Workin' it in Algeria

I wrote this post months ago (I think October) before I came home for the first time.  But as I mentioned in my last post, with my time in Algeria coming to an end, I'm determined to catch up on blogging and posting about all the things I haven't posted on but want to.  I've never felt like a good writer.  What I think makes my blogs (somewhat) good is my honest take.  So, to keep things honest to how I'm thinking/feeling, and not too reflected up, I'm going to keep the old post below the same.  It's now past, but I'm keeping it present, as it was when I wrote it.


Workin' it in Algeria

When I first arrived in Algeria, I felt brave just being here.  But as the days passed, I began to feel like I was physically here, but not really part of this life.  Many of our days are spent somewhat secluded from the outside world, mostly because there isn't a whole lot to go out and do here.  But the chances of me living in another country again are slim, so I don't want to just be here... I want to immerse.  It's easy to keep to yourself and only hang out with the one you love.  It's harder to put yourself out there.  But it's time for me to get out there.

I told Sean I was interested in teaching here, he got me an interview teaching English, and then I hesitated.  Words are easy.  Actions aren't always.  Working here means going out on my own, without Sean, into this crazy, unknown world.  And that's scary!

Before coming here, I was so lucky to talk to a very knowledgable woman, Ms. Kofe Berry.  She told me that with every new experience comes excitement and fear. Depending on the experience, you may feel more excitement or more fear, but both will always be there.  Thinking of this enpowers me, and encourages me to not let the fear overcome me.  I'm here, I  have to force myself outside the front door, into this world alone.

So I went to the interview with someone who worked at the Algerian Learning Center, a place for students and professionals to enroll who want to learn English.  Being one of the few native English speaking people in the country, immediately got the job.  Of all the job interviews I've been part of, this one I knew the least about what I would be doing going into it, and gained NO additional information from it.  But in the spirit of don't just be, live, I took it.

I was assigned to a one-on-one situation and went to get my teaching materials.  I was handed a "Market Leader" book... a BUSINESS book, and really, what do I know about business??  So I spent 3+ hours that night teaching myself Unit 4 business (as that was the chapter I was told the student was on) and planning my first lesson (each lesson lasts 2 hours-- longer than I've ever taught one subject, and it's not like I can have an adult do literacy centers!) While I was not feeling confident, I was prepared as I could be.

On my first day of teaching, I went to the taxi meeting spot. The company (ALC) I'm working for is supposed to provide transportation for me since Sean and I still don't have a car, and if I were paying for my own taxi, I would be paying more in taxi costs that I'm getting paid.   Our sessions are supposed to start at 11am and it takes an hour to get to the bank (where my student works and the location of our sessions), so I get there at 9:50 to meet the taxi at 10, because I just HATE being late. 
10:12 rolls around, still no taxi, so I call my boss. 25 minutes later she calls me back, saying that no one called to get me a taxi for today (despite me submitting a list of the days and times that I would be teaching... and this is the first day! We discussed this 2 days ago!) So she says the taxi has now been called and is on the way. Meanwhile, the place I am supposed to meet the taxi is around the corner from where we live, so I'm just standing on the side of the street, and what do men do to women randomly standing on the side of the street?? Oogle, blow kisses, and make faces. AND since the taxis here are not always clearly marked, I'm looking in each car that drives by to see if they are looking for me, which really only encourages the creepy gestures towards me.  And really, I don't know what the men are saying to me, so I have to wait for lewd gestures to know if they are here to pick me up or just trying to "pick me up."

Long story short, after many, many phone calls to my boss, my taxi finally comes, and takes me to the wrong bank.  I finally arrive at the correct bank at 12:35, sooooooo late.  I meet my student, who is twice my age, in his office, and find out everything I had been told about it was wrong. He's not on unit 4, he's on unit 13, and I'm supposed to be working with him on company takeovers, merging, and vertical integration (whatever that is!) Luckily because I was so late we could only work together for an hour, but it was one of the longest hours of my life. The only thing that saved me from looking like a complete retard was that I spoke more english than he did and had the teacher's guide/answer key. How is a merger and a joint venture similar yet different? I DON'T KNOW, I TEACH 6-7 YEAR OLDS!

