Various thoughts

There was a time where I had the patience and the mood to write here on my blog, but now I’m not anymore inspired due to the so famous FACEBOOK.

Well, I do not believe many people actually bother to read my page and, despite the fact that I don’t write here often, I do love my blog, I have shared emotions, articles and notes about my life, my friends, my experiences.

Today I came here to simply express my confusion into the World where I live. Egypt

I have a friend who is in Love with this girl, despite the fact they are both quite young (average 21yrs old), they live in 2 different cities within Egypt and they are going through the hardest time of their lives. I have only heard one side of the story which I will mention here today.

The make the story short and to clarify my ideas he told me that he is in love, and she is in love with him. Unfortunately in the eyes of her parents this is not Love, because its better that her daughter gets engaged with a guy that has money and Fuck Love. Today’s Egyptian Society doesn’t care about Love, they care to secure the Financial wellbeing of their daughters, cause of all the problems happening Worldwide and severely impacting the Working class in this country.

I remember when I first moved here that a liter of milk used to cost about 3-3,50 le (Egyptian pounds) and now costs 7le. In less than 3 years the cost of living and more than doubled and this is severely affecting the economy of the grand majority of people who received an average salary of 300-500le per month. The salaries concerning the people who work for the Governmental institutions hasn’t changed since Sadat’s time, which means the “glorious leader” has his hands on millions and does nothing to help out.

I noticed some months back the way the country is being controlled and managed, basically all the great dictator wishes to have is full control on mind, body and spirit.

Honestly speaking I cannot imagine how do these Families actually live, eat, reproduce and are able to pass on to the children of tomorrow the correct Upbringing and Education which is no longer available, as the teachers don’t get remunerated in the grand majority of times. I have another friend who is studying Law and he comments to me on his lectures and assignments which have to be given in. Resuming and concluding this is the theory behind it all: if the teacher likes you he will give you a good mark and if he doesn’t like you he will not give you a good mark, worst being WITHOUT READING WHAT WAS WRITTEN.

There is allot of room for development in this country, but all has been “blinded” with the Islamic Religion and the whole “theories” and “excuses” which keeps everyone Ignorant on how to live life and how to make the best of what you get given.

Living in Egypt without a “mask” is not living, there is a great demand to keep the appearances, which get shattered when the truth becomes obvious. Example: a very religious guy, who wears his clothing and wears a long beard according to what the Quran says… in the eyes of everyone he is so “holy” and a good Muslim. When this boy leaves work he will smoke, drink, and have sex with girls which is soooo against his religious beliefs. Why does he do it ? Why does he pretend so much and why people can’t be themselves?

On my previous post about the movie I went to watch recently in Cairo I also make some slight comments about this whole living and existing in Egypt

( To be continued)

Call Girl and the rattling plastic bags

Dear Reader,

this is a true story based on the movies i went to watch with my portuguese friends in Cairo.

The whole thing happened on the 25th November 2008

____________________________________________________

This movie tells the story about how high-class society, prostitution, corruption, power and money come together, but it is essentially a good portrait of what is happening world wide nowadays! The plot is quite well structured and "touches" in some "crucial points" which are "rotten" in our society… We all know that money and sex are the "things" that make the world turn around, and this movie proves it quite clearly!

Upon entering the cinema room, me and my female friends (I also noticed 2 kind French ladies “crushed against the wall with a bit of “HELP US” look on their faces) were gob-smacked with the “agglomeration” of Only Egyptian males stuck to the stairs and standing in the room while the movie was already on-going.

