My portfolio’s available!

Sorry about this long break. Now I’m back again and first thing’s first: I decided to make my portfolio available. You can find the link in the main menu, or use this one. 

So we’re in the middle of november, time’s running really fast now and Christmas is approaching soon. I’ve been keeping myself busy guiding tours in Jerusalem and visiting the beach in Sharm in my spare time. Weather is beautiful and reminds of normal summer in Poland (or a really good one in Sweden, if you rather think that way). Israel on the other hand got colder, with temperatures around 15-20, so I’m finally making use of the jackets I brought with me to Egypt. 

On the other hand I wish I was in Halmstad right now, at least for a while. Two reasons: 1) there’s finally an Apple reseller in town, and 2) Max’ famous Frisco Cheese ‘n Bacon hamburger – only available in Sweden.

Today I’m off to Jerusalem, and when I’m back Tuesday I’m looking forward to seeing my dad who’s coming to Sharm for a week. That’s it for now!

Living on delivery

One of the best things about living in Sharm el Sheikh is arguably the vast amount of cafés, restaurants and such that have delivery to anywhere in town. Back in Sweden most pizzerias have delivery, but that’s about it. Whenever I want to eat the best burger in the world, I have to get to one of the Max restaurants (of which none is located in the city, but both in its outskirts). 

Here in Sharm there’s no Max, unfortunately, but the choice is pretty good anyway. Recently I’ve been living on the fresh, grilled turkey sandwiches from Makani. Occasionally, when I’m running low on innovation, there’s the usual Burger King, Mc Donald’s, Pizza Hut and even Hardee’s (damn good this one!), all offering food-to-your-door-experience. 

So I keep wondering – why no fast food delivery in Sweden, except the pizzas?

Late night work

Living in Egypt (or probably any Arab country) may seem a little strange and off for Westerners. In my opinion the vast differences that appear at this time of year might depend on Ramadan (the most important month of the year for Muslims) and the practice of fasting during the day hours. 

When I’m about to eat something out of home, I can’t stop thinking about that I’m eating and the people who work in the restaurant aren’t and won’t be, until about 6-7 p.m. (that’s when the sunset is). When I’m downtown among people during the day, it feels unfair to take out my bottle of water, which I always bring with me, cause it feels like I’m offending the people around me by drinking (cause they can’t). (And now, forgive me for this rough distinction between “us” and “them”, but it will make this whole conversation a lot easier.) So these two example are when it feels like we make them feel bad (although, every Muslim I spoke to insist that they don’t want to eat or drink and they don’t think about it during the day, not even if they see someone else drinking – so I should not feel guilty about doing it – according to “them”). 

How about the opposite? Are there situations when “we” get disturbed by those who practice the holy month, and have to adjust their whole lives after it? Well hell yes! But let me get this clear first: I personally absolutely agree with the idea of “one should adapt after the local practice, conventions and rules”. 

But.. there is this one thing that is different here. Something that is difficult to like, or even to accept, though you might fully understand the reasons of it. It’s the practice of working at nights. It seems like every building worker in Sharm lives according to the New Zealand Standard Time (that is like +12 UTC folks…). I really understand that they want to work after the iftar (the first meal of day during the fast in Ramadan), but it doesn’t make it easier to fall asleep when they’re banging on your roof at 2.30 a.m.! Anyway, enjoy the pictures I just took since I couldn’t sleep anyway.

But there’s something else that “we” might like about Ramadan: the practice of decorating everything with colorful lights which is soooo familiar for “us” (if you have seen Christmas decoration in December, you know what I’m talking about ). Check out those pictures too! 

Last couple of days…

So, what’s been going on here lately?

Well, while some of us played games, others were trying to come up with new, weird poses…

Some of us were shooting the weather (and one of the school buildings)…

…while some tried to get a good view. Which wasn’t easy in these weather conditions… But I’m planning to get better shots of the town, so stay tuned for that!

While some of us were cooking (this particular meal was one of the best this year, even if it looks simple and was easy to cook, it tasted delicious and luxurious)…

… other’s been putting up new curtains….

…while other’s were playing basketball (and some of us watched the game and took some nice shots).

That’s it for this time, come back for more soon!