Because the student could only meet for an hour, I texted my boss to let her know I would be needing the taxi again in an hour.   Needless to say, the venture getting home was as difficult as it was getting there.  In 5 1/2 hours, I waited for cabs for 2 1/2 hours, rode in cabs for 2 hours, and felt like a retard trying to teach business for 1 hour.... and got paid $26.  I came home ready to quit, angry as hell!  I wrote an extremely bitchy blog (which I'm glad I didn't post) and complained to Sean for hours.  And even though Sean supported the decision, there was this part of me in the back of my mind saying "Really?  You're going to quit already?  Quitter!"  This job was not at all what I expected... but what did I expect?  Things to be like in America?  Basically.

So I didn't quit, and as things tend to do, they got better.  My student is so appreciative of everything I teach him.  What's funny to me is that he actually appreciates the little things I say/terms I use more than the business I try to teach him.  In one session, he had to answer multuple choice questions about vocabulary.  To help him, I suggested he get rid of answers that he knew weren't right.  He wrote down "get rid of" as a term he wanted to remember, and asked me for the correct spelling.  Again, really??  It turned out the common phrases I used, not even thinking, were the ones he latched on to most.  He later told me that he always noticed when time was up, I said "I gotta go."  I kind of felt bad for the slang I subconsciously said.... but he loved it!

The other part of this experience that improved was my taxi driver.  A consistent driver was assigned to me, Malik, who became one of the few people that I would consider a friend in Algeria.  This man (28 years old) became my closest friend to any Algerian.  While his English wasn't great, he made every effort to speak with me, and told me at least 50 times how much he loves America!  He also told me how he believes his dreams are in America, and how he thinks of me as his sister because of my good heart.  I have never met anyone in my life who is so open with feelings, and connects to me so much!  When I think of my fears interacting with Algerians, they seem so silly after meeting this man.  I've taken taxis in DC and NYC and felt somehow judged.  Malik was more warm and embracing than any taxi driver, and many people, that I've ever encountered.  He offered to drive me to see the monuments in Algeria, and was eager to learn all about me.


New Additions After the Orignial Blog
While I was back in America, as most of you know, there was a situation where foreign hostages were taken from an oil plant in Algeria.  It was concerning for myself and Sean, along with our friends and families.  For this reason, I did not return to work.  But, as someone who has lived, worked, and existed in this community, it breaks my heart that the deeds of some judges the whole.  The presence of Al Quida does exist in Algeria, mostly in the south, hundreds of miles away from us.  But the country is judged for the actions of this group.  I did not return to work because of the few evil people that were seeking me harm.  But I do believe, with all my heart, that the vast majority of people in this country are only looking to befriend me, and us as an American people.  I have experienced the people I've associated with, and others, only loving Americans. 


I will warn you, my readers.  Another "I love Algerians" post will be coming.  Those words I never thought I'd say I will be saying.  These people are amazing.  And while I still can't wait to come back to the US (to see my loved one/family/friends, for the hot showers, for the social sctivities, for everything that to me feels like normal) I will truly miss this world!

 

Finally a post! Miliana

OK, I haven't quite kept my promise of blogging more.  When I first got to Algeria back in August, everything was so new and so foreign, I had blog ideas spilling out of my brain and couldn't wait to share the craziness that was going on.  Now that I've returned to Algeria again, it's not new anymore, and the craziness just seems kinda normal (never thought I'd say that!).  I've had trouble getting back into the routine of blogging, and I lose concept of how long it's been.  Without work to get up for, and important dates to remember, everything just blends together.  Like today... today is St. Patrick's Day.  For some reason I thought it was 4 days ago, and got Sean to celebrate with me!  I wondered why there was no mention of it on facebook, until this weekend when I saw pictures and posts start showing up, and got e-mails about St. Patty's day specials and thought "Why am I getting these e-mails for one day only specials too late?"  Duh dummy, today is St. Patrick's Day!  Oh well, I guess that just means we get to celebrate it again!

