A Life Far Removed from Durian Trees

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!