Summer

The summer has been pleasant in Maadi. There have been two days only that were really hot (115+). The rest have been ok. I continue to walk everywhere despite the advice of my friends to get a driver. It just seems like it is more hassel than it is worth. We have found a couple of grocery stores that are clean and have a nice selection (metro in new maadi, Alfa and Saoodi occasionally), but when you find an a store that has something you like...you tell all your friends! My friend was looking for whole oatmeal and regularly adds it to her smoothies. She flies it in with her whenever she travels. I found some in my small local store and immediately sent her an email. As soon as she got into town she ran over to the sore and bought their 6 boxes. Things will be here one day and then gone the next!

We took a trip to Dahabe in the Sinai and I have never seen such amazing colors of water and fish in my life! We stayed at Le Meridian and it was lovely. The town was quaint with a boardwalk lined with restaraunts built on the water and tiny stores filled with colorful local goodies. We had dinner in the town one night after being talked into one of the local restaraunts by the people who stand outside to tell you how wonderful their food is prepared! You could feed the lion fish from your seat and we were able to see the moon play on the water! At the hotel we rented snorkeling gear and we took Ryanna snorkeling. She loved it! We saw so many fish of all shapes, sizes and colors. I saw one that looked like an eel that was a fish, there were Nemo's, parrot fish, lion fish (which look like they have feathers as fins and are very poisonous), sea urchins and minnows in a plethora of undescribable colors. They had 7 pools and Zayna learned to use the mask and snorkel and was very happy with herself spying on people in the pool. Her skin was bothering her so she didn't swim alot in the salt water.

Taissir biked with a friend to Mt. Katherine and we picked him up by the monastery. The colors of the desert were fantastic. There were sand dunes, wild camels that we spotted on the road and crossing the desert and bedouin villages consisting of 6 or more shacks in the desert. There wer goats being hereded on the side of the road and the rocks changed from red to blue to green, every color of yellow, brown and gold you could imagine. It was truly a painted desert. We did not stop at the monastery as we were not so interested and ran out of time (beach was calling), however we would like to go back to hike Mt. Sinai (where Moses received the 10 commandments). It is supposed to amazing at dawn. We all truly relaxed on that trip and had a needed getaway from Cairo.

I have started a truck photo collection by accident as I am continously amazed at how high a truck can be piled here! The road trip out to Dahab did not dissapoint in this department. We were also stuck at the Suez canal tunnel for about an hour in each direction. The roadway leading up to the tunnel was not designed well and traffic goes from 6 "lanes" to one. Understand that the lanes are sometimes created by riding in the lanes opposite to traffic!

We are now in Lebanon enjoying the mountains, sea and family. We spent all day yesterday swimming in the Med. Sea and we had a great time with my neice and nephew. In the morning, Taissir and I are headed to Spain and France with our friends to catch a stage of the Tour de France and enjoy the area. Can't wait!! More to come......

My Egypt Adventure by Zayna

There are many things I like about Egypt. There are cats all over the streets in Cairo. We saw a tiny baby cat. It is gray and white. A pipe broke and we had a flood in our house. We live in an apartment. We have a friend on floor one. Her name is Zayna and she is ten. We have a school bigger than ours in the USA. For PE we have swimming. There are trash trucks everywhere. It was just a little truck with trash bags piled to the top. We have a Red Sea in Cairo and there are boats like clear boats, banana boats, motor boats and especially white boats.

They have air conditioners too. It is different because they are a rectangle. They have delivery motorcycles. There is a box in the back where they put the food. They have belly dancing too. I am having a great time in Egypt. THE END.

By Zayna

Biking, local market and day palace

I went on my second bike ride in Cairo yesterday. We routinely ride on a highway for at least two miles both ways. That one is a little scary as we are riding on the actual highway like a car not on the shoulder (those are for the crazy taxi buses that stop whenever they want). But kind of fun at the same time. It is only on Friday morning so the streets are not crowded. If this was a week day I would never dream of riding on the Ring Road. We also routinely ride through water puddles. The bo-abs (the guardians of the apartments) are responsible for daily washings of the cars that belong to the apartments in their respective buildings. This leaves alot of water puddles on the streets for me to bike through. We come back polka dotted from the mud/water sprays....at least we are hoping it is only water...heehee!