But now that I'm coming home again in a few weeks, and my blogging will then come to an end, I feel the need to catch up and share some stuff/experiences that haven't gotten shared.  So to start, our trip to Miliana! 

About a month ago, Sean and I took a trip to a city in Algeria called Miliana.  A coach Sean worked with when he first got here last year had invited him several times to come visit him in this city, so it was about time to accept the invite.  I didn't know what to expect (as usual), but I'm always excited when I get to tag along to stuff.  I was told we would be going there for lunch and watch a bball game.

It took about an hour and a half to get there.  As soon as we arrived (me, Sean, and his friend Ibrahim who drove us there), we met up with 3 other men: the Algerian Military basketball head coach, his assistant, and the ex-Mayor of the city.  Once again, I'm the only woman in this group.  It's less weird than it used to be, but still weird.  But at the same time I felt lucky to be hanging out with this pretty important crew.  They were sooo excited to have us there!  And I know this because the ex-Mayor wanted to join the group when he heard we were coming, and we got presents throughout the day :-) 

Unfortunately only Ibrahim spoke english, and while he did a lot of translating, there was a whole lot of talking going on that I had NO CLUE what it was about.  This trip, in my mind, was really the day of "What the hell is going on???"  And I don't mean that in a bad way, just a truthful, observational, I've never not known what was going on so many times in one day in my life. 

So we arrived, and the first thing we did was visit a museum of Milianian (sp?) history.  Apparently Miliana was a significant place of Algerian resistance of French occupation in the 1800's, and the people of the town are very proud of this.  I took some pictures to share, but as I'm no history buff and I was at the mercy of  translators, please excuse the vagueness of what these pictures are really of!   :-)

This guy was clearly important- there were pictures of him everywhere.  I think his name was  Abd al-Qadir.  He was a military leader of the resistance; one of the most famous men in Algerian history.  This picture of him was awesome, so intense. 

 

Painting of the guy above saving the Christians in Damascus (after the Algerians lost to the French, he was exiled to Damascus).

 

Battle painting, including the flag of the resistance.

 

Sean and I in a tent.  Really I was told nothing about this tent, other than "Get in, we will take your picture."  Cute pic though.

 

Ibrahim in a funny hat.  I had to include this picture of Ibrahim.  Ibrahim has helped Sean so much, and is one of the kindest people I've met in my life.   We appreciate him tremendously.

 

 

By the time we finished the museum, it had been almost 4 hours since we left our apartment that morning, and I was starving, and really had to pee.  I naively/wishfully thought we would eat at a local restaurant where I could order "poulet" or "poisson" without offending local cuisine, and use the public bathroom.  So we're walking, to somewhere, and one of the men says "We're having pizza for lunch.  Like when we visit the US, they serve us couscous."  And again, being naive and wishful, I thought "That's awesome!"  And I didn't think it was too unrealistic, I actually thought it was thoughtful of them to serve something "American."  Sarcasm was completely lost on me, and I was soooooooo wrong. 

 

We get to the man's house, I realize there's no pizza, but at least I can use his bathroom!  I awkwardly ask Sean to ask him where it is.  He directs me to the toilet.  But it's not fair to call it a toilet.  It was a porcelain bucket.  No toilet seat, no water tank, no way to flush.  And no toilet paper.  (As Sean and I discussed later, thank GOD we didn't have to poop!)

 

As I left the bathroom, lunch had been served.  I sat down, and Sean whispers, "There is some lamb in it, but it's good soup."  I am lucky to have a wonderful husband that helps me get through my picky eating in formal situations like this.  So I ate around the lamb, 2 tiny pieces, not so bad... I think I'm surviving.  Then the next course comes.  Lamb, lamb, lamb.  No way I expected 2 courses of lamb in a row!  This was one of those "What the hell is going on??" times.  Ground lamb meatballs, and some other fairly rare-looking cut of lamb, in broth with chickpeas.  I'm sure this sounds really tasty to some, and most of the men at the table were in heaven.  And I felt horrible that our host thought he was serving us an amazing meal.  I wish I wasn't so picky, but I am what I am and it is what it is.  I tried eating the chickpeas and broth, and the lamb taste was so strong that I knew there was no way I would be able to keep down any lamb bites I might take.  When no one was looking, Sean scooped as much as he could out of my bowl and into his.  What a great man!  I ate a whole lot of bread that meal.  Our host repeatedly said to me, "You must come back and my mother will teach you how to make this meal."  Ha, yea right.  I barely cook things I like. 



