Up and Running

All excuses are gone! Our internet is truly fixed now! Thanks to a wonderful guy named Mohamed Ibrahim, we have our dsl fixed, our phone lines fixed, and if we have any problems we can call him rather than go through the pain, hassle, and emotional stress of calling the internet provider we used before. I am not exaggerating when I call it emotionally stressful! When your link with the outside world (which has been paid for in advance!) doesn't work for 2 months, it's quite taxing.

El Hamdulillah - thanks be to God - We're online again!

All the things I'd blog if I could

Hi there! We are still experiencing internet difficulties--I won't go into it, but let's just say there have been tears, a visit to the internet company that involved me annoying them for two hours, and the decision to change internet providers, which will take up to THREE weeks. Some things in Egypt still shock me. Anyway. I'm on dialup, which is terribly slow, so I won't be posting pictures of anything for a while, though I have some great ones to post.

SO if you want a look at where we're living now, click on the link to Noel & Rachella's page at the left. They moved with us to the same building, and they've posted a lot of great pictures of our building, neighborhood, and favorite places to visit. There are way more pictures than I'll have the patience to upload, so don't miss it! I will put pictures of the inside of our apt up as soon as I'm connected again.

Tonight we're going to see the Sufi dancers--the whirling dervishes--I'm so excited. It's supposed to be really neat to see. Hopefully there will be pictures of that on here soon, too! (In the meantime, I'm sure Noel will take some great ones and add them to his page...just check it in a few days.)

Love to all--thanks for reading, keeping in touch, and posting comments! I do read them, though I can't reply directly to you--it means a lot!

A little bit L-A-Z-Y

So...it's Feburary...and I haven't written since before Christmas. Well, as Sharon Flood, one of my favorite people, used to say, I have been just a little bit L-A-Z-Y. So I am going to do my best to write a Cliffs Notes version of the last month and a half. It's going to be a bit random. Get ready!

We went to our church's Christmas program. It was wonderful--real live animals, a real baby, and a Joseph from Texas. There were also FOUR wise men, instead of three, Balthazar, Caspar, Melchior, and Ramses.

Before coming home we packed to move to our new apartment at the same time we packed to come home. Mustafa came and helped us move all our stuff in his taxi. We pretty much chucked it in one bedroom, locked the door, and hopped on the plane to Texas.

We had a wonderful, wonderful time at home. It began sort of badly, though, as Luke got really sick just as we boarded the plane from Cairo and then proceeded to cough his germs all over Jason and me. All three of us were sick the whole first week we were home! We made a big family joke out if it, though, and in our family Christmas picture we are all holding our various cough and cold remedies:

The week before Christmas was crammed with lots of "going around and doing stuff," from Cousins' Christmas to Chili Dog Night (which I unfortunately had to leave after only 30 minutes or so to take Luke back home) to the usual preparations for Christmas. I had come to Texas with an idea for a present for Luke, and I needed a lot of help from Santa and his woodworking workshop to accomplish the present. Luke had asked Santa for real keys. My little boy LOVES cars and anything that spins--always has--and he will literally stand and spin the steering wheel on the playground for thirty minutes without stopping. So my idea was to build him an easel-like dashboard with a steering wheel and ignition switch with real keys to put in it. I took my plans to Santa, and he made my idea even better. Santa built Luke a red Mustang car--just like his Granddad's--with a steering wheel, headlights and taillights, a license plate, gauges, etc. Santa worked and worked and worked on that Mustang, all the way up until bedtime on Christmas Eve. Luke must have been a really good boy!

Christmas morning was our usual joy-filled wrapping paper fest, made better than ever by the addition of Jenny to our Christmas morning festivities, and by Luke's thorough understanding of Santa and what happens after he goes to sleep on Christmas Eve. (He did seem a little afraid, however, that Santa was going to a) take the Christmas tree and b) scare him. Now that he's realized Santa brings him good stuff while he's ASLEEP, I think we will be okay from here on out.) This is Luke still sick on Christmas morning. I literally photoshopped the snot out of this picture so as not to gross you out.

