Author Archives: lornaofarabia

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About lornaofarabia

I am a teacher from Medford, Oregon. I currently live and work in Bangkok, Thailand.

When the apricots bloom

Posted on 11 Jun 2017 by lornaofarabia

There’s a saying in Egypt -“bukra fil mish-mish” بكرة في المشمش Literally it means “when the apricots bloom,” but people say it to mean “never.” Sort of like “when pigs fly.”  That’s because in Egypt apricots (mish-mish) have a very … Continue reading →

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In fair Verona, where we lay our scene…

Posted on 18 Apr 2017 by lornaofarabia

There are lots of great things about living in Cairo, and one of them is that we have easy access to many other great places.  Cheap non-stop flights are available to (for example) Turkey and Greece and France. We carefully examined the bargain airline offerings before … Continue reading →

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Tent-makers’ alley

Posted on 18 Mar 2017 by lornaofarabia

In the Khan el-Khalili, the big old market in the center of old Cairo, you can find just about anything you want.  A visit to the Khan is on every tourist itinerary so of course there is no shortage of … Continue reading →

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Kathakali

Posted on 11 Mar 2017 by lornaofarabia

Kerala is home to a unique theatre form called kathakali. By chance, Andreas was studying kathakali just a few weeks ago as part of an IB theatre teaching training course, so he was very excited at the prospect of seeing a live performance. Kathakali developed in southern … Continue reading →

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Backwaters

Posted on 9 Mar 2017 by lornaofarabia

If you mention Kerala to anyone who’s been there, chances are the first thing they will say is “houseboats.” For many generations people in Kerala used wooden boats called kettuvallam to transport goods to larger port towns like Cochin. These days rice … Continue reading →

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High tea

Posted on 6 Mar 2017 by lornaofarabia

I wanted to visit a tea plantation while we were in India. Darjeeling and Assam are famous for their teas, but those places are both in the far northeast, too distant for this trip. Within India, though, the south is also known for its tea. … Continue reading →

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Sinai weekend: Saturday on Mt. Sinai

Posted on 4 Feb 2017 by lornaofarabia

It was our friend Jeff who had the idea for the weekend in Sinai. He is leaving at the end of this year and Mt. Sinai had been on his must-see list since arriving in Egypt three years ago. Jeff is interested … Continue reading →

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Sinai weekend: Friday in Dahab

Posted on 3 Feb 2017 by lornaofarabia

We try to get out of town whenever we have a three- or four-day weekend, but most of our regular Fridays and Saturdays (that’s right – weekends in Egypt are Friday/Saturday) are spent close to home catching up with household and school tasks. This … Continue reading →

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Chumbe Island

Posted on 28 Dec 2016 by lornaofarabia

If you’re a regular reader of this blog then you know how I feel about islands. Our friend Lori who we met in Lalibela a few years ago told me that if we were going to Zanzibar we absolutely had to … Continue reading →

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The Elephant Café

Posted on 22 Dec 2016 by lornaofarabia

I almost didn’t go to the Elephant Café. When Kim first suggested it, it didn’t sound like anything I’d want to do. Pet the elephants, then have dinner at the elephant place. It was crazy expensive and sounded like a classic tourist … Continue reading →

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