Egypt

I just came back from a wonderful vacation with Matt and my mom in Egypt! Although we did visit basically all the temples there, took a boat, four planes and a car, we also managed to find a lot of down time to just relax.

We spent a total of 3 days in Cairo where we rode horses (Matt rode a Camel) to the Pyramids, visited the Sphinx, the Cairo museum, the famous local Souq, the Citadel and the Coptic city area.

We also took the Nile cruise and stopped in all the major towns along the river: Aswan, Edfu, Kom Ombo and Luxor. We visited a temple devoted to a crocodile god, saw the Dam that stopped the Nile river and created Lake Nasser, visited a local spice market in Aswan and drove 2.5 hours to Abu Simbel (which is the probably the world’s biggest middle of nowhere! Through the window of the van, I saw absolutely nothing but sand during the whole time!) The temple in Abu Simbel was great though. It was worth the trip.

Our last stop on the cruise was Luxor. It is a cute town, nicely kept, but clearly very touristy. There, we visited the Valley of the Kings, which is an enormous pharaonic cemetery (where king Tut’s tomb is), the temple of Hatshepsut (the female ruler), and the gigantic temples of Karnak and Luxor. We also experienced a sandstorm in this town. It was incredible!

We had a private guide the whole time and he was very educated about Egyptology. The ancient Egyptian monuments and the hieroglyphic texts were all amazing to see.

We ended our trip in the nice beach resort town of Sharm el Sheikh. Matt and I relaxed a lot by the Red Sea. We stayed in the Naama Bay area, which is the center and THE place to be. We ate a lot of good food, went to a casino, saw belly dancers and whirling dervishes’ dancers, tried sheesha, laughed and enjoyed each other's company very much!

Now I am back in Sudan. Well rested and ready for another couple of weeks of work before my next vacation… :)

Update

Hi all!

I don’t have much news to report. These past few days have been normal and although the ICC decision caused all of us to be more concerned and alert, thank God nothing major has happened here in Khartoum and we’ve been going about our business as usual.

I am just going to post some pictures of me so you all see that I am fine and describe a little of my routine in this city.

I ride to work everyday at 8:00 with my Brazilian colleague (10min drive). Once I arrive in the office, I make a phone call to the U.S., read the daily local newspaper and start working. Our department is in preparation phase and there are still a lot to be organized before the elections actually happen!

Around lunch time I usually have a sandwich or a yogurt at my desk. Sometimes some of us from the office go out to a restaurant. I never eat in the UNMIS cafeteria. The food there is terrible!

About 3x a week I go to the Rotana in the evenings to work out for 1 hour. (Tef and Yndira will be surprised to read this!) but I am not on any better shape. I eat lots of sweets; There are amazing ones here! The gym is just to pass time :)

On weekends, I also work out a little and then go spend the rest of the day by the pool. It’s great! I read, chat with my friend and play with her kids.

So, that’s it. Today is Sunday here and I am about to start my last work week before a 10-day vacation! Yay! :)

"Isabel"

I didn’t expect that after officially changing my last name, I’d create a new confusion!
When it was just "Aline Alves", the problem most people seemed to have was getting the right pronunciation of my first name. However, “Alves” was always pronounced correctly. After all, it is a Spanish last name! :)

Here in Sudan, I think people’s eyes are getting puzzled with the As and Ls in both names or they are just too lazy to try to pronounce Aline, because Asbell has stuck in their minds and a few people have assumed that my first name is “Isabel” :)

So, in the UN compound, I am known to some as Aline and to others as Isabel!
I have to come up with a way to use that to my advantage…

Hummus

Last Saturday, I was invited for a barbeque lunch over my Lebanese friend’s house. We had delicious lamb kebabs and I saw (and learned) how hummus is made from scratch! It was a fun day. However, it was the day I found out that I cannot pronounce the word “hummus”! I’ve been saying it for years and no one ever corrected me, but this one day, my friend’s brother-in-law corrected my pronunciation all the time! :)

Anyway, this afternoon the ICC will deliver its decision on the charges against the Sudanese president. We are probably going to be released from work soon...