The rest of our trip was filled with too-short visits with friends and other family members and lots and lots of good time with Mom, Daddy, Kari, Scott, and Jenny. The night before we left we all went bowling and had a great time--Kari even got a turkey! (3 strikes in a row--and I will spare Kari and not post the picture I took of her impersonating a turkey! :) Love you, Karo!)

Coming back to Cairo was so hard. My gosh, I have an amazing family, and it is physically painful to leave them. There is just a hole in my heart when I am not near them. Mom and Dad took us to the airport, we got inside with all our luggage, and I bawled unashamedly for the next 15-20 minutes. I had to pull it together because Luke was really worried--sometimes it is hard being a Mom and a daughter at the same time.

When we arrived in Cairo, our favorite cab driver Mustafa was waiting for us, but 2/3 of our luggage was not. We brought back 4 suitcases and 2 tubs this time, in addition to the carry ons. Two suitcases made it. I was so upset. The missing luggage had Luke's Mustang in it, and all of his other Christmas presents and new clothes, too. Fortunately, our luggage all arrived intact two days later.

We arrived around midnight, and Noel & Rachella had dinner all ready for us when we got in as well as breakfast the next morning. Can I just say we have the BEST friends?

We came home to our new apartment, which was still all packed up from the move. So I had two days to unpack everything before our luggage arrived and I had to unpack all of that. That actually was probably a good thing.

The new apartment is so wonderful. It is still an Egyptian apartment, which means nothing matches, the tile is god-awful, and there's some really...interesting...furniture in here. We are making the best we can of our furniture, rugs, and tile, and REALLY loving all the extra space. I have a whole room for my scrapbook/art stuff, which I snootily call "the studio". (If I were a real artist, it wouldn't be snooty, but since I mostly just pretend to be one, it's snooty.) I get to leave my scrapbook stuff set up all the time. The same room has a nice long coffee table in it that's perfect for Luke's trains. We keep a lot of his toys in that room so that he can play while I work on my scrapbooks or mess around on the computer.

It's been SUPER cold since we've been back, which means that it's been as low as the 30's-40's at night, with highs in the 50's-60's. I know that doesn't sound really cold, but please consider there's no central heat or air, and the buildings are made of concrete with no insulation. The cold just stays in the buildings even when it warms up outside, and there have literally been days that I've opened the windows to let the cold OUT! The last two days, however, have been SO beautiful. Yesterday I sat outside at CSA after my Arabic lessons and finished my book in the sunshine. It was really nice, and I felt like a lady of leisure! :)

I'm still working at the library two days a week, and really enjoying the work now that the software we've been waiting for is installed and I get to enter books into the system. It's very repetitive, detail-oriented work, but it's very satisfying to finish a section of books and know that we're making progress. Next year's librarian will have it easy! As for me, next year I will be teaching art to 3rd-5th grades. I am really looking forward to it. I think it will be a great spot for me, especially just getting back into teaching. I'll enjoy the art projects, and hopefully will not have the stress and paperwork that goes with being a regular classroom teacher. I am going to have to do some work over the summer to get my act together, though, because I will be starting from square one again!

Let's see...what else...we are going to spend spring break in Crete. We'll spend 2 days or so in Athens and then either fly or take a boat to Crete and spend a week in a timeshare place that is supposed to be good. I'm really looking forward to that.

And...
Our telephone is not working, so we are mooching internet off the Simons. We have nagged our landlord (who is really a good guy) to get this fixed, and he's been to the phone company four times now. Apparently all the rain in Cairo in the last several weeks has made many of the phone lines go out, so repairs are slow. Insha'allah, it will be fixed tomorrow.

Let me tell you about "Insha'allah." It means, "God willing." It is used in Egypt A LOT. "I'll see you tomorrow, Insha'allah." "I'll call the man, and he will fix it, Insha'allah." It is very frustrating for me to hear this phrase sometimes, because I sometimes think it's used in vain--to mean, "If I feel like it." I am trying to be more positive and look at it as a substitute for "hopefully" and not get so frustrated when people say it to me.

Well. Eric Cates, I hope this post satisfies you! ;) Thanks for the nudge. I will write more soon.

(Insha'allah.)

WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME??!!??