After lunch we went to a basketball game and got there during the 3rd quarter.  One thing that I've learned about watching Algerian basketball is that refs are very different.  Usually most aggression on the court is between teams, but here, it's almost like the refs are a third team in the mix.  15 minutes into our time there, there was clearly a conflict between a ref and a player.  It was mostly yelling for a minute or two.  Then they go at it.  In each others faces, the player pulls the cord of the refs whistle around his neck.  The ref puts both hands around the players throat to an attempt to choke him.  The player punches the ref in the nose, and the ref goes down.  "What the hell is going on???"  The gym explodes with noise, teams clear the benches, and the people in the stands rush towards the court.  The gym was packed, and maybe 10 people were left sitting in the stands.  Ten minutes after that, the game has been called off, but we're still sitting there, and the fans are singing like crazy.  Again, "What the hell is going on???"  Why are the fans still singing?  Why are we still sitting here?  What is everyone waiting for?  Isn't the game over?  The fans were literally more excited after the altercation and game ending than when the game was going on.  I looked over and one fan was using an aerosol can and lighter to make a blow torch!  So we sat there until the gym cleared.  While we were waiting, a group of 15 year old girls came up and sat next to me.  Only one spoke english well.  "Hi," she said with the biggest grin on her face, and starred at me.  I won't go in to word for word of our conversation, but it was the most like Beyonce I ever felt.  They thought my American self was the coolest.  "You have facebook??"  I gave them my name, but still haven't accepted those friend requests yet.  It was flattering though, and exciting someone was talking to me.

We finally left the game, and did a little sightseeing, walking around the city.  There were some amazing views!

 

 

 

And a final picture.  One thing that cracks me up, everytime I see it...

 

Algerians love some 2 PAC.  Thug Life baby.  They don't understand any of what 2 PAC is saying, nor do they understand what "thug life" means.  But they LOVE it!  I've seen it spray painted several places in different parts of the country.



This blog got pretty long.  If you made it to the end, thanks!  I do want to say one last time, while it was a "what's going on?" kind of day, I'm thankful for it, as I am thankful for everything that happens to me here.  As crazy as things may get, I love everyday!  Experiences of my life!!

Getting back in the Algerian groove & a basketball game

I've been back in Algeria for 4 days and I'm trying to get adjusted again.  It's even harder taking a shower than it was before, partially because we now have to start the warming up the water process at the kitchen sink, and partially because I've been loving the hot showers in America while dreading the cold showers here for the past 2 months.  The time difference is also killing me.  Being awake at 11pm is not a big deal, but moving ahead 6 hours means 11pm is now 5am.  Being awake at 5am sucks.  So much watching the time tick by, wishing I was sleeping, but I'm not.  And then I want to sleep until 2pm (and I have been so far, then finally get up feeling like such a bum).  But other than that, it's same ol' Algeria, and kind of feels like I never left.

Sean and I went to a professional team basketball game today.  I wish I could see Sean's national team play and him coach, but with most of his games (when they actually happen) being out of the country, that ain't gonna happen.  I tried to take some pictures- please excuse the quality, as my iphone camera seems to be getting worse by the day. 

Since all words here are so foreign to me and I can never remember the names of places/teams, I do as any American watching unfamiliar teams would do- I look at the jerseys for the team names.  Not helpful.  Today was C.R.B.D.B. vs. C.S.C.D.N. (thankfully the teams had different color jerseys on so I could refer to them as white team and blue team, otherwise there would have been no hope for me).  Sean said C...um...the white team is currently the best professional team in the country, and the game would probably be a blow out.  And it was, but knowing that I was watching the best team in the country made it so apparent how lacking in basketball skill Algeria is.  It's not necessarily the players fault.  Basketball just isn't a focus the way it is in America.  Kinda like those No Fear shirts from the 90s... "Soccer is life, the rest is just details."  In America kids play pick-up basketball.  In Algeria kids play pick-up soccer.  Soccer games are broadcasted, and we can always tell when a big game is on TV from the noise we hear outside.  These players play basketball as a job, but still love soccer more.  And many are better at soccer than basketball (which was evident during time outs when a player with the ball would soccer dribble the ball over to the bench).

