One Month In....

We arrived in Cairo exactly one month ago today. To celebrate, I made chocolate chip cookies for dessert with the Nestle Toll House morsels I brought from home. We sat together at dinner and reflected on our first month here. Or, rather, Jason asked me what I thought after one month. We haven’t gotten to his end of the conversation because we were too busy trying to get Luke to swallow his food!

Well, here’s what I think after one month: (and in my original composition, these were bullet points, but the blog text editor won't let me bullet, so they look like random paragraphs with no flow--think bullets! not disorganized writing!)

I am not as homesick as I thought I would be. This doesn’t mean that I don’t miss my family, my friends, and the great state of Texas. What I mean is that my settling-in experience here has gone more smoothly than I expected. We have a good group of friends already. I am adjusting to shopping here, cooking here, getting around, and feeling comfortable in this foreign land. I have transitioned much easier than I did when we moved to Hong Kong. I think having done all this before helps, but so does faithfully taking antidepressants! On that note, I also think the medicine numbs me emotionally. I think I have cried less than a “normal” (read: unmedicated) girl who has left home and family would cry. Sometimes this fact bothers me.

I feel more contented with life than I thought I would. We have lots of time together as a family, and even though we’ve been busy every weekend, we’ve been busy together.

I love walking everywhere. I have not driven a car in a month, and I couldn’t be happier about that! I feel satisfied about getting places with my own horsepower.

I enjoy watching Luke recognize familiar places and landmarks, the same way he did at home.

Planning meals and shopping for groceries challenges me in a different way than it did back home, but once I check out at the grocery store, the delivery man brings my groceries home for me and drops them off in my kitchen! Although we’ve sacrificed a lot of the conveniences of home, there are definitely trade-offs like this one.

Being out in Egypt feels safer than being out at home. I don’t worry about traffic accidents (which is surprising considering how people drive here—more on that in another post); I don’t worry about my house being broken into or being attacked on the street; I don’t really worry much at all. That said, our apartment door locks automatically, I remain alert and aware of my surroundings when I walk, and I’m ever-protective of my precious Luke!

We have found a church home that I think we’ll really enjoy. It’s nondenominational, and truly international. The pastoral staff comes from the UK, Canada, and Texas. The worship team includes a percussionist from Africa who wears his brightly colored African garb and yips and goes “hoo-woo-woo-woo” (like an Indian in the movies) when the Spirit moves him! Some of that takes some getting used to, but it’s really amazing to think about how this church must reflect how we will worship in heaven. Every tongue, tribe, and nation will worship the Lord together! The church is pretty large, and is well-established (60 years, I think) in Ma’adi. They have an extensive network of cell groups (small group Bible studies with a name that seems a little alarming in this part of the world!) that meet each week. We’re not in one yet, but we plan to join one soon.

Things here take FOREVER to get done. We finally got our DSL connection YESTERDAY. And, that was quick compared to what we were told to expect!

Ma’adi is definitely the best place for us to live in Cairo. The standards of dress are a bit more relaxed here than in other parts of the city, and the Egyptians who live here are more western in their thinking than those who live elsewhere. I anticipated being cat-called and possibly groped, and other than one or two whistles and hisses, I’ve had no problems. They do hiss a lot while I’m out walking, but when I look to see who’s hissing, they’re looking at Luke, trying to get his attention.

Luke has adapted incredibly well. He enjoys the new and different sights and sounds. We finally have a playground to take him to. The one I heard about our first week here has been updated, and it’s great now! It’s located at the softball fields where Jason plays, so we go watch his games and also let Luke play on the playground. The one thing I complain about in regard to Luke is that I have not found a good network of at-home moms with kids his age. He has become very attached to me and shows no interest in interacting with other children. Last week at church he cried the entire hour we were in worship and did not play with the children at all. To help with this, we’ve enrolled him in a preschool three mornings a week. I still feel like I get lots of good Mommy and Luke time, but I also feel he’s got an opportunity to be independent and learn to relate to people his own age. I’m happy with the method of instruction used at the school. The lessons seem well-planned and fun. The teachers speak English fluently, the school is clean, and the kids seem happy! The children participate in Arabic class twice a week, too.

I never thought I’d put Luke in a preschool. In fact, I was fairly certain I wouldn’t put him in any sort of school until kindergarten. Things here are different, though—there are not wide, open, green spaces to play in or nearly as many kid-centered things to do as there are at home. In Texas, we were at church twice a week and at Bible study Wednesday mornings, so I felt like Luke had plenty of opportunities to be with other kids (and without me). I feel surprisingly okay with preschool, though. It’s like everything else about this move—not necessarily what I planned, but seemingly right.

The Egyptian people are wonderful. They are kind, welcoming, and they LOVE my little boy. Luke has had to adjust to being kissed and patted quite frequently by total strangers. He usually puts up with it pretty well, but he occasionally acts like a grouch. I do NOT blame him!

I get tired of the dirt. Luke’s feet are perpetually filthy (see the picture! That one's for you, Tiffany!), even if I put shoes on him at home, put him in the stroller, and do not get him out the whole time we’re out. Our shoes track in dirt and dust, and even though we remove them when we come inside, the floors get dirty too quickly. I also TOTALLY miss my disposal, vegetable sprayer, and dishwasher.

There are still times I think, “What have I done?” but those are much rarer than I thought they’d be. They usually happen when when I’ve been to three grocery stores looking for something I can’t find. Or when I’m dealing with yet another problem with our poorly made shower faucet. Or waiting 3 hours for our washing machine to finish a load of clothes. Or when it’s 100 degrees and I am walking head-on into the middle of a busy intersection full of honking taxis, pushing a stroller, and trying to avoid the pack of wild dogs that is also crossing the intersection with me. Sometimes I just shake my head in disbelief that I live this life.

I miss my family and friends, and getting to be involved in your lives. Although I do enjoy living here, I am still counting the days until we go home for Christmas (91 to go), and I did think “One month down, 23 to go!” today. I felt the same way at this point in Hong Kong, but even more so—and then I cried and cried when we left!

Those readers who are Tolkein fans may remember this line, which Sam said to Frodo: “I wonder what sort of tale we’ve fallen into?” I know exactly how he felt—I know there’s a larger story here, but I am not the author of this tale. I feel privileged to be a part of it, and I’ve enjoyed this first chapter of our life in Cairo.