Kebab Cafe!

I went to eat at Kebab Cafe! in Astoria today. The restaurant was featured on Anthony Bourdain's show. Although he comes off as an opionated jerk on the show, apparently he's really friendly and nice. Who knew?! Anyway, this restaurant is narrow and has large glass windows. The building number is not on the outside of the restaurant and the name of the restaurant is at the top not within eye level. My friend and I almost walked past it. Once you walk inside, it's a narrow restaurant with the kitchen immediately to the right. Ali, the chef/owner, tells you the menu and brings the food out for you. He prepares traditional Egyptian dishes composed mainly of lamb. He serves all parts of the animal including brain, tongue, testicles, and cheek. Everything is prepared differently. My favorite was the brain which had the texture of tofu. It was seasoned with a lot of lime or lemon. The kushary was different from the ones I had in Egypt but it was still good. At Kebab, he uses more rice than pasta and tops it off with sauteed onions rather overfried crispy garlic bits. The testicles were soft and sauteed with green peppers and onions with a sauce that tasted like oyster sauce. I didn't really like the sauce and the texture of the balls was really soft and mushy. I will definitely be back to this restaurant. It has a nice friendly atmosphere. You feel as though you're sitting in someone's living room. The food is a bit pricey but I guess it's the price you pay for good food.

Astoria is an interesting neighborhood with ethnic fusion. You will find a Greek restaurant next to a Spanish tapas restaurant which is next to an Italian cafe. There were also a ton of hookah bars in the neighborhood as well. Most of them seem to be occupied by men which is typical of Egypt since local women do not smoke. Smoking shisha is a nice way to sit and relax and catch up with friends.

Habitat for Humanity Newark

Last weekend, I went to Newark to help build homes with Habitat for Humanity. The commute there was really blurry at 6 AM. I took the subway to the PATH to the bus. It really was quite a hike. Once I got there, I watched a brief safety video and debriefed about the do's and don'ts... like don't wear sneakers. Of course I wore sneakers. Luckily, they had a pair of oversized boots for me to borrow.

I felt as though I was in a foreign country. We were told never walk between the sites alone. Once the people in the neighborhood get to know us, then you can start walking around on your own. Walk in groups with a minimum of 2 people. Don't bring your wallet. Put a $5 in your pocket before going to the store. I made it there and back to the Middle East unharmed and now I might not make it out of Newark alive? Jeez. How ironic. Maybe this is related to the fact that people get into car accidents when they are close to home.

What did we do? First we started by discarding extra pieces of drywall into a dump box (?). Then we brought the extra wood to another site being built. Next we all got to use power tools!! We used the power screwdriver to tick (?) the screws. The screws were all in the drywall securing it to the posts, but our job was to make sure the screws were below the surface. If the screw missed the post, we had to take it out and re-screw it. It was laborious and frustrating work. I either didn't have enough strength to screw the screw in or couldn't find the post. After lunch, luckily we were able to do something else. We changed occupations and became electricians. Don't worry, there was no electricity running through the house. We installed outlets. We learned the difference between 12 and 14 gauge wires, and we learned to indentify which is the ground wire. I was much better at this so naturally it was fun.

We had a nice group of people. I've been volunteering a lot these days and I've found that you generally meet nice people. I have yet to meet a jerk on an assignment. The people for Habitat were really chatty and friendly. I didn't have time to get lunch ready so I brought a Dunkin' breakfast sandwich. One guy felt bad for my super unhealthy lunch that he gave me a yogurt.

Habitat is a great organization. They careful choose who will receive a house. The recipient must put in at least 400 hours of sweat time. Joy, who will receive one of the houses we worked on, has worked more than 400 hours. She intends to keep coming until her hours is done. She will be moving in with her two sons. It feels good knowing that work that you do is helping someone. It's definitely more gratifying than producing a headcount or a turnover report.

Fun pics from Egypt

Jordan to Israel

I'm sitting in front of a computer in Israel on my last day because it's too hot, I'm lazy and feeling unmotivated to step out the door into that beautiful Red Sea. Stupid? Yes. I'll take a dip after writing this. I'm running out of pages in my journal and need to just put some thoughts down. Also to give myself some humanitarian credit, my friend is sick and vomiting fairly regularly since last night. I'm hoping it's not my cooking.... I ate the same thing. =/

So my main goal for going to Jordan was to see Petra. I want to witness for myself the image of the Treasury in the Indian Jones movie. By the way, does anybody have the movie and want to watch it with me when I get back? I didn't realize (because I did zero research) that Petra is a large city all carved out of the mountains in the surrounding area. It's really incredible. To reach the city, depending on how verbose your damn tour guide is, you need to walk about 20-30 min. You will then reach the canyon pictured in the movie and it opens up to the first building -- the Treasury. While walking through the canyon, you can't help but hum the Indiana Jones theme song. EVERYONE was doing it. There is everything in the city: palace, homes, movie theatre, chuch, etc. People lived here until fairly recently when the government convinced them to move out to Little Petra, an adjacent city. If you walk away from the main tourist areas, you can still find bedouins living in some homes. When I went to climb Mt Aaron, I received several invitations to have tea with them. It's the bedouin culture to invite people for tea. You are allowed to stay in a stranger's home up to 3 days without being questioned. Incredibly friendly and gracious people. An observation I think all the women made in my group made was that Jordanians have beautiful eyes. They have tan skin offset by their hazel green eyes. Some also have blue eyes.