So the game starts, there's an error on the jump ball, and they gotta start over. 

There's lots of back and forth, up and down the court, with not a lot of scoring.  By the end of the first quarter the score was... wait for it...

 

The visiting team (blue team) did score twice as many points in the 2nd quarter as they did in the 1st, but it was clear Sean was right with the "blow out" call.

 

One of my favorite parts of watching Algerian basketball?  The players with the big full beards.  I love how they stay true to their culture!

 

 

 

Unfortunately there was only one in this game, #6 on the white team.  But surprisingly there was also an Algerian red head.  It was also surprising how often players were on the ground...

 

 

I'm not sure where the ball is in this pic, or exactly what's going on between #9 on the blue team and the white team guy on the floor. 

 

And apparently "bunching " doesn't just occur in lines...

 

 

Since neither team was local to our little city of Staoueli, there weren't a ton of fans.  But those that were there showed lots of support by yelling, and chain smoking.  I've spent enough time in Algeria to have gotten used to the smoking everywhere.  But you'd think people may refrain from smoking near athletic events.  I can't imagine playing hard while breathing smoky air.

 

 



 

A few other observations I found humorous:

 

There was an arrow on the scorer's table.  But when I first saw it, the ball happened to be placed next to it.  So to me, it looked like, "In case anyone doesn't know where the ball is, it's right here!"



So when I made the above observation to Sean, he told me the arrow is to keep track of possession for jump balls.  But then a red sign with a pointing finger appeared on the table, seemingly serving the same purpose, but the arrow and finger were pointing different directions.  Not so effective.







In America, the refs are always being yelled at.  In Algeria, the refs aren't taking shit from anyone!  At one point, a whistle was blown for a foul, and a player threw the ball behind him, kind of in the direction of the ref but not really.  The ref was not about to jog to get the ball, and took it as a personal offense.  The next minute or so was spent with the ref yelling at the player to go get the ball and throw it to him.  When another player on the same team, who was closer to the ball, tried to go get it, the ref yelled at him and shook his head no.  So much angry yelling and pointing.  These players aren't children, they are grown men, but that doesn't stop the refs from treating them like children.



I also found it very funny that the white team coach resembled Vince Vaughan (we were too far away for me to get a picture good enough to prove my point).  Imagine Vince Vaughan coaching his kid's soccer game at the end of Old School and that was this guy.  But a lot of coaches here act that way, so unlike the movie, this coach didn't get kicked out of the game.

Here are 2 more pics, just cause I took them...

On the walk home from the game we stopped to get something to eat at a fairly new place (it opened while I was back in America, Sean has eaten there a few times).  The name of the place is "Fast."  Doesn't it look like McDonalds??  I can't remember the last time I ate at McDonalds, other than for breakfast of course, but was still excited.
 

 

Yet again, looks can be deceiving.  Definitely not McDonalds.  There was a mystery potato pancake on the sandwich, and the fries were undercooked.  But I appreciate this place for attempting to bring me food that looks familiar.

Ahh, great Algerian day :-)

Intermission

According to Shakespeare, "All the world's a stage."  And it is.  My first blog before I left for Algeria was titled "Prelude" so it's only appropriate that this blog, while I am again in Maryland preparing to head back to Algeria, is titled "Intermission."  And what an amazing intermission it's been!!

