monnik

Sorry, I just saw the post Melissa! Happy that you enjoyed your birthday.

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I miss eating my mom's cornbread stuffing. She puts lots of sage and onions in it, along with cornbread and hoe cake. I love eating it raw before she puts it in the oven, when it's all warm from the fresh chicken broth and steamy and salty!!!! After it's baked, I love to eat it with cranberry sauce & turkey chunks.

Happy Thanksgiving (soon) !

I love stuffing !

Congratulations!

Very nice pics !

Turkey is one of the countries my husband and I hope to travel to one day. It looks so lovely. We hope to visit Mary's house, Soumela Monestary, and Ephesus !

What a wonderful and beautiful country. Thanks for sharing.

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I hope you have a great wedding day, sparrow !!!!

Congratulations ! (F)

That pic reminds me of a girl I used to work with.

My nickname for her was : Toke-ahontas

Dang it ! Tam, that sucks! I think the part about the parents being in USA applies to a different situation. When applying for a passport for an American baby born in Egypt, you have to provide a movement certificate for the Egyptian-born USC parent.

It doesn't apply whatsoever to your case!! The senator's office was probably just as confused as we are right now. Have you written them again to tell them that that situation is completely different from yours? Maybe they can contact them again.

Good luck, Tam.....

Try to send an email to this director at the Ministry of Interior: click here..... NOW!

I agree that you have to want to quit. I started smoking in the girls' bathroom in Middle school. I think I was about 13 yrs old. I've been off and on since then. So far I think I've been off for 5 years now but I've gone longer than that and started up again. I think I had quit 6 1/2 years and when my husband left me I picked up THAT day and that stint lasted 3 years. What helped me the last time was 1) focusing on my children and 2) wellbutrin. I still crave it sometimes though. My mom's been quit for over 30 years and still craves it. Some say it's harder to stop then heroin.

Me too, doodle. But, I think I was skipping school w/my best friend & she would steal cigarettes from her parents. (Alpine Lights 100's- a very disgusting brand.... actually, they are all disgusting) I have quit on and off over the years, too. I started becoming a regular smoker around 19, and I quit several times. Once for 2 years, then I started again. Once for a year, and started again. Then, I just cut it down to about 3 or 4 cigarettes a day. And, I did that for about a year or two. It is very hard not to smoke again. Especially when I am around someone who is smoking. But, thank God, my husband and I have not smoked any cigarettes since Sept 15th of this year. I thought it would be harder for him to quit, but the sheesha has proven to be a bigger problem!!! Especially since he goes to the cafe every day to see his friends. My only concern is that he will not find sheesha in the states and he might go back to cigarettes if he gets a job & discovers the "smoking area". I am also worried that I will go back to smoking once I get around my mom & sister.

I promised myself that I would have my teeth whitened professionally as a treat to myself if I don't go back !!!!! I am currently trying to prove myself .... to myself.

Well...

I voted :

1-2 possibilities (even though I thought there would be more; only 1 was able)

No problem asking (I sent emails to all of my friends, family, & churches)

Get another job to qualify (because I am already living in SO's country)

If I had not found a sponsor, I would have had to move back to the states and get a job to qualify. I am so glad that didn't happen.

We thought about getting a co-sponsor (as a backup plan) when we originally filed. Even though I was making enough money at the time, I think the 3rd year was under the limit. But, we couldn't find a co-sponsor, and we decided to go for it and filed anyway. Well, at the interview, they asked us to find one because I had not worked since coming to Egypt. So, we started over again. Asking the same people and new people, but with more urgency because it was now required. We finally found one & that was actually the last step that we completed in August. I believe the sponsor was accepted, and we are in AP now.

Happy Sunday!

Well, Saturday was indeed an adventure. I gassed up the car about 1pm and hit the road.

Destination: St Louis Missouri

Mission: Suprise everyone at the VJ meetup

Travel Time: 3 hours 47 min (before Rest Areas)

Entertainment: Several newly burnt CD's

I settled in on I55 South and hit the cruise control. Pack of smokes and a bottle of water and I was ready for my journey. I was going to meet more VJ'ers in person! I have a hard time passing up rest areas, so I had to check them all out. I love the French Vanilla coffee from the vending machines.

