No glass bottles?

So, is it true that it's almost impossible now to get beverages in glass bottles in America? Just cans and plastic bottles?

This will be a very strange thing for me b/c in Egypt it's much cheaper to pay a deposit on a glass bottle and then exchange it each time you want soda/pop, rather than buying cans or plastic bottles. Plus, glass bottles are refilled locally and cans/plastic are imported.

I'm asking b/c I was listening to a recent Podcast of the Diner by James Lileks and it was all about classic beverages, but he also talked about changes in the system. I know, it sounds dull...but it feels like old-style radio listening to him! This link is to listen, but you can also subscribe to the Podcast and download weekly. Also, see Lileks.com for more fun!

Christmas Shopping

It's never too early to start thinking about what to buy people for Christmas, right?

Well, let me help you. I just learned that one of my relatives back in Michigan has an arts and crafts store and sells things through a website, too.

Check out FeatherDance Gallery and tell 'em Jason sent you!

Help Your Friends -- tell them about Firefox

A new version of Firefox (a program like Internet Explorer, but better in the opinion of many people) is coming and you should email a friend to tell them about it.

Actually, you can have them read about World Firefox Day. There, you can fill in a form to invite a friend to download Firefox. If they do, then the designers will write both your names somewhere in the new version of the program.

And the Winner is...

Erik!

He gave the correct answer for the reference I made to "don't call me daughter" in a recent post. Good job, Erik!

Also, thanks to my old roommate Bart for his answer to my question about things that have changed significantly. He even told me a few surprising things about Clawson, where I lived for a short time.

Shelby clocked in with some ideas from out in Cali. Yes, I know the places she was talking about.

And _you_? Why aren't you answering??? *grin*

Changing my style

Well, I just realized that I'm not being a very good teacher in the way I use my Blog. Mostly, I just broadcast and don't make it very interactive for you. So...I'm trying to change my ways.

In the beginning, that will involve asking some questions to have you help me learn about things in the U.S. that have changed (or haven't changed) in the time I've been gone. Please post answers in the comments to share with everyone reading.

1) What new flavors of pop/soda will I see? We have some fun ones here and I'm not sure they're available in the U.S. Can you get Pepsi Gold? Tropical 7-Up? Mirinda? Crush?

2) Additions to fast food menus? What are the biggest changes you can think of at McDonald's/Burger King/KFC/Taco Bell in the last 4 years?

3) New chains for food or products that didn't even exist 4 years ago? Or ones that have grown/expanded significantly?

4) Businesses that have gone out of business or closed a large number of stores? K-Mart doesn't count b/c I was still living around Detroit when that happened.

More to come, but I hope these will keep you busy for awhile!

Because I want to say "I did that"...

Mostly just to say that I tried, I'm going to send my CV (resume') off to Al Jazeera. *laugh* They seem to have a few jobs open that I'm mostly qualified for. I'm not sure that I want to live where they are based, but maybe I could "work from home" somewhere else.

I'm pretty sure nothing will come of this, but why not try?

More news sources

I haven't been writing much about the news b/c I'm still trying to get caught up from being away in Alexandria.

But with the protest in Tanta yesterday (it had broken up by the time I went through the area), I went looking for new websites to read.

An interesting site is the Official English Website of the Muslim Brotherhood. Also, you can get an interesting view of things by reading Al Jazeera.

By any other name...

Random thoughts here. I've gotten so used to people saying my name wrong that I've stopped correcting them.

For example, in the same take-away restaurant that I go to often, 1 guy calls me "John" and another calls me "Tony". *laugh* The first one I can understand, but I have no idea about the 2nd way!!! Also, people often hear "Johnson" when I say "Jason" b/c they know about Johnson & Johnson products.

But don't call me "Daughter". I'll publicly recognize the first person to write me with the source of that reference.

Correcting myself...

Okay, so the story I wrote recently about playing in the waves at Lake Michigan had an error. I guess it was 2001, not 2002 when that happened. Unfortunately, I wasn't Blogging that long ago, so I don't have my original thoughts on the day.

Protests!

So in Alexandria this weekend, we drove past a large protest sponsored by the Muslim Brotherhood. People there had signs about the situations in Palestine and Lebanon.

Now today, a friend just told me that there is a big protest in Tanta with people yelling things against America/Israel. I have to take a taxi through the intersection where the protest is to bet to class in about an hour, so I wonder how things will be by that point...

New pictures

These are from a trip to the beach and some monasteries 2 weeks ago. Sorry...no pics from my most recent trip.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16399621@N00/

More looking back...