YOU PEOPLE! You've been reading this blog and you haven't told me there is strange code showing up in my posts! I use Firefox now instead of Explorer and I didn't know that when you open my blog in Explorer it has all sorts of funky jibberish every time there's a paragraph break! So I want to know why no one has pointed this out. Especially since I know there are a few faithful readers of this blog who also enjoy pointing out when I do something wrong! Scott....you there? :) What about you, Tiff? With your eye for detail and the fact that you know I am a perfectionist, are you telling me you haven't SEEN that? Thank you, Lela, for letting me know. I feel like I've been walking around with toilet paper on my shoe for the last 3 months.

Seriously, how embarrassing! I have just spent the last hour fixing it all. I should have been packing, but it would've annoyed me until I fixed it so it's done now.

Packing... Here's some big news...

We're moving! No. Not back home. We lucked into this wonderful apartment this week. We went and looked at it on Wednesday and signed the contract on Thursday. We will be living on the second floor, and Noel & Rachella took the apartment just below us. We will have a small yard for Luke to play in and an area he can ride a tricycle in. The apartment is about 3 or 4 times the size of the one we're in now, and in a much quieter location. There is some pretty hideous furniture in there, but we're learning to live with that. That's just Egypt. (See the previous pictures of our lovely blue and yellow living room furniture.) We will love being so close to the Simons, too. Anyway, we are very excited, and I am very busy packing both to move and to go home for Christmas! (And busy doing other things instead of packing. Like blogging.)

I will post pictures of the new apartment soon, but probably not till after Christmas. (There's a great big ol' King Tut rug in the front entry hall. Can't wait to show that off!)

So... Merry Christmas to all! Thanks for reading my blog and leaving comments or sending emails. Your encouragement and interest has kept me afloat these first four months as a stranger in a strange land. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a happy new year!

Everyone is Doing It

Go see ourselves as Elves!

It's a little disturbing to see your 2-year old's head on what is clearly a woman's body...but funny just the same!

Countdown!

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Jason’s Games

Jason’s softball games are so much fun. His team is made up of teachers from his school and mine. Luke often sits in the dugout with the guys and has become buddies with most of them. You’ll have to ask me to do my imitation of Luke greeting his softball buds next time you see me. He’s so cool and grown-up when he says hi to them.

Luke and I go to probably every other game, or every third game. They’re later at night sometimes, and I like Luke to be in bed by 8:00. I took some pictures and video this week at Jason’s last game. Jason was awesome. He was five for five at bat and scored three or four runs. He had a great game. I was so proud, and it was the perfect night to film.

When I’m Found in the Desert Place

A few weeks ago I was really depressed about being here. Christmas seemed really far away. Cairo seemed ugly. I was frustrated with everything being difficult. I kept seeing the potholes and mud puddles and dust and dirt of the street. I tend to watch the road ahead of me when I walk because I usually push the stroller and I don’t want Luke to bounce out when we hit a pothole. (It happened once when I forgot to buckle him in.) Therefore I end up looking at the dirt a LOT. I found myself thinking every day, “I want OUT of here.” I prayed about my frustrations. I know we’re here for a reason. I believe God will use us while we are here, but there are times that I still question why we are here. God said to me, “Look UP. See what I’ve made.” All around me were trees in full bloom—red flowers, pink flowers, yellow flowers. It was so beautiful. I’ve never seen trees like them. Beyond the trees I saw blue sky. Immediately my spirits lifted. Sure, it’s not the wide open skies of the Texas plains or the bright bluey purple of bluebonnets, but it was lovely. I am learning to interpret that “Look UP” in other ways, too. I almost always find myself depressed and down when my focus is on ME, my circumstances, my situation. When I shift my focus to the Lord, to the things and people he’s made, and to his command that I love them, things are easier. I still search for our purpose here, but along the way I’m enjoying the scenery. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Here’s a poinsettia tree growing outside Luke’s preschool.

Copyright

The entrance to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina children’s library is flanked by images of Disney characters. There is a Barney nursery school, a Bananas in Pajamas preschool, and this Simba Nursery on the next street over from us.

Celebrities also have their names and images used in vain over here. In Alexandria we saw a shop named Demi Moore Clothing. The gym next to our house uses Drew Barrymore’s image on their sign. Wonder if she knows.