I rode through sand, gravel, a broken light bulb and I have been chased by one dog pack. The dogs seem to chase us for sport and only stay in their imaginary walls. They will not bite or attack, just chasing us down for fun. I pass alot of kids on the road sides that cheer you on and say "Hello, hello, hello!"". I have never felt like a super athlete until I biked in Cairo. Every one cheers you on from the cars to the semis to the kids on the street. I really feel like Lance or at least someone semi-famous! Yesterday we were stopped for a snack/regrouping break and two young guys pulled over and asked to take pictures with us. I really felt like a celebrity.

The people are very kind and I never feel threatned or unsafe in the city. Maybe nervous because I don't know where I am going, but I never feel unsafe. All in all, I am thrilled to be riding and wish I could be doing it more. The people riding are fantastic. There are several teachers and many people from the oil industry. That seems to bring the most expats to our world in Maadi. On our rides, I met people from Hungary, Italy, France, Canada, Japan, Italy and the US. How cool is that???

We traveled to Katamiya yesterday and it was lovely. They have a modern clubhouse/golf/swimming club. The kids had fun swimming and we met some great people. It was nice to be in a clean environment away from the hubbub and pollution of the city. We biked there in the morning and the view was quite different from the road. The homes are 3 stories high and have elaborate and sometimes gaudy facades. I hear you can get much more for your money in these areas, but you do not have the convenience of living in Maadi. Everything is here and is in walking distance. The bike rides all start from here and so do the running groups. The school is close by and most shops that you need are here also.

Zayna and I took a tour with our Arabic teacher to the local suq on road 7. There were rows upon rows of fruits, vegetables, spices, bread, large spotted ducks with red beaks, pigeons and rabbits. We drank fresh sugar cane juic and fresh coconut juice. It was about $.30 and you pay an extra ten cents to have the man wash the glass well in front of you. Then you get a glass of fresh juice and return the cup when you are done. Zayna got a natural sponge that was about one foot long and cost about a dollar and a quarter. I bought the most wonderful cinnamon for $.75. The man scooped it out of a wooden drawer and put it in a bag for me. I also bought a large bag of sesame seeds for entire $.75. There was some great fish and some shrimp, but the fish was the best. The shrimp was flown in from Vietnam as this is not the right season for it here.

Zayna and I also went to a prince's day palace in Zamalek. It's now a pottery museum. To me the palace was more interesting than the pottery. There was fantastic islamic art carvings and ornate tiles all over the walls. There was a trough of stone around the walls to hold cold water. This acted as natural air conditioning. There was a 30 foot stone dining room table that had a built up trough to keep hot water in. The food was then placed on top and it kept it warm. Next door was the real palace that was bought out and converted into a Marriot. I wondered if the guests staying there knew that the lobby was an old palace! Then we went to a pottery school were we watched pottery being made every step of the way. They were truly artists! One man had a dream and did not want to let this fantastic art die, so he created the school. Children often start learning the trade at the age of ten. We have so many things that are computer/factory made or that are made in China, it was nice to see people using their hands! The potter also spun the wheel with his foot by kicking another wheel underneath the other on the ground! It was all very interesting. All for now.....-Dawn

Ok,I drove in Cairo! For any of you who have not been to Cairo or the Middle East, let me just describe the driving for you. The rules are there are no rules. Lane lines mean nothing. Honking is for awareness to let people know you are there or just because. Random donkeys, trucks piled over 10 feet high from the truck bed and people crossing eight lane highways are the norm! I couldn't figure what was piled up so high on a truck on the highway, so I was squinting at night to try and discover what was on the roof of the truck....it was two guys sitting on top with their feet on top of whatever was in the truck bed! They were going at least 50 mph on the highway and had some pillows set up for their bottoms. Travel in style!!!
Taisssir was doing a dance in the car pressing on his pretend brake and sliding left and right to avoid whatever he thought I was going to run into (but didn't!!). Parking is a challenge.

I drove to Carrefour (our Walmart and it also has our local mall). We had dinner at Chilli's...need a little US flavor every once in a while and then on to shopping. Taissir had to buy a netbook as his busted. Zayna spent some of her own money to buy some dolls and Ryanna had her first shopping spree at the mall with birthday money. What a grown up girl we have!! I bought some natural cream for Zayna and a cotton Egyptian robe for me.