There was never a doubt that this chance to live in Algeria was an opportunity of a lifetime.  But I never considered how being in a situation away from home, and coming back to visit, is also in many ways an opportunity of a lifetime.  People get so caught up in the day to day to dos that we often don't have the time to simply be around to hang out and catch up with those important to us.  I wish everyone could have the experience I've had the past 2 months while home.  With no work and few worries, I've been blessed to focus on what who really matters.  There is truly no feeling in the world like the feeling you get when you see a great friend/mom/dad/sister/loved one for the first time in a while.  The feeling reminds me of when Sean and I got married, and he saw me for the first time in my wedding dress.  Simply magical.  It's butterflies and anticipation and excitement.  It makes you want to laugh and cry and dance and scream all at the same time.  In a word, it's "super-cala-fragi-listic-expi-ali-docious" (unless you saw the SNL episode with Anne Hathaway where that means an STD liver disease-- it's not like that at all). 

Over the past 2 months, my life has been filled with a wedding, yummy catching-up lunches/dinners, first Buckingham family Christmas at my house, Raven's football parties on our big screen, Mario Kart drunk driving (don't knock it til you try it), movies, happy hours, in-law time (and I'm so lucky to have the best in-laws), and even a little 1st grade team planning (which is so much less stressful when you're just sitting in on the meeting).  And a lot of that was before Sean came home to visit, but there's also nothing like him being home too.  It's kinda crazy how happy it makes me seeing him nap on our couch, and how we can do nothing all day and still have the best time together.

Basically I've been happier than a pig in sh.. poop.  But while I wouldn't change the past month for anything, the end of my visit has snuck up on me, and there are still things I wish I'd gotten to do, and even more, people I wish I'd gotten to see before leaving again.  And that sucks.  But again, I wish everyone could have the experience I'm having, not only for that great feeling I mentioned before, but also for the lesson in time.  "Life is short"... so cliche... but when you only have 2 months, you realize how true it is.  In the beginning of 2 months, I felt I had endless time.  After New Years I was still saying "I'm here until the end of January.  We have so much time."  And really, how many times in your life have you said "we got time" or "let's do _____ sometime."  But those phrases allow life's stresses to come up, things to get put off, and more time to pass until those moments happen. DON'T WAIT!!  While I haven't gotten to everything on my Maryland list, I've done most of it, and I have learned to change the "let's do lunch sometime" to "let's do lunch on Friday."  Such a small thing, such a huge difference.  I've gotten to spend time with old friends that I've been meaning to see for years... things never happened... but now they have. 

I'm feeling slightly preachy at the moment, but I hope I can pass this wisdom I've learned on, as I know few people will have their husband get a job in another country, agree to move there, and have the experiences and feelings that I've had :-)   So in that light, it's less preachy, and more appreciate.

In a few days, January 28th, we're headed back to Algeria.  Anyone who follows world news knows Algeria is not necessarily the place you want to be right now.  But it is what it is, and I've learned you can't let fear of what might happen consume you.  Anything new or unexpected brings 2 emotions: fear and excitement.  Sometimes fear may trump, sometimes excitement trumps.  But those 2 emotions are always present.  For me, knowing that, brings strength when fear is all I'm thinking.  (I cannot take credit for this insight... full credit goes to Ms. Kofi Berry who changed my life with this statement)  If I let fear overtake me, I wouldn't have the insight I do, the experiences I've had (in Algeria and back home), or be the person I now am.  At the end of the day, you have to look out for your safety, but not let fear hold you back.  I will be more aware, I will take precautions, and I probably won't go for runs alone, but I will not let fear hold me back.  And on that note, please pray for my mother, who will be freaking out until I'm home again.  I love you Mom!!

I guess it's time to say good bye.  I keep thinking I'll get used to saying good bye, but I'm just a home-body at heart that hates change, so I guess it never will.  And it's as hard, if not harder, than back in August when I left for the first time.  Being "back" makes it more difficult to leave again, for all the reason mentioned before.  But this is the journey that I'm on with my wonderful, protective, loving husband...and I will soon be back again.  While I'm definitely soooooo sad to be leaving, I am excited to see what happens next.

Before the end, I have to apologize to those that have actually been reading my blog that I kinda slacked on.  Blogging is new to me, and in Algeria I wasn't sure who even cared if I blogged.  Now I know.  Again I feel blessed, hearing how many people cared about my blog, and enjoyed reading about the shenanigans Sean and I got in to in Algeria.  I promise to keep it up and hopefully be a little more consistent. 

