Winter, Heat of a different kind and communications

Winter is setting in.  Daylight hours are less and the nights are longer.  There is a bite in the air.  Everyone around us wear jerseys and coats and thick jackets.

We, of course, are hardy South Africans and think we are still in summer. 

Hubby has an internal heater and that might be why he doesn’t feel the cold keenly yet.  I, on the other hand am in “that” time of my life.  You ask which time.. Oh boy, the time in a woman of some years, when there are hormonal changes and she experiences private summers whether she wants them or not.

No notification either.  I could be merely going along; minding my own business and suddenly, the heat is quite spectacular.

The thing that women over the world dread, the big event, Menopause!!!

All in all, I think I am coping quite well.  I am certainly saving on winter clothing this year, seeing that I am in the “hot” phase most of the time.  A couple of years ago I received a black shawl – at the time I wondered where or when on earth I was going to use it and much to my shame, for a moment I did think it was an impractical gift.  Now, however, I admit with thanks, that this gift is one of the gifts that I use the most.  Much easier to shrug it off when I heat up and when I cool down, quick and easy to drape over myself again. I suppose I look a little funny, putting it on and taking it off, ten times in an hour.  At this stage, though, I don’t care about looking stupid – cooling down is a priority. 

Talking about winter, Port Said is so lovely.  Early mornings, the view is of a sea that is gold in the sunrise and then it changes to silver.  This beautiful silver sea that shimmers in the daylight.



I have fallen in love with this place.  Like some of the other places in Egypt that we have got to know, Port Said’s people are friendly and helpful to the extreme.  We haven’t had time to really mix with the local people in a social setting but just walking in the streets gives you a feel for the place.

One of the downsides here in Egypt is communication.  You have to be very sure that the person you are communicating with understands you.  I listen to Hubby speaking to his team and I admire his patience.  He has to repeat his instructions in dozen different ways to get the message across.

For instance, “don’t go close to the door” of the silo (it’s a grain silo) has now been said as follows:

“Stay away from the door”

“The door can kill you”

“I want to work long with you”

“Don’t stand next to the door”

“Don’t go in front of the door”

This all got a response of “You want me to go inspect the door”

And then Hubby repeats all the above options, in slight variations again.

I am so proud of my husband; he has infinite patience with the team.

Communication.... I have learnt here that your words really do influence others.

I suppose of the things that gets to me here (now and again) is the fact that when you are getting out of the car/taxi (bearing in mind that the vehicle stops anywhere, not necessarily pulls out of the way) is that the cars behind you will begin to hoot. They themselves will of course drop off their passengers in exactly the same way.

I digress – the hooting irritates me and I have on occasion, turned around and muttered “Oh for goodness sake – just shut up!” or I have been heard to say, when I am less irritated, “Oh just shut uppa your face”.

The problem with this is that our driver has now adopted these sayings and mutters them with great relish.

We recently also had visitors from South Africa who taught our driver two very important South African words.  Moegoe and Mamparra.   Needless to say, those two words are now a staple in his word diet.  When someone cuts in front of him, they are “very Mamparra” and if they really irritate him, he then proceeds to tell them they are Moegoes!

I dread to think how far this will spread!

Now of course I have to decide what other words to teach the driver....  Any suggestions?