Everyday Stuff

Koshari: This is the only Egyptian cuisine that is truly Egyptian. All their other traditional dishes have been borrowed from other cultures (at least that is what I’ve been told). It is a mixture of spaghetti noodles or some other pasta, macaroni, rice, lentils, chickpeas, and tomato sauce. Most people who try it think it is delicious. I think koshari looks like the stuff that collects in the sink when you handwash dishes after a big meal. Absolutely disgusting, therefore I refuse to try it.

Fuul is a staple of Egyptian cuisine. You can order fuul with garlic, fuul with corn oil, fuul with tahina, and probably a number of other ways. I’ve had it with garlic (which was just beans with sautéed garlic and not my favorite) and with corn oil, which tasted like refried beans. There is a guy who goes up and down our street in the mornings and at lunchtime yelling. Initially it sounded like “FORE!” or “All aboard!” to me. It drove me nuts because I knew it was the same guy every day but I couldn’t figure out what he was yelling. I decided to find out one day and sort of chased him down when I heard him. Turns out he sells fuul from a cart. He’s got this huge metal jug of it on his cart and when someone wants some he ladles it into a plastic bag and hands it to them. Probably costs 20 cents for one bag. He’s yelling “FUUL!”

The other day a friend asked if Cairo smells bad. Initially my answer is no, but I think that’s because I’m used to the smells. It smells like exhaust a lot. I don’t notice it much when I’m out walking unless a car drives by and I smell it, but when I picked Luke up the other day and smelled his hair it smelled like diesel fumes. We have some new neighbors who smell when you get close to them, too. Here they are:

Yes, there’s actually a small herd? of goats living across the street from us. I am guessing that they’re there in preparation for the big feast coming up this month.

Here are some of the people and things we see each day:

If you look back at the early pictures of our apartment you can see the big canister of gas under our sink. This is what powers my oven and stove. When it runs out (like it did while I was cooking pizza two weeks ago) you can ask the bawa’ab for a new one. He brings it in and takes the other one away. Jason hooked the new one up. The new bottle cost $1. Every morning and afternoon trucks loaded with the bottles (called “butagas”, I assume for butane gas) go up and down the street. The men riding the truck bang on the bottles with a wrench to let everyone know they’re around in case anyone needs the butagas.

Cats are everywhere, as I’ve already said in an earlier post. These were sleeping in the median on our way home today, all cuddled up and cute.

We saw this one in Alexandria. I was afraid this was going to be a very sad picture at first, but then I realized the cat was just asleep in the trash.

This is a bawa’ab who lives about three buildings down from us. He always smiles happily and speaks to Luke. He has a little daughter or granddaughter (probably daughter) who sits outside with him a lot, and who comes and kisses Luke and tries to speak to him. She’s the one on the right. Do you see the dark spot on the center of the man’s forehead? That is a callus that many Muslim men get because they pray so many times a day with their heads on their rugs.

This is another man I meet nearly every day on the street. He is very old—probably in his seventies, I’m guessing—and I think he may have Parkinson’s. He has tremors in his arm. I am not sure if he has a home, but he always asks for money. I usually turn these people away, but there is something about this man that speaks to me. I give him a little bit every now and then. I gave him a pound for letting me take his picture today, which is the equivalent to about 20 cents, but might be able to buy his fuul for the day.

Luke enjoys playing with the bawa’ab’s children. Sometimes they come in to play in our living room with Luke’s toys. I’m not sure they have any toys of their own. I know they have school books and a ball, but other than that I’ve never seen them playing with anything. I want to bring some toys back for them at Christmas. I think there are 4 girls and 2 boys in the family. Two of the younger children play with Luke. Here is a picture of Mohamed and Yasmeen keeping Luke entertained.

I used to shop for groceries once a month at home. I’d make a trip back halfway through the month for milk and fruit, but other than that I was set. Here I go at least once a week, and most weeks two or three times. This is one of our grocery stores, Miriam Market. It sells quite a few American products, but some of them are really expensive.

This is our other grocery store, Seoudi, where I do most of the shopping. They deliver my groceries within an hour. Luke calls Seoudi “the green market.” Miriam is “the blue market.”