I'll go back and see what I can get these for and a smart way to get them back safely.
This makes me think of home.
Minus the salsa and chilango margaritas.
mmmmm....margaritas
Monday, January 11, 2010
Magical Lamp Lights
These are absolutely beautiful! I want to live here...bare stone walls and lots of silver lamps to light up at night.
I'll go back and see what I can get these for and a smart way to get them back safely.
This makes me think of home.
Minus the salsa and chilango margaritas.
mmmmm....margaritas
I'll go back and see what I can get these for and a smart way to get them back safely.
This makes me think of home.
Minus the salsa and chilango margaritas.
mmmmm....margaritas
Sunday, January 10, 2010
T-minus 8 days.
Oh – in other news – the class I'm in tests out tomorrow and we continue on with level 1. My flat mates are in level 3 (who have been studying for >5years) will test on Tuesday. There are 20 levels in this school. Several girls who are staying for at least six months are moving to the Al Asalat school – since it's easier. Apparently this is one of the toughest schools.
I'm glad no one told me about this earlier. Really.
I'm glad no one told me about this earlier. Really.
The view from my window
Outside across the street:
straight down:
A lot may be cleared for someone to build on – until then, you find lots of this:
Not sure if they are simply there to secure the land and keep vagrants off or if this is where they live until they are removed. Still - there is no such thing as an empty lot. There is space to build on but there is a family (sometimes extended) living on that lot until then. At least they can pirate electricity from the building next door. I'm not saying it's safe, I'm just saying.
Also – in a shell of a building that has no power/water/doors – just a shell of bricks waiting for plaster – there will be a family living there. Including children. There will be piles of building refuse around which the children are playing in, when they're not helping clean up after the workers have gone. I don't imagine they'll make it to school, but I hope I'm wrong.
straight down:
A lot may be cleared for someone to build on – until then, you find lots of this:
Not sure if they are simply there to secure the land and keep vagrants off or if this is where they live until they are removed. Still - there is no such thing as an empty lot. There is space to build on but there is a family (sometimes extended) living on that lot until then. At least they can pirate electricity from the building next door. I'm not saying it's safe, I'm just saying.
Also – in a shell of a building that has no power/water/doors – just a shell of bricks waiting for plaster – there will be a family living there. Including children. There will be piles of building refuse around which the children are playing in, when they're not helping clean up after the workers have gone. I don't imagine they'll make it to school, but I hope I'm wrong.
{speachless}
Outside the buildings – there is a random string of wires. Lots of wires. For a good reason:
We do have A/C. And as long as the wiring insulation holds - there will be a b
We do have A/C. And as long as the wiring insulation holds - there will be a b
finished product?
This place has been rented out numerous times. Judging by the condition of the building (i.e.: dust buildup on the outside of the building) it has been inhabited by paying residents for at least a couple of years.
The Flat - so much for movin' on up
Ironic that I work in a construction law firm. It makes me hyper aware of the construction going on here. Issues? Where to begin....
There is construction going on next door.
Fine finish on the cement – it answers quite a few issues inside the flat I'm staying in.
Come to find out that a building owner only has to pay taxes on a building once it's finished. Until it's finished – what is complete can be occupied. So you see quite a few buildings with very nice finish-outs on the outside and upper floors but the first one or two floors have gaping holes where windows and doors should be. The ground floor is (for the most part) secured. Or at least the entrance for the upper floors has a security door but the rest meant for shops are just walls and places for windows and doors. The front is NEVER landscaped – one is lucky enough to have some marble tiles laid so a floor mat can be put down to scrape the dirt, mud, grime off one's shoes before stepping inside.
The refrigerator. Easy to understand why it's leaning back at that angle.
Again – this is all manual labor. The lot next to the building under construction has been excavated about 15-20 feet down, all by hand. There has been a team of (what looks to be) 20-somethings working all day.
As for drainage – I think there is a sewer drain of sorts in the street – a 6” pipe set off the side of the road. I thought Town Lake was bad....the Nile – OMG! I wouldn't swim in it if my life depended on it. Cairo is in the middle of the flush.
There is construction going on next door.
Fine finish on the cement – it answers quite a few issues inside the flat I'm staying in.
Come to find out that a building owner only has to pay taxes on a building once it's finished. Until it's finished – what is complete can be occupied. So you see quite a few buildings with very nice finish-outs on the outside and upper floors but the first one or two floors have gaping holes where windows and doors should be. The ground floor is (for the most part) secured. Or at least the entrance for the upper floors has a security door but the rest meant for shops are just walls and places for windows and doors. The front is NEVER landscaped – one is lucky enough to have some marble tiles laid so a floor mat can be put down to scrape the dirt, mud, grime off one's shoes before stepping inside.
The refrigerator. Easy to understand why it's leaning back at that angle.
Again – this is all manual labor. The lot next to the building under construction has been excavated about 15-20 feet down, all by hand. There has been a team of (what looks to be) 20-somethings working all day.
As for drainage – I think there is a sewer drain of sorts in the street – a 6” pipe set off the side of the road. I thought Town Lake was bad....the Nile – OMG! I wouldn't swim in it if my life depended on it. Cairo is in the middle of the flush.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
