Dream, Plan, Travel, Repeat.

I was browsing through some old files and realized that I wrote quite a few notes from various parts of the world for my O & E section that were never posted. So, consider this an O & E “international edition.” (Notes from Italy are coming soon.)

•    In Hyderabad, India, there appears to be a trend of photographing your baby/toddler in a variety of costumes, such as a doctor, a god(dess), a policeman, or even (my favorite) Gandhi. Some people put all of the images together to create giant posters to hang in their homes. Very, very funny.

•    I passed by a kindergarten in Kenya that had painted the alphabet, and images that corresponded with each letter, on its exterior walls. What image do you think they used for the letter “G”? A giraffe? Nope. They used a gun.

•    While a friend and I lounged on a beach in Lamu, a Kenyan man told us a nice story about the baobab trees that can be found around the country. One legend says when a god gave each animal a tree or bush to plant into the ground, the hyena planted the baobab tree upside down (which is why its branches appear to be roots). When the hyena realized his mistake, he began laughing and continues to laugh to this day.

•    A friend I traveled with in Tanzania had a Swahili phrasebook that provided sentences for interactions with market vendors, waiters, taxi drivers, and so on. One of the sections was for sexual interactions. Phrases that you could murmur to your Swahili lover whilst in the throes of passion included “Easy lion!” and “It helps if you have a sense of humor about it.”

•    In Kigali, Rwanda, you can make a “cell phone call” by stopping one of the young men and women wandering the streets with full-sized desk phones that are somehow wired to the mobile network.

•    Pigeon is a popular dish in Egypt. I consider myself an adventurous eater, but I couldn’t bring myself to try pigeon, a bird that I believe is popularly known in the US as a “sewer rat with wings.” I am also amused (and a little disgusted) by the similarity between the Arabic words for “pigeon” (hamam) and “toilet” (hammam). Coincidence? Probably not.

•    Cairenes have an awesome(ly scary) way of asking for directions: rather than safely pulling over and directing their question to one of the thousand pedestrians on the street, they will drive alongside another car and, as the two vehicles weave unsteadily down the road, converse with the other driver for a minute or two.

•    I’m beginning to suspect that at least 90% of the men here are named Mohammed. In my cell phone, I have the numbers for three Mohammeds, whom I have re-named “Mohammed,” “Mo,” and “Hammed” so that I can keep them straight. And it’s not just difficult for me—the ubiquitous name seems to cause problems for Egyptians as well. More than once, when I’ve asked for a Mohammed, the response is “Which Mohammed?” But, despite the complications that arise, the name remains, for obvious reasons, extremely popular. On a film set recently, I met a young Egyptian extra whose character was pregnant. I touched her stuffed belly and jokingly asked, “What will his name be?” She thought about it for a moment, and then smiled and said, “Mohammed.” Being a fan of originality, I protested, and she budged a bit: “Ok, Yusef Mohammed.” Then I asked her what her last name was, so we could try out the baby’s full name. Her last name? Mohammed.•    At my hotel, I saw a guy (whose name is Mohammed, incidentally) playing the “Arab” version of Mario Bros. It looks about the same as the one we play in the US, except Mario is dressed like a Saudi, with a long white robe and red-and-white checked head-covering.•    Renters in Cairo enjoy the most unbelievable rights. (For once, I actually pity landlords.) As I understand it, until recently, a landlord was unable to evict an Egyptian family once they moved into a residence and also could not raise the rent. Ever. As a result, some people are renting apartments in posh Cairene neighborhoods for ridiculously low prices. For example, I met a man who pays 60 pounds a month (about $11) for his 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom apartment. Moreover, he claims that he only recently started paying 60 pounds after lengthy negotiations with his landlord– his family’s contract (signed years ago) says rent is 15 pounds a month.•    Egyptians don’t distinguish between the sounds “P” and “B”– for instance, “pounds” is sometimes pronounced as “bounds.” This makes for entertaining English language menus that include dishes like “grilled lamp.”•    Recently, at a shoe store, I was introduced to “Fulla,” a type of “Muslim Barbie” made by a Syrian toy company called NewBoy Toys. (Why don’t they ever test these English names with native speakers?) The store’s walls were covered with glittery pink and purple backpacks decorated with flowers, butterflies, hearts, and everything else that little girls love. And in the center of each was Barbie…no wait, make that Fulla in a black hijab. Pretty awesome. (Here’s a photo of Barbie and Fulla side by side. Seriously, does Barbie really need lingerie?) I wanted to buy the backpacks for my cousins in the US, but decided that their 2nd and 3rd grade classmates (or their teachers, for that matter) probably wouldn’t appreciate Fulla as much as I do. Shame.

•    Today I watched Judge Hatchett, that fantastic American court show featuring some of the craziest of our society’s crazies, in a Swahili canteen along with a group of equally engrossed Kenyans. I couldn’t help but notice the time—3PM—which was ... [Continue reading this entry]

• I’ve seen a lot of toddlers wearing shoes that squeak as they walk. Kind of adorable, kind of annoying.

• In one town, Matteo and I were psyched to see a Baskin Robbins and, ... [Continue reading this entry]

I'm currently in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. I spent most of the day wandering around the bazaars, but since nothing I did strikes me as particularly entertaining I've decided to dedicate this post to some of the miscellaneous encounters ... [Continue reading this entry]