We woke up at 10:30 on the 20th, after 12 hours’ sleep. I think we were able to sleep so well because we’d found our apartment. That was a big concern of mine. Jason went downstairs to find out what was going on, and returned at 10:45 to tell me we were supposed to be moving at 11:30! I very quickly packed up the hotel room and got bellhops to take our stuff downstairs. In the meantime, Jason went to try to exchange money. Luckily Luke slept until I woke him at 11:30. Porters loaded our stuff onto the bus and the bus left the hotel at 11:45.
When we arrived at our apartment, a lady named Flora met us there to clean our apartment. She, too, fell in love with Luke! She was here six hours. She cleaned everything—cabinets, walls, floors, bathroom, etc.—and told me what supplies I should buy for her next visit. (That next visit has not been scheduled yet—we’re waiting until we get a paycheck and a budget before we start paying a maid.)
While Flora cleaned, we all took naps (I felt pretty guilty about that). When we woke up, Jason found a bank, and I went to find a market so we could have some lunch. It was kind of frightening trying to find my way around our neighborhood. It was my first time out and about by myself. I was nervous, but I found my way to a little store with the help of some local kids. I asked them if they knew where a market was. One little girl pointed the way, and then she asked me what Luke’s name was. I learned their names and told them thank you. They were very sweet to me and to Luke. I bought hummus and pita bread for lunch and went back home.
We left our apartment for dinner at around 6:00. We had our first real Egyptian taxi ride experience. (By the way, the taxis here have no meters, no seat belts, and no way to secure a car seat. Luke rides on my lap or next to me on the seat with my arm around him. I pray every time we get in a taxi.) That night, we got in the taxi and showed the driver the address. He nodded and drove off. After leaving our neighborhood, he made a turn, and Jason said that he thought the driver had gone the wrong way. About 100 yards later, the driver slowed down, leaned across Jason (who was in the front seat) and yelled out the passenger window at a person walking on the road. The guy answered, pointed, and our driver drove off in the direction the guy had pointed. Another 100 yards later, the same thing happened. Then the driver turned into a very residential area, which we knew was wrong. He slowed down, turned around, and drove back the way we came. He stopped and asked directions at least four more times. Mind you, the address we showed him was in Arabic, and on the back of that paper was a map—with the streets labeled in Arabic—and the cab ride should have been no longer than 10 minutes. Well, 20 minutes into the ride, the driver stopped the cab (in the middle of a busy street), got out, and walked into a store, presumably asking for directions. At that point, I told Jason we needed to get out of the cab and walk away. We did. We quickly crossed the street and found a different cab to take us to dinner. We were about 30 minutes late, but still in time to catch the end of the pre-dinner meeting that was happening when we got there. At that meeting we found out a rough schedule for the weekend, met some more new teachers, and had drinks. Luke made his first friend in Cairo, a little girl named Mayumi. She is the daughter of two other AIS teachers, Peter and Arni. She was so sweet to him, sharing her toys and reading him books. Jason also smoked his first (and hopefully last) shisha pipe with Peter. It is a water-filled steam pipe containing tobacco, molasses, and a flavoring such as apple.
We had dinner and then went over to Elyse’s apartment to shop her “garage sale.” Several teachers who left Cairo this year had things to sell, so we shopped and bought hangers, laundry baskets, kitchen items, and a chess set for Jason’s classroom. We returned to our apartment after 10:00 and put Luke to bed on a mattress on the floor in our room. (His air conditioner hadn’t arrived yet.) I worked in our apartment till midnight before giving up and going to bed.
*These blogs have been so lengthy! I promise after this first week’s worth of details, I will write more anecdotes and less like a diary of the day! I just want to give a good idea of what settling in here has been like.
When we arrived at our apartment, a lady named Flora met us there to clean our apartment. She, too, fell in love with Luke! She was here six hours. She cleaned everything—cabinets, walls, floors, bathroom, etc.—and told me what supplies I should buy for her next visit. (That next visit has not been scheduled yet—we’re waiting until we get a paycheck and a budget before we start paying a maid.)
While Flora cleaned, we all took naps (I felt pretty guilty about that). When we woke up, Jason found a bank, and I went to find a market so we could have some lunch. It was kind of frightening trying to find my way around our neighborhood. It was my first time out and about by myself. I was nervous, but I found my way to a little store with the help of some local kids. I asked them if they knew where a market was. One little girl pointed the way, and then she asked me what Luke’s name was. I learned their names and told them thank you. They were very sweet to me and to Luke. I bought hummus and pita bread for lunch and went back home.
We left our apartment for dinner at around 6:00. We had our first real Egyptian taxi ride experience. (By the way, the taxis here have no meters, no seat belts, and no way to secure a car seat. Luke rides on my lap or next to me on the seat with my arm around him. I pray every time we get in a taxi.) That night, we got in the taxi and showed the driver the address. He nodded and drove off. After leaving our neighborhood, he made a turn, and Jason said that he thought the driver had gone the wrong way. About 100 yards later, the driver slowed down, leaned across Jason (who was in the front seat) and yelled out the passenger window at a person walking on the road. The guy answered, pointed, and our driver drove off in the direction the guy had pointed. Another 100 yards later, the same thing happened. Then the driver turned into a very residential area, which we knew was wrong. He slowed down, turned around, and drove back the way we came. He stopped and asked directions at least four more times. Mind you, the address we showed him was in Arabic, and on the back of that paper was a map—with the streets labeled in Arabic—and the cab ride should have been no longer than 10 minutes. Well, 20 minutes into the ride, the driver stopped the cab (in the middle of a busy street), got out, and walked into a store, presumably asking for directions. At that point, I told Jason we needed to get out of the cab and walk away. We did. We quickly crossed the street and found a different cab to take us to dinner. We were about 30 minutes late, but still in time to catch the end of the pre-dinner meeting that was happening when we got there. At that meeting we found out a rough schedule for the weekend, met some more new teachers, and had drinks. Luke made his first friend in Cairo, a little girl named Mayumi. She is the daughter of two other AIS teachers, Peter and Arni. She was so sweet to him, sharing her toys and reading him books. Jason also smoked his first (and hopefully last) shisha pipe with Peter. It is a water-filled steam pipe containing tobacco, molasses, and a flavoring such as apple.
We had dinner and then went over to Elyse’s apartment to shop her “garage sale.” Several teachers who left Cairo this year had things to sell, so we shopped and bought hangers, laundry baskets, kitchen items, and a chess set for Jason’s classroom. We returned to our apartment after 10:00 and put Luke to bed on a mattress on the floor in our room. (His air conditioner hadn’t arrived yet.) I worked in our apartment till midnight before giving up and going to bed.
*These blogs have been so lengthy! I promise after this first week’s worth of details, I will write more anecdotes and less like a diary of the day! I just want to give a good idea of what settling in here has been like.
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