In Alexandria this weekend, I played in the waves and tried to body-surf in to shore on them. I had a bit of deja vu b/c just about 1 year 4 years ago, I was doing the same thing in Lake Michigan with my good friend David. He can check my memory on this, but I called him up unexpectedly and made the plans to meet at the beach. We had a fun day in the water, then camped beside the parking lot.

And then it rained. And the winds came. It wasn't quite a storm of Biblical proportions, but it was pretty close! We had to seek shelter under some kind of overhang and wait for the storm to pass.

I don't have a very good memory for things like this, but I think I am recalling this clearly.

Weighing in...

I stepped on the scales last weekend for the first time in at least a year. And the winning number is...

68.

That's kilograms.

Doing the conversion takes

68 X 2.2 = 149.6 pounds

Yeah, Egypt has been good to me b/c I was a bit heavier than that when I arrived. I was somewhere around 155-160. Thinking back, I think I've been in the 140-160 pound range for about the past 16-17 years! The scary thing is that 17 years ago, I was 14 and not nearly as tall as I am now! Let's just say that I “grew into my weight”. *smirk* Then, my senior year in high school, I decided to join our new wrestling team and needed to be down to around 140 for a few matches. Now, I didn't have to do anything scary to get to that weight, but it's definitely below where I feel comfortable.

High Prices!

Gasoline prices and tickets for the Metro in Cairo went up 30% two weeks ago. The effects are already being felt.

Last week, a taxi ride in Tanta went up by 50%

I'm no economist, but it seems that if fuel prices go up, then any goods that are transported around Egypt should also increase in price. I haven't seen it yet, but it shouldn't take too long for this “trickle-down” to happen.

I've given you the percentages, but here's what it really looks like:

The average monthly salary in Egypt is 300 Egyptian Pounds.

Previously, a liter of gasoline was 1 Egyptian Pound but now it's up to 1.30 Egyptian Pounds.

Metro tickets were ¾ of an Egyptian Pound and now they're 1 Egyptian Pound. A taxi ride in Tanta was 1 Egyptian Pound and now it's 1 ½ Egyptian Pounds.

Off to Alex

Heading to Alexandria tonight. Won't be online until I return on Saturday. I'll write then.

All your responses

Thanks to everyone for your support, following my recent outpouring of thoughts/emotions here. I really appreciate it!

Having a good weekend. Going-away party for 2 SALT volunteers tonight, then back to Tanta to teach on Monday.

More MCC news from/about Lebanon

As the situation worsens and evacuations continue, Mennonite Central Committee is providing various news stories.

When I posted this, the main news page contained several links about Lebanon. In case that changes, here are the direct links:

1) MCC workers prepare for evacuation
2) In the midst of chaos, MCC begins Lebanese response efforts

Am I nervous?

A friend asked me today, "why do you get so nervous sometimes?".

When Egyptians use the word "nervous" in English, it includes "frustrated", "agitated", "upset" and similar words.

So, why am I that way sometimes? Lately, I've been trying to blame it on the heat. But that's not all of it. I could also explain it by saying that even though I'm staying in a nice apartment right now, I feel unsettled b/c I don't know where I'll be living for my last couple of months here. Yes, that's part...

But I think that the biggest thing getting to me right now is that for most of my time here in Egypt, I put the U.S. behind me and concentrated on things here. While doing that, I didn't compare the 2 places unless people asked me specific questions.

Now...I think about America a lot. I think about being back, seeing people, going places, job-hunting, and just living. I'm trying to enjoy things here in Egypt while I am still here, but it's hard right now. It's something like a "senior slump", maybe. It's been a great few years, but now it's coming to an end.

This is bringing up lots of feelings that I've been unconsciously or subconsciously pushing down. It seems like they're starting to come out more often than they should and in negative ways. *frown* I don't like to feel this way or to act the way I do sometimes with friends/students.

I think I just need to remember that I don't have to act this way and that I can change how I express these feelings. Maybe I just need to start talking about how I feel that I am behind on so many things when it comes to American life. Of course, not everything I've missed out on was good, but I think I'm starting to understand the possibilty for a "left behind" feeling when volunteers return after being gone for an extended period of time.

410 Yes -to- 8 No

I'm not sure I even know where to begin with this one. So, I'll just let you read the article.

House overwhelmingly backs Israel in vote

Something old about Palestine and Israel

I'm a bit behind on my news, so all I can give you is an old link. This is a newspaper interview that an MCC'er gave awhile back to some newspapers in the U.S. The MCC'er is living/serving in Jerusalem and travels all around Israel/Palestine.

Palestinians, Israelis need to admit wrongs