I get to St Louis (saw the arch!) and I was kinda nervous walking in the restaurant. Everyone was so nice and it was really special to meet people that I have talked with over the years. Thank you Carla and Gene for organizing this meetup.

So, it gets to be time to drive home and as I leave St Louis, I call Amal. We talked, and talked, and soon I had gone 50 miles. Well why hang up now, I have free weekends. We talked for 155 miles til my battery died. Man, did I get sleepy driving that last hour. It sucked. I was all nodding off. I rolled down the windows and changed the CD to Metallica. Nothing like some heavy metal to wake ya up.

That was my big adventure. If you ever get a chance to go to a meetup,,GO!

Jackie

WOW! JJ , I am so happy for you! I am glad you enjoyed it!! We are waiting on some pics of the arch or some nice fall scenery!

Go METALLICA!!

Happy Sunday everyone! My day is done! I have been awake since 5am, spent an hour in Cairo traffic this morning, gone to work, spent another 30 min in traffic, came home, ate, and now................. SLEEEEEEPPPPP!!!

Have a good one!

Arabic Radio & Television......

It (the company I work for) is a broadcasting company that shows Arabic movies & programs (with subtitles) by satellite to English-speaking countries.

Sounds like it to me. But, I will ask tomorrow if they are the same company or if they are broadcasted through Verizon in the states.

Good luck saving some money on the TV/Cable/etc......

I don't know anything about the Verizon bundles or the Arabic stations, but my new job is at ART in Cairo. What a coinkidink!!

Yay Melinda! Have a safe and wonderful trip.

I am hanging out today. Friday & Saturday are my weekend here. I just completed my first week at my new job & I feel so much better. I haven't spent so much time worrying about our AP, I am getting exercise everyday, and my husband got a job, too. He works 2 buildings away from me. Our stress levels have plummeted.

As our luck will probably have it, Mina's visa will arrive and we will have to quit our lovely new jobs..... or maybe that is just the "it happens when you stop thinking about it" theory.

We will see.

Happy Friday to everyone. Today (actually at 3am later on tonight) is my 1 year anniversary of the day I arrived in Cairo! I honestly never thought I would be here this long, but I thank God for small surprises.

MHandMB - I love the Biltmore House. I can't wait to get home (SC) and drive up there to show my husband the whole town! Bring back pictures of the fall leaves!

Sarah, did you dress up for the Halloween party or not? I never saw anything posted about it.

RIGHT ON WOMAN KEEP ON RAMBLING And I will be useing some of them words when I get there and go to the embassy! I will be insisting on getting in there and seeing a officer. If they dont let me in at lease they will know Im there.

Yes, because tears work at the airport but not USCIS or DOS. The Cairo airport is so nice if you're bawling your eyes out! At least when it comes to a carryon bag being 7 kilos overweight....

Tears on the phone...nope. They're all cold-hearted parrot DRONES! "You mean...he might not be here for over a year? -sniffle- That SUCKS!" "Yes Ma'am, it does suck." And yes, one of the people at VSC really did say that to me.

They won't let you in to see a consular officer. (If they do, make sure to let us know, cause I will be in line right after you! ) If you don't have an appointment for an interview, they won't let you into the Visa side, and if you go to the American Services side, they will tell you that they don't handle any visa questions.

Tears don't work in person, either.

They give you robot answers in person, too!!!

Don't let my experience stop you from trying, though. Maybe you could be more creative or come up with another way to get through to them. Good luck everyone!

Thanks for the quick reply.

That doesn't surprise me (about the waybill #) ...... Oh well!

MABROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK !!!

One more question, cause I know that you did DCF like we did: Did you ever get a request for a movement certificate? I can't remember if you did or not. Thanks!

That's awesome , you guys! Right after your anniversary, and while you were together! That's some lucky charm you've got there, Wael.

Question?

Did they use the same tracking # from DHL to send the visa to you?

Thanks!!

Lucius

Should I go with Dallas? Or Eagle?? I guess there are some people named Eagle in the world. (JODO)

Emerson

Alfredo

Nancy

Nasr City

Lance

Algeria

Esther

Richmond