A very Australian Christmas
4 Comments Published by Tom Gara on Wednesday, December 26 at Wednesday, December 26, 2007.
All sunshine and blue skies and kookaburras laughing their asses off in the trees above, a perfect day in our gorgeous back yard in good old Willunga. Combined with the middle eastern-themed Christmas lunch (see Victory Kebabs below), it doesn't get much better than this.
Our back yard - if you haven't noticed, this is not Cairo
Victory Kebabs - from bottom to top: Pommegranate, Cherry and Shiraz Lamb Kebabs; Mango and Mint Lamb Kebabs; Chicken Shish Tawouk. The pommegranate oes were the best kebabs I've ever made - and the best I've ever eaten as well....
A satisfied Gara-Smith family - note the tarbouche/fez being worn by my dad (standing, centre) and uncle (to the left) - the Egyptianization of my family continues apace. They are now all in love with Baba Ghanoug, Tehina and fine Fezez and Pashmina scarves, so all is going as planned.
More pics of Paradise to come....
Our back yard - if you haven't noticed, this is not Cairo
Victory Kebabs - from bottom to top: Pommegranate, Cherry and Shiraz Lamb Kebabs; Mango and Mint Lamb Kebabs; Chicken Shish Tawouk. The pommegranate oes were the best kebabs I've ever made - and the best I've ever eaten as well....
A satisfied Gara-Smith family - note the tarbouche/fez being worn by my dad (standing, centre) and uncle (to the left) - the Egyptianization of my family continues apace. They are now all in love with Baba Ghanoug, Tehina and fine Fezez and Pashmina scarves, so all is going as planned.More pics of Paradise to come....
Big Changes
12 Comments Published by Tom Gara on Saturday, December 8 at Saturday, December 08, 2007.
Egypt has been my country for two of the last three years, and it will always be a home for me. And Egypt Today / Business Today Egypt has been the best job I've ever had (OK, second best...)
I am saying goodbye to both of them. I gave notice to my boss today, and will be finishing up here at the end of January. In the first week of February I'll be moving to Abu Dhabi, and a new job. I'll be working as a business reporter for a new daily newspaper being set up there.
There's not many times you will ever get the opportunity to be a part of a team that launches a major new regional daily newspaper, and doing that, in the region of the world that I love - and being on the business team, which is the story of the Gulf, working for an ex-WSJ foreign editor - is something that I am totally psyched for.
It's going to suck saying goodbye to the country and people I love. I've got six weeks to worry about that though. Expect the blog to get progressively overloaded wih soppy odes to the finest of friends and definitive images of Cairo and testimonials to the City Victorious etc....
Otherwise, be on notice people. Cairo times are coming to an end. Visit, frollick, etc. while the good times last. And I'll be earning a proper adult salary in an internationally significant currency for the first time in a while, so all those people I've been promising to visit, prepare for a mauradering Tom, loaded with petrodollars, at your doorstep at a moment's notice.
I am saying goodbye to both of them. I gave notice to my boss today, and will be finishing up here at the end of January. In the first week of February I'll be moving to Abu Dhabi, and a new job. I'll be working as a business reporter for a new daily newspaper being set up there.
There's not many times you will ever get the opportunity to be a part of a team that launches a major new regional daily newspaper, and doing that, in the region of the world that I love - and being on the business team, which is the story of the Gulf, working for an ex-WSJ foreign editor - is something that I am totally psyched for.
It's going to suck saying goodbye to the country and people I love. I've got six weeks to worry about that though. Expect the blog to get progressively overloaded wih soppy odes to the finest of friends and definitive images of Cairo and testimonials to the City Victorious etc....
Otherwise, be on notice people. Cairo times are coming to an end. Visit, frollick, etc. while the good times last. And I'll be earning a proper adult salary in an internationally significant currency for the first time in a while, so all those people I've been promising to visit, prepare for a mauradering Tom, loaded with petrodollars, at your doorstep at a moment's notice.