We spent the night in Wadi Rum desert with a sheik which was a lot of fun. We had a traditional bedouin meal where the meat was cooked in the sand with the combination of charcoal and the heat of the sand. The meat was so tender! At night, we went to check out the stars but it was difficult because it was a full moon. I saw a dipper, scorpion and the southern cross.

After some thought I decided to push my return flight and tag along with a friend to visit Israel. We heard some horror stories about the overland boarder crossing taking 5 hours so we were worried but we made it across in less than 2 hours. It was much smoother than the Egypt - Jordan crossing.

We started in Jersalem which I really loved. Yes it's touristy but there are some incredible sights and the people are amazing. It's my misconception of the country but I thought the main religion would be Judiasm. Israel a melting pot of Judiasm, Muslim and Catholic. If you park yourself by a window in a cafe and watch the crowd go by on Dolorosa street, you will see religious figures from all three within a 5 min time span. It's incredible. The people are extraorinarily friendly and have gone out of their way to help point directions or take a photo. We did the rampart walk and walked on the wall of the Old City and had a nice arial view. We stumbled across the Virgin Mary's birthplace which was not on the map. In the basement, there was a damp grotto which labeled the tombs of Mary's parents. We walked the underground tunnel of the Western wall and visited the Wailing Wall. We also visited the City of David where we walked through a water tunnel of Hezekiah. The water is crisp and cold and you have to wonder how anyone could carve this extensive tunnel out of the mountain. We were worried about passing the armed security guards to enter the Temple Mount (or the Dome of the Rock) but it was worth the anxiety. It's covered in beautiful mosaic tiles and topped with a huge gold dome. I was particularly impressed with the nightlife on Ben Yahuda street. On a Monday night, there were different types of street performers puttting NYC to shame. At 8pm, drummers, a harp and recorder duo, guitar trio and a magician were begining their performances.

I am in Tel Aviv right now. Yesterday, I had a great swim in the Red Sea which was warm and clear green. I visited the market where I bought fresh vegetables and pasta for dinner. I will be cabbing it to the airport tomorrow at 5am. This never happens, but I'm actually looking forward to going home. I miss my friends and family. What I'm not looking forward to is having to find a new job and returning to the daily grind. Since I don't have any interviews lined up, I don't think I have to worry about that for a while.

See you all soon. Cheers!

Europe to the Middle East

I've been around the world and I I I... can't seem to catch up on my blog. Since the last post, I visited Skandinavia. All the countries here started to look the same after a while. They had churches, palaces, fountains, plazas, etc. The Danish danishes were soooo good. I ate too many. Of course I had to try the local beers in each of the countries which were okay. In Tallin, Estonia, I tried medieval beer which was... not so good to say it nicely. It was like drinking water soaked with herbs and medicine. St. Peterburg was excellent. I loved St. Catherine's palace and the Hermitage. The palace was so elaborately decorated with gold leafs, mirrors, paintings and chandeliers. The Hermitage had a great collection of painting from famous artists such as Monet and Picasso as well as a statue by Michelangelo.

After the cruise I sent a few days in sunny England checking out Stonehenge, Bath (again because I forgot I went there), Stratford Upon Avon, Windsor Castle and London. The landscape in England is really beautiful. Drove along picturesque windy roads through green tunnels enveloped by trees.

I am in Jordan now but I was in Egypt visiting Cairo, Aswan, Luxor, and Neweiba. Hands down, traffic in Cairo is the messiest, craziest place I have ever been. Because of it, I would say some of the best drivers are probably here. If you drive along the highway, you never know what will pop out from the side -- kids, donkeys, elderly, a car coming in your direction. Just incredible. The dress code isn't much fun. Shoulders to knees must be covered at all times. It gives you a great excuse to work on that T-shirt tan. Temperatures are pretty hot, especially in Aswan and Luxor where it reached up to 50 degrees Celcius or 120F. I didn't think it was possible to get that hot. I have seen some really amazing sights though. Of course I saw the pyramids and sphynx. I lucky enough to see them in the day time as well as night when they have the laser and light now. Climbed down into the chamber of the 2nd pyramid and admired at the craftsmanship and wondered how in the world did they build this? Abu Simbel is a temple carved into the mountain with multiple chambers. That is probably one of the most memorable sights. I did 2 dives in the Red Sea and got to see some really color fish but the coral seemed a bit damaged which was unfortunate. Just spent 2 nights in a beach hut by the Red Sea without electricity. It was a well deserved relaxing break from all the running around.