OK, I'm procrastinating.  I could do special shout outs, but really... you know you who you are.  To those people... thank you, I love you, and I can't wait to see you so soon!  You are the best, you fulfill my life, and I don't know where I'd be how I'd deal without you.  I may be far away, but I am never without you, and you give me the strength to do what I'm doing.  Good bye America... see you in April!!

huff, puff, HOOKA!

While the Sheraton resort has been a great place to have some drinks and great meals, it's becoming quite costly.  Basically Sean has spent more dinars (Algerian money) in the past month with me here than he did in his whole first year.  So we've now ventured a little farther to the Safir resort.


Cheaper drinks are always appreciated, but it's also great to have a change of scenary.  Safir is definitly less hoighty-toighty than the Sheraton and a much better place to people watch.  Men in suits get boring.  Guys in buttoned down, satin polka dot shirts are ready to party!


Even more fun to watch is the working girl/creepy old guy interactions.  With the majority of the Algerian population being strict muslum, I don't expect to see much sinning going on.  But in the places where sins happen, like bars where alcohol is served, the sins are on full blast.  So by working girl, I do mean prostitute.  There are prostitues around the Sheraton too, but with wealthier clients comes more attractive women.  Those who aren't of Sheraton quality try their luck at Safir.  I do have to be careful when I look around the room.  The men aren't aggressive in their search, but are always trying to catch eye contact.  And because I can't understand what they are saying, I have no way of knowing if 
                                                    someone is asking me for the time, or my hourly rate.


 
Along with the drinks and people watching laughs, I also tried something new- smokin' da hooka.  When in Rome, do as the Romans do.  When in Algeria, huff, puff, hooka!  The hooka wasn't what I expected- very suprisingly minty.

 

One area the Sheraton has nothing on Safir is the food.  The boureks au fromage are amazing (think mozzarella cheese stick in a spring roll shell).  Yum!  Sean was excited to see chicken wings on the menu, although they are much smaller and less saucy than those at home.

 

                 

 

I am also increasingly impressed with my ability to read the menus, and can almost pick out my meals without Sean's help.  But when it comes to ordering, I still have to point to what I want, as my first grade phonetic reading dominates my speech and the waiters can't understand what I'm saying.

 

Good times at Safir!

New Apartment!

I'm sooo excited to finally be settled in our new apartment!!  This is the third move in 2 months, and I don't think Sean or I could have lasted another day in the hotel.  Between the shower with no curtain that left a small pond on the bathroom floor, and the air conditioner that rained if left on too long... it's so nice to be able to walk around without the fear of busting our asses!  It's funny how many times we've been told this is a much nicer area when it's literally a block away.  And while our new place is smaller, it's much cozier than the last apartment and feels more like a home.  So here are some pics of where I will be living for the rest of this adventure!

 

 

Our living room with a comfy futon couch.  After living in a hotel with no couch, and having a hard as a rock couch in the old apartment, we are loving this! 

 

We have somewhat of a view from the living room balcony.  I love being able to watch interactions between people, especially from a place where I'm not noticed.  Our last apartment was across from a metal shop, where we would wake up each morning to the sound of machines cutting metal.  In this apartment, the semi-annoying sounds we hear are from the kiddy rides outside the Fuji Film store.  Their sounds are a combination of arcade games and Christmas carols.  But when no one speaks english and most are muslum, this feels like a joke only we get.

 

 

 Our cute little kitchen.  Since moving in, we've moved the fridge to fit a washing machine in, and had to move the little table out into the living room.  It's still big enough for us both to be in it at the same time, and doesn't have pieces of the ceiling falling off like the old apartment.

 

Our bedroom with very pink sheets with what feels like 0 thread count... luckily we have our own that will be on shortly.  And our sheets will make Sean feel that his room isn't so girlie.  Unlike in America, there isn't a box spring and matress on beds, just 1 kind of combo, making the bed pretty hard.  But that's supposed to be good for the back, right?