We are headed to the store to get some cake mix for cupcakes (as I did bring cupcake pans). Ryanna's birthday will be small, but we are planning to venture to the Red Sea in the am and hang out at the beach while we are there. The weather is beautiful, so I can't wait for that. Ok, off to walk to our local market that is about the size of a Quik Mart, but STUFFED full of things on every inch of space up to the ceiling. Aisles are narrow, so you can't walk through with a large purse on your shoulder. I have gone back to college days and carry my school ID (CAC - the girl's school), some money and my phone on a little carrier with my keys. Alot easier than lugging around a purse or backpack.

We are all happy to be done with intestinal challenges....and there have been many!! I have never focussed on BMs so much for the whole family since the girls were babies!! Ewww! Hopefully enough of that for a while! All for now...more later! -Dawn

we saw lots of cats. they are always on the streets every where in shops and some times they come and pay our apartment a visit. the cats can go where ever they want when they want. most of the cats are on the streets and if one shop feeds the cats they all come to the one shop and stay there infront of the window until someone in the shop gives them food. the people who live here ussually leave thier trash outside so the cats find food there if they cannot get any from the shops. when i once went out side of our apartment I saw a fat cat lying on his back ontop of a piece off card board. it was funny.in my school they own some cats and if they have short tails you can pet them. like I said before the cats are everywhere. the cats always eat our trash infront of our apartment door. even if we tie the bags really tight they still manage to get our left overs by tearing the bag. once the cat was on our stairwell and zayna and I were infront of the cat and mom and dad were behind the cat. usually the cat would run to the oppisite direction we were in but we had the cat cornered. So eventually the cat darted up the stairs so fast I could barely see him this was also funny! on the subway on our stret a mother cat and he r two kittens come out of thier hiding and beg for food at the door and eventually they gotsome food. zayna wants to get those cats food so we are looking for cat food all over.but the cats are not the only creatures that roam around cairo............



the dogs are also every where when my dad goes on bike rides he said that they always chase him down the hill and he told me that his friend once ran over a dog and he made chicken noises and then the dog went away.but that did not stop the dogs from chasing them. the dogs seem to be partly nocturnal. you can se some of the dogs in the daytime but you can see most of tem at night. they come in packs from 4 to 30 dogs in each. once I saw a dog alone in the day and almost an entire donut was in the trash. the dog walked right up and took the donut. it was funny.the dog was skinny so sh e probabbly needed the food. that is some things about the dogs of cairo.



the blogger-Ryanna

Wow! What a week! Zayna started with her sickness and then Ryanna got it, followed by Taissir and now of course me. We found a doctor for the kids...the ones we were referred to from our insurance were either far away or had an appointment for the next day. This was a friend of one of the chiropracter friends Taissir rides with. She actually drove out to his office from hers (which was probably 20 minutes away) and looked at Zayna there! What service!

Ryanna had a good week at school. It so cool just to listen to all the languages that are around you when I am waiting there. I heard Russian, Italian, German, British, Phillipino, Arabic and American all in a matter of 5 minutes. What an experience for the girls to be exposed to all of this. The school is AMAZING! I can't imagine what else you could want from a school. Ryanna has a huge choice of afterschool activities that are included in tuition. She signed up for Pottery and origami. She is interested in swim team, but it was a little too late to sign up. Will have to wait for next school year on that one. However, they do have swimming in PE soon. I think it was a little bit of a transition for her, but it seems to be going well now. She also missed her second day from her sickness. The third day she was able to go on a field trip to an underpriveleged school in Cairo. The kids there make carpets to make money for the school and I am taking knotting one knot at a time rug making. They also do woodworking and jewelry making to sell. Can you imagine a 5 year old making rugs to help pay for her education? Evidently CAC (Ryanna's school) helps out with this school as much as possible.

Zayna was hit the worst by the illness and she broke out in spots on her poor little face. It was challenging to get in all her school work, but we did most of the things we should have done. She has been pretty patient with me, but she gets soo bored at "recess". I think I am going to see if I can find some jump ropes or hula hoops to help with the boredom. She really likes the stray cats all over the streets and wants to get some cat food to feed them as we walk. We will hopefully get to that this weekend. We are able to go to the school to play on the playground after school and I have been trying to get Zayna there as much as possible so she can get some energy out! Hopefully we can sign her up for bellydance lessons this week at the CSA (our local communtiy center and where I will be teaching).