The mess was so big that the movie was stopped during a Sadomasochism scene, where the “Mistress” Maria (played by Soraia Chaves) who was wearing a combination of leather tight pants, high heel leather boots, a leather mask covering her eyes and a whip on her hands which was used to spank “her slave”. Finally someone had arrived to put order into this room, they started seating people down and soon the movie had resumed. We managed to be seated on the second row from the front, despite the fact we would have to lay back on the chair to be able to watch the movie. But the worst was still to come…

In a perfectly normal scene, Mouros (played by Joaquim de Almeida) who was having a conversation with Maria’s at her house, she was adorning a baby blue satin robe which clearly displayed her curvaceous breasts and pointy nipples, as well as her “Sex Bomb” body I heard a rattling sound of a plastic bag. Discreetly I looked to my left and to my surprise there it was … an Egyptian was clearly enjoying the so supposed “Blue Movie” while masturbating so openly next to me. I became sick and gave him a nasty look which made him stop enjoying his “ashara” (Egyptian colloquial Arabic to indicate male masturbation). On the next “hot scene” (I indicate hot, cause of the simple display of the female breasts) Maria had seduced President Meireles (played by Nicolau Breyner) and they were in the bedroom and, as she removes her black dress, her breasts are shown and this “gives wings” to the Imagination which was clearly noted with the “symphony of plastic bags”. My “cinema neighbour” got too excited and surely without any shame, respect and self-control his plastic bag stars rattling too.

As I turned my head to the left side I noticed the room attendant showing the seats to some other people who had arrived late and with a desperate, shocked and horrified look on my face I simply stood up and, in my poor Arabic I told him out-loud “… “My neighbour” is masturbating for the second time, and I have ladies sitting next to me. If you will not take him away I will surely kick his ass out the door, far away from me and my female friends…” The man stood up and, with such a innocent look glaring on his face, had the guts to ask the room attendant to look at his pants, in order to see if he had a hard on which clearly was so obviously displayed on his pants and after a brief blushing and embarrassing moment, he was taken away.

The movie keeps going amidst the smell of semen quite obvious in the air as well as the constant Mobile phone rings, with the loud long chats done by the “bawebe’s” (meaning the doorman’s in colloquial Egyptian Arabic) throughout all the movie. When will it happen that people will be re-educated? When will it happen that people will start respecting each other instead of bitching behind everyone’s back? When will it happen that people will be given a warning or kicked out of the cinema if their mobile phone rings ( in the loudest sound possible) with a Haifa, Mohamed Mounir, Amr Diab ring tone?

This all comes to proof that Taboo, Respect, Sexuality, Gender discrimination, Ignorance & Hypocrisy are still major issues, which have to be dealt with in this country by the people who cannot stand up for themselves:

• As a first approach to explain my comment above I must say that most of the non-sexually educated Egyptian males cant keep it in their pants (always horny cause Religion tells them that to have sexual thoughts is so bad, and that having sex before marriage is bad too);
• as a second point the movie was in Portuguese language with English language subtitles and I bet that not even 20% of the people in that room spoke English as a minimum requirement to understand the whole story, message behind the movie ( taking in consideration that there were 2 French ladies and one of them had lived in Brazil so she spoke fluent Portuguese as well as 3 Portuguese ladies and 2 Portuguese males);
• My third comment is a big question into why aren’t Egyptian females allowed to watch normal movies that contain sexual connotations or even as in this case the display of the female breasts? If they watched such movies they could be bound to learn a thing or two?
• As my fourth point I must say and honestly confess that sex is so widely available in Egypt, (I do not have to mention more than 24 hrs cable TV, 24hrs Satellite free Sex channels, prostitution, etc etc)

As a conclusion to this vast subject which could lead me to write an encyclopaedia is a question we should ask ourselves, what’s the Mask behind all this? Is the answer to say that 83 Million (data collected from 2007 census) Egyptians are not Educated? To me this has nothing to do with Education on the extreme case; this has to do with Mentality. Why should people have to endure such situations in an International Film Festival, which has been created to simply divulgate, share, to tell a story, to show a specific point of being, to show a different approach, a different point of view or even a country/society reality?

I think we all live in the same reality, we are all enduring a change in the World’s financial Market, we are all under “pressure” to either perform better at work, to produce better clothing, to make it all simply accessible to everyone who can “afford” a certain or peculiar aspect/item of being an human being.

The questioning will continue and the answers will keep flowing but the first thing this society will need to do is simply accept themselves for who they are? What benefit does it bring to the society to be so intensively aware and curious about what’s happening to our neighbours, to gossip, to make stories to tell lies when people can even take care of their own individual lives ?

