Ashley's Arabian Adventure

I often see people who look a whole lot like my friends in America. I usually do a double take and then think to myself, "I should facebook her and tell her she has a British twin." And then I think that my friends probably don't care. So I don't. So if you are reading this, I have probably seen someone over here that made me think of you. There. It's out of my system.

I really like that show. A lot. I finally found a website where I can watch it easily. I have quite a bit to catch up on, so I was watching an episode this morning as I was getting ready for work. The episode was about being bored at work and Jim was trying to find games to play to kill his boredom. Michael was out for the day, so he set up the Office Olympics. It was a great episode.

Anyway, today is one of those days. I am terribly bored. I would like to set up my own version of the Office Olympics right now. I have been imagining it for a while now and I just thought I would blog it out. Hm. That just wasted about 2.3 minutes. I am pretty sure I will be sneaking out early today.

Yesterday I spent the day in London doing some stuff for work and then I went to church. I had a couple of blog-able moments to share from the day.

My coworker and I were hungry for some lunch and we had decided on Subway. She knew where one was, but that required getting back on the underground. I decided that it would be better to ask and just hit the closest one because I was ready to eat. So I walk over to this guy selling souvenirs in front of a tube station entrance and ask him where the closest subway is. He looks at me like I am totally retarded and points behind me. I turn around and my coworker is cracking up and I realize my retard moment.

We get to the Subway and I have another stupid moment. We were in an Arab part of town, so there were signs saying that the meat was halaal. Well I order my favorite chicken bacon ranch sub and then I get it and the the bacon looks really iffy. Well duh, they aren't going to serve pork in a halaal restaurant. It tasted alright though.

We went to my favorite shop on Oxford Street to look for some skirts to wear while I am in Africa this summer. My coworker pointed out a very cute, yet very brightly colored skirt. I told her that I thought I should stick to neutrals because I don't want to stand out. She then reminded me that I am white. I guess I don't have to worry too much about what color my clothes are because I am going to stick out anyway. It's true.

This is not a retard moment, but still hilarious. I was coming out of the Westminster tube station and I saw two homeless people with guitars yelling at eachother. As I got closer I realized they were arguing over territory. It reminded me of one of those movies where prostitutes throw down over a corner. Nice.

Let's face it. They are awkward, especially at work. I'm in the stall and you are in the stall and we are taking care of some business. It's really not the time to talk about wiring money or the weather. I just want to get in and out as quickly as possible. However, there are some circumstances when I think it is appropriate or I can at least handle it.
1. If we are family, it's totally okay.
2. If we are like family, it's totally okay.
3. If 1 and 2 don't apply, then I will tolerate your asking for toilet paper because your stall is out. Other than that, leave me alone until we are both finished taking care of said business. Thanks.

My small group got together last night to play some games and catch up. We had three Romanians, three Brits, two Americans and a Jamaican. Out of the selection of games we decided to play Articulate, which is a lot like Catchphrase. I never thought we really had a language barrier in our group, but it was evident last night. After playing for about two minutes we decided we had to split the nationalities among the teams, but now that I think about it, we probably should have grouped our teams by nationality. Because of the cultural differences, even the native English speakers were having trouble communicating ideas. We did more laughing than actually playing.

Today I was at a belly dancing class (don't ask) and the teacher was explaining that the veils we were dancing with could be used as an invitation for a one night stand. She said if you drape it on a man's head, it means you want him to go home with you. The ladies in my class all started making jokes about needing seven of them so they could line up the week. Then they started discussing recent nights out. "We probably won't be allowed in there again." "Wow, that must have been a really good night." I was so sad for these ladies. They are well into their forties and fifties and they are still living like sorority party girls. How empty must your life be to act like this? My heart just broke for them.

So I live in this building that is all one bedroom flats. There are two really old people who live on the fourth floor. We don't have an elevator. So anyway, old guy always talks to me when I see him. When I first got here I couldn't understand a word he said, but now I can at least get the gist of what he is saying. The other day I was on my way out to go meet someone for a walk. Old guy is coming up the stairs with his walker so I politely wait until he gets up before I go down. When he gets to the top he starts telling me about how much trouble it is to get up the stairs with the walker. He didn't have it before. So, me being the genius that I am, I ask what happened. I was trapped at the top of those stairs for at least 15 minutes. I eventually told him that I hoped he got better and I had to meet someone. I made a small dash for the stairs and heard him still talking when I got to the bottom. I learned my lesson. When you see old guy coming, keep your head down and walk fast.

I think it has finally set in. I hate going to the grocery store all the time. I hate not being able to drive myself wherever I want to go. I hate that I have mold to clean from around my windows every three weeks. I hate that mushrooms grow out of my carpet. I hate that I can't plug things in in the bathroom. I hate that everything is ridiculously expensive here. I hate that Britain is obsessed with America. I hate British accents. I hate the food. I hate the weather. I hate not being near my family and friends. I hate my flat. I hate stairs. I hate tears.

Pray for me.

Okay, so I decided I'm too lazy to really write about my trip. If you want to see more pictures, here's the link to where I posted them.

Egypt Album

Al Humdullalleh.

I had an amazing week in Egypt! It was a much needed and very refreshing vacation. There is so much to talk about that I will probably do a couple of different posts.

Here is me at the bottom of the Great Pyramid. I can't believe how big each stone is!

More to come!
Ashley