 

We do have a nice size balcony off the bedroom... unfortunately this is the view from there...   

 

 

Before coming to Algeria, my parents and I redid our master bathroom to get rid of the blue toilet and tile.  It seems I can't escape it.  But at least there is a shower curtain!!!!  And this little oval mirror is the only mirror we have.  In America, I would probably look in my full length mirror more times than I should when getting ready (How do I look from the front?  How does my shirt look with my pants?  Does my butt look ok?  Should I wear the open toe shoes or the pumps with this outfit?)  In Algeria, I haven't really seen how I look from head to toe once.  It's probably made me less high maintainence, but wow I miss that mirror!  The lack of mirror results is me asking Sean for his outfit input more... and anyone that knows Sean knows that doesn't really help :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm still not used to the European/outside of America "water closet" idea.  A toilet in one room, and then leaving to go into another room to wash my hands??  Without a sink or a mirror in the water closet, I can't help but feel like I'm in time out.

 

 

 

So that's about it.  It's not much, but it's our space together.  After living the past year without Sean in a house with some rooms I only ever went in to clean, I kinda love this space that is no more than we need.  The last pic in this blog is us settled in... living what seems like the good life to us!

1. We have good internet, which we haven't really had since I got here.
2. We have more than 3 english speaking TV channels (the glare reflection on the door)
3. We have a washing machine (but no dryer, so our blue sheets are drying on the drying rack)
4. We have beer! (And to get it- since we don't have a car- we need to call someone, who calls someone, then delivers it to us in an un-marked box... imagine buying drugs in the US and that's what it feels like)
   

Life is Good!  :-)

 
 

 

goodbye 1st algerian apartment

Sean's year lease is up at our current apartment, and tomorrow we will be moving to a hotel until our next apartment is ready.  We don't get any say with this new apartment, so I am excited/nervous to see what it's like.  But before we leave, here are some pictures to show where I have spent most of my time over the past month.

Our living room, which also became our bedroom because it's the only room with AC.  Sean plays play station while I blog, while I read, while I give him dirty looks to turn it off.  :-)  But I can't blame him, sooo little on TV, and he's very good about asking if it's ok with me.

 

The other half of the living room.  Obviously it's supposed to be the dining area, but really acted more as a laptop/tech center for us.  To get internet access, you have to sit on this side of the room. 

Our overly red bathroom part 1, desperately in need of a shower curtain.  The toilet is in another overly red room nearby, complete with red toilet seat.

 

My room, used only for clothes, shoes, and drying laundry.

 

Sean's room, used for his clothes and bags of Algerian gear.  We stole his matress for the living room.

 

The 3rd bedroom, a.k.a. Sean's other room he moved his clothes to when his first room got too messy.

 

The super retro kitchen... so orange!

 

 

 

Our apartment was on the 3rd floor, so we had some stairs to hike.  Luckily there were these windows/holes in the walls to let in a breeze.  And I thought the view from these windows made for some cool artsy pics. 

 

Probably my favorite place to be in the apartment was out on the balcony.  See our Mediterrian view! (Hint: right in the middle of the picture, between the buildings, where it is a little darker blue)

 

One fun part about being on the 3rd floor was I could kinda spy on what's happening below me.

 

One down side of being up high-- the evil looking pigeons liked hanging out there too.  This one looked more like a vulture to me.  They would sit, sleep, and poop above doorways leading out to the balcony.  And often scared the crap out of me.

The street our apartment is on.  FOX movies was our movie store, where all movies are illegally burned, and unfortunately most are in french.

 

 In the year Sean has lived here, no progress has been made on this building....

yet we are woken up by the sounds of this garage/metal shop cutting metal shop every morning.

So that's it for pictures for now.  I know people want to see more photos of people in Algeria, but it's kinda hard to sneak taking pictures when everyone is looking at me all the time, and I don't want to offend anyone.  But I will keep trying.  I'm hoping our hotel/next apartment will have a better view for spying.  I also don't know what the internet situation will be at the hotel, so it may be 2 weeks or so until I get to another blog.  We will see... "In sha'Allah" (which you hear alllll the time here, and means "God Willing").