joined Facebook, after years of being wary of leaving an e-trail that will forever be cached somewhere. What the heck... I must say, it's an excellent way to look up people from the past. I spent hours looking at friends' profiles, their friends, and their friends, etc. and found SO many people that I know/knew/completely forgot about! Most of my friends are married with kids. A few have passed away. It's funny how people from different circles know each other from elsewhere. All that browsing and catching up with long-lost friends have made me somewhat pensive, thinking about the past, present and future all at once. Would I let people who've hurt me in the past into my life again, and vice versa? I've certainly changed - at least, I think so. With past regrets, how would I have done things differently? Would old friends look at me now and expect me to have achieved more/less in life? Where should we be now, as thirty-somethings? If I were to compare my ...