The last month has been mixed with no internet, super large frustrations of abnormal proportions and stress! I know this is not an excuse for not updating my blog, but at times when I did have time, I did not have internet, and some days I was so frustrated and angry that I know I would have a nervous breakdown if I started writing about it!
So since my last post I went to Spain to pick up a few of my things ( I say a few things, but it was 5 suitcases!). I went with my boyfriend and spent 3 days in Marbella and 3 days on the road! There is no airline in Spain that allows you to pay for extra luggage and Egyptair flies from Madrid and Barcelona. We arrived through Barcelona and therefore had to leave from the same airport. We rented a car to take all the extra luggage from Marbella to Barcelona. We drove from Marbella to Valencia the first day, about 7 hours and stayed there one night. The next day we drove about 4 hours to Barcelona and stayed in a super amazing hotel there! It was a nice break from dirty cockroach infested apartment… But it was definitely not a relaxing holiday… I bought some amazing stuff for the apartment from Ikea in Malaga though, so it was definitely worth the trip. We had packed 4 suitcases but when we came to check in, the woman at the check-in counter told us that 3 of the 4 suitcases were over 32 kg which apparently is illegal! Hahaha, I didn’t realise that there is an illegal weight on suitcases! So we had to buy a suitcase at the airport and repack! Then we had a to call one of my boyfriends friends to help us transport the luggage once we got to Cairo. We had a hand luggage suitcase with all the plates and glasses that was 19 kg! Definitely did not pack light!
When I got back from Spain I had 3 days to get everything fixed for my parents visit after christmas. Most of those 3 days was spent cleaning and unpacking the furniture and suitcases. Then I spent 4 days in Norway celebrating christmas with my family. Then I had one day to super clean and my parents arrived. We had 5 days in Cairo and then spent a week in El Gouna. It was really nice to have family in Cairo for a change!
So that has been my last super busy month! Now back to the apartment issues!
Egypt has been really good at testing my patience… I always believed I was a patient person, but there are limits when I have to say enough is enough! As a customer paying for a service or goods, I expect some level of service and quality back. I am not going to pay for something I do not want and I am not going to pay for someone to treat me like dog crap! But here in Egypt the person providing the service or good is the one with the power and the customer just has to shut up and accept the shit that is squirted all over them! Excuse my language but it is what they do… The apartment was NOT finished before I left to Spain but was PROMISED that when I came back it would be done… Was it? NOOOOOOOOO… The last day before we came back from Spain my boyfriend called to check that most of the apartment was finished. The guy in charge of the renovation said that the bathroom was the only thing missing (it was the only thing missing when I left too….) but he would fix it before we come back! So that is what he did, but Noooo he didn’t not finish the bathroom with love. It was a super fast: shit we have to finish this before they come back… But I guess I just have to shut up and be happy they did something…The super annoying thing is that I left the key to apartment with them JUST so they could finish the apartment… I did not leave it with them so they could have home alone parties with my new sofa, tv and crystal chandeliers!
The 3 days before I went to Norway were spent with workers doing everything they should have done when I was gone! When I was in Norway my boyfriend spend 2 days in the apartment with the people from the kitchen company. You can imagine my surprise that they even came to set it up! Well the surprise and happiness inside me that I was finally getting my kitchen soon dissolved, but that will be a whole other post.
Let me tell you what kind of situations I have had to deal with the last month… For example the bed…
I bought the bed during the first month of renovation. It was one of the first things we bought for the apartment. We were told to call the company 10 days before we needed the bed because that is the time it takes for the factory to make it. It was a custom-made bed. So this is what we did. The woman who answered the phone didn’t know anything about the bed we had ordered, couldn’t find the order or our name or the payment… She was completely lost, she probably didn’t even know her own name or which country she was in. She said she would check with the factory and call us back… did she? she probably couldn’t find our number! One week later we called them again and a guy answered. He couldn’t find our order so he would call the factory and call us back.. DID HE??? NOOOOOO! So 2 days later we called again. The bed was ready and could be delivered whenever we were ready… WIERD! So we arranged the delivery date and the day before they call us…
THE BED I ORDERED CANNOT BE MADE IN THE COLOUR I WANT, WOULD I LIKE THE BED IN ANOTHER COLOUR, PINK FOR EXAMPLE?!?!? Hang on a minute… You just called and told me the bed is ready and now it’s not available in the colour I want… So what part of the bed is READY?!?!? The whole bed is covered in fabric… Is it the mattress that is ready?? Why do they tell me this the day before delivery and not the day I ordered it over 3 months ago??? Did it take them 3 months to find out the colour doesn’t exist? Uffff my frustration was growing fast inside me.. I was angry, annoyed, irritated. I had no idea what they wanted me to say to this. Well my boyfriend told them that we will not accept the bed in any other colour than the one ordered and it should be delivered tomorrow. The guy would check ‘something’ and call us back. At 10 pm before the delivery day, another employee calls us and tells us they have FOUND the bed. WHAAAATTT????!!!! Was it lost? You told me the colour doesn’t exist and now suddenly it does?! So that means they had ‘lost’ the bed I ordered in a colour that they don’t have but then found it again the day before delivery…. confused? So was I…. It’s a queen size bed with a huge turquoise headboard and over 30 large crystals… it’s not something that can easily get lost… They must be world champions at hide and seek!
I have come to the conclusion that you must NEVER ask why in Egypt… It will just make you an incredibly angry and bitter person. Nothing here makes sense and that’s just the way it is… I just have to accept it I guess…
Femieshe 