I am in Aqaba, Jordan right now. Getting here was incredibly challenging. We took a ferry to come here but arrived 5 or 6 hours behind schedule. The officials at the port allowed tour groups to get onto the boat but individuals were made to wait in a dirty waiting room which had scrappy looking cats patrolling the building. Our boat was scheduled to leave around 14:30 but were told it's running late for about 4 or 5 hours. We found out later that the boat had already arrived and been sitting in the dock since 15:00. I still haven't figured out exactly why they let the big group load first when everyone waiting had a valid and paid ticket in their hand. I can only assume that it has to do with money. These groups must have paid some baksheesh to get on the boat. I don't want to speak badly, but I've had cops ask for a tip for giving me directions. You figure it out. *sigh* Anyway, in the end, our trainee group leader threatened to call the Australian embassy (as well as the British and American) which lit a fire under everyone's ass. We got on the boat, survived all the evil stares for being foreign, and checked into our hotel.

All in all this has been an amazing trip so far. Full of drama, camels, donkey poo, oceans, long pants and sleeves, tombs, and haggling. Oh I had sushi in Cairo and I lived to tell about it. =) Salam!

Antwerp

Antwerp was nice. Cute town. I didn't think I would like it because supposidly it's the shopping mecca but I found some interesting sites by walking around. There are lots of cute little streets with tiny shops. I found an area where graffitti is legal, a candy shop with chocolates in the shapes of private parts, checked out the photo museum, old town, churches, etc. The frites were good. I had some with the curry sauce which was excellent. Belgian frites are good because they use a different type of potatoe and triple fry them. I also had a chance to speak to this lovely gentleman who was missing his front teeth and had BO. He insisted on walking around with me to show me the city. Charming. Yes there is some sarcasm in that statement. I tried a piece of chocolate but I couldn't really appreciate it since I'm not a chocoholic. I did buy some chocolate liquor which I'm saving for later.

'Antwerp' means hand throwing. It's named that because there used to be a giant who chopped people hands and throw them in the river. When he was finally overthrown, his hand was cut off and thrown in the river as well. When you walk around, you see a lot of hands. Chocolates in the shape of hands or hand figurines in the stores.

I loved my hostel. I stayed at ABHostel. It has a full kitchen stocked with china, silverware, spices, and fridge. She provides breakfast with tea and coffee. The rooms and bath are clean. There is a living room with dvds and books for you to watch or read. I felt as though I was in someone's home. I would definitely recommend the place.

Netherlands

I've spent 4 days with friends here in the Netherlands and had a great time. I think you will be surprised to hear that I didn't do most people come here for which is to visit a coffee shop.

Day 1 - My friends gave me a tour of Amsterdam. We took a canal tour which was very nice and hand lunch at Vondel Park by some body of water. We then saw the National Monument, De Dam (plaza), Grote Kerk ("Big Church"), and the Royal Palace. I was curious about De Wallen, the Red Light District, so they took us there as well. I was so surprised to see that the women were quite unattractive and overweight or plump.

Day 2 - We visited the Japanese Garden which is only open for 3 months out of the year in Den Haag located inside Clingendael Park. We also had tea with the Queen at her royal palace. Then off to the beach for some sun and fresh hering. I really didn't know what to think of the hering. I had it with bread and raw onion. I was a real guy magnet after having one of these. It was a bit fishy so the onion killed that but then the onion was so strong it over powered your mouth. At night we had a nice BBQ in Bertine's garden.

Day 3 - We visited the horse market. We got a chance to photograph farmers with the wooden shoes! I had fresh stroopwaffel which was awesome. They are soft and really thin big waffels with syrup in the middle. They also sell these at the supermarket but they taste very different. There were different types of horses - big and small, young and old, beautiful and not so beautiful. Then in the afternoon, we headed to Brielse Maas for a picnic lunch and canoe ride. It was challenging canoeing with 3 people but it was nice. We then checked out Brielle which is historic town with an old harbour. Supposidly April Fools Day originated here. If you google it, let me know the result.

Day 4 - I went to Rotterdam to hit the bookstore to find information about my next destination, Belgium. It is a nice city with a harbour as well. There is a unversity there so I mostly heard English spoken here rather than Dutch. I checked out the really cool apartment buildings Kijkkubus. They look like cubes which have been stood up on their point. I can't describe it so check the website. I crossed Erasmusbrug (famous swan bridge) to meet Sandra on the other side who took me to Bertine's house. At night, Bertine made huge white asparagus for dinner since I kept asking about them. They are in season right now. It was so good. We had it with sauce, ham, potatoes and eggs.

Tomorrow I am headed to Antwerp, Belgium for 2 nights. I might check out some of the neighboring cities as well before heading to Calais, France where I will take a ferry to Dover.