HAPPY NEW YEAR (Period from June 2007 to Xmas December 2007

Before anything HAPPY NEW YEARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

I would like to apologize for the length of time I haven’t written anything on my own blog…….

Allot has happened ……… I believe lack of inspiration to write any further………




Slowly I am becoming a patient person…. Don’t know if that’s good or bad anymore …… counting towards my “alter-ego” I believe it’s a good thing as many of you (readers/friends) would say ……… GOOD ON YOU NUNO

Well, currently im feeling good, there isn’t much work, hence the reason I decided to re-write what happened since I last wrote here …….

Well nothing much changed since I last wrote about having my own flat…… I ended up moving from the flat where I was living before my birthday last August cause Sherif (my ex –flat mate asked me to move out in the start of August…. Gosh I saw 35 flats and each one a terror to the sights as the next one…… I seen from FALLING TO PIECES flats, to flats luxury furnish (to the ARAB tastes….. marble floors and allot of freaky ROCOCO furnishings smeared/painted in gold………. YUCK YUCK YUCK)

I found a cozy flat not too far from where I used to live, despite the plastic bags of dust I collect on it every week and despite of not having an air-con I SURVIVED the hot summer…… it was horrible to sleep without a fresh room, but the old fan helped me get through it ,

then Greg arrived from Australia to help me get the final arrangements to my 30th Birthday Party…… we got a chance to catch up on the past months we hadn’t seen each other…… then it was my birthday party…… shame it was sooooo dammm hot, no air-con not even a freaking flow of air, as the night approached everyone run to the balcony where there was a cooling fresh breeze ……. SORRY !!!!

Photos bellow……

Then we went to Dahab for 1 week (Inge, Allam, Greg, Amr and me)
It was lovely to get away from Cairo and we all managed to get there and back safely.

As I had once promised my grandmother I would climb Mount Sinai……. I DID IT …… proof is bellow on the photos

WHAT AN AMAZING JOURNEY!!!!!!!!!!!



Yes I did indeed start my new role in Circuit Procurement Team and this was back on the 15th October 2007…… despite the initial I don’t know what im doing phase…. I started working just 2 weeks after I started on the team. I have slowly overcome many obstacles and confusing phases, and have carried the work well for the last months.
Well I can really see the difference of my previous role and this current role; I have had many challenges but still looking for my stardom….. IM A LEO what u expect? :P

Life wise, I keep enjoying the “relaxed” life I have …… ( So relaxed that I no longer stress about stuff in the kitchen sink which needs to be washed……. ) LOOOOL
Well I got to move out of this flat, cause the owners will come from Italy to spend 2 months holidays in Cairo (rental was for 10months).

Seriously I don’t know what I will do….. I have been freaking out to rent an unfurnished flat ….. All empty and I have to make it comfortable…… im dreading this part….. Is it really worth it ? Buying stuff that I can re-sell later…… before leaving Cairo ….. If I will ever leave this country ………..

Anyway the flat hunting has to start pretty soon cause then the summer approaches and the rent prices get double of the normal and sometimes the triple of the price… renting while its still low season it’s the best move……. I have many options but I just don’t know if I am ready to make this move…….. Im seriously scared to move into a place without anything L

Despite that I spent Xmas in Cairo for the 1st time and its not what I know about Xmas, I believe it was the 1st and the last time…… its not the same like back home, Europe or even around the world….. Nowhere I felt the Xmas spirit, only when I was spending time with Inge ……..

Well I had organized a Xmas Day gathering …… that’s how much I MISSED XMAS
Cooked for 10hours I don’t know why ………….. Anyway I got all ready, food, people with their drinks, Inge was giving me a hand too which was great J

All and all I got sick, I vomited and vomited had horrible headaches and nausea….. Goshhhhhhh I thought that was it….. I swear I drink drink or smoke anything before :S:S:S:S:S

Well everyone had their time and started leaving, leaving 5 people behind……… Amr, Hany, Tarek of course Inge :P and me……. At 2am I decided I was ready to celebrate my 5 mins of feeling good so I danced with Inge and then with Tarek….. Then I got tired and sick again……..

Oh well that was Xmas……..







Allot to come still…….. LOL