We had a maid last week come to clean and she told us that a strip in the kitchen shocks you every time you touch it, so have to get that fixed! Luckily we never are where it is located. We also had an Arabic tutor come to the house. She is very good, but I have a lot to learn and Ryanna is out learning me! She also has it 3x/week in school. I am excited to learn though!

I have no cookbooks and a bare minimum kitchen so cooking has been challenging. Waiting on the shipment! Had a fast food meal of spicy kafta( kind of like ground lamb mixed with spices rolled into a log). Yummo!!! It cost $7 for 4 sandwiches and the delivery charge. This would have easily cost $30 in the US just for the sandwiches without the delivery charge. Have made a couple of meals, but think I will make some lentils and rice today. Can't find ground cinnamon. Only sticks. They use it for meats here not pastries. Want some for pancakes, but may have to grind my own. No grinder yet, waiting on shipment.

Need to get another phone cord so we can have our two phones working at the same time (US and Egypt landline). Hopefully today. For those of you who have tried to call, soryy...it will be working soon much better. Thank god for Vonage. It has been a lifesaver to have a US line. We called the insurance with it and also Taissir's computer crashed, so he had to call US to try and get it fixed. He may have to fly to Abu Dabi to get another one!! Crazy! Taissir has been biking alot early at 4:30 in the morning with the dogs!! He bikes with a teacher from the CAC, a Canadian chiropractor, embassy employees and many others. I was supposed to go on my first ride today, but still feverish and achy. Next time.

The trash trucks are amazing! They are small, like the smallest trucks that are made. Then they have wooden panels that are about two feet high on the sides (and those look they are barely on there). They pile the trash about 4 feet higher than the truck! I am not sure how it all stays on there! For those of you that are old enough to remember Frogger, the arcade game, that is what I feel like when we cross the street here. If you don't jump out in front of cars you will never make it across. We all have to learn how to be street smart for sure! Honking is part of life here. Everyone honks their horn here for no particular reason. Also they drive in no particular lane. Headlights are optional at night and some people get angry if you have them on as it "hurts" their eyes. They will turn them on as needed and then turn them off again! Wild! -Dawn

We are all here!

Ok, we all flew over and arrived on April 5th. We flew through Easter and my birthday, but we made it and the trip was relatively uneventful. We had 5 suitcases 9 boxes and two car seats. Whew! Taissir did a great job organizing everything once we arrived at Cairo airport. We had to buy visas at the airport from one of the several banks located inside. Then we collected our bags....let me rephrase that....Taissir paid a guy to grab our bags and he was climbing on the belt to pull ours out. Once we had them stacked we took them out to the mini bus and they would not all fit. After six guys deliberated for about 20 minutes, it was decided to get another station wagon taxi for the boxes. I wish I took a picture of that small station wagon strapped down with 9 boxes. It looked like a Benny Hill show. One box was sooo smooshed that it was jelly bean shaped! The girls were so tired that they both just started crying in the airport, so I sat with them in the van and just let them rest. Needless to say, we went to bed at 4:30am that night.

The apratment is great 4 bedrooms and 3 baths. It has two large living rooms, a dining room and two balconies (one small and one large).

We set Ryanna up with school she will start Sunday (the start of the work week here). We are going to try out some street dance classes on Sunday for the girls and we have an Arabic tutor lined up for the girls and me on Monday. I have already been to the CSA (the local community center) to get info for Zayna and me about tours for field trips. We are homeschooling for two months. I also contacted the local Pilates studio here and I will be starting work April 18th. I will be teaching 2 nights/week for now.

In the summer everyone leaves and we will probably be gone for a large portion. We are planning to spend a month in Lebanon and a short trip for Taissir and me for the Tour de France. Our hopes are to go to Barcelona and try to catch a couple of stages.

The dust here is AMAZING! I tried to clean the apartment once, then took my realtor's advice and hired a cleaning lady. I have to say...it is nice. The desert here is rocks and dirt...that's it! There are no plants so you can imagine the dust flys! Where we live in Maadi had quite a lot of foliage. It is very well established and there are large, old trees. Walking is an adventure and we have to constantly be aware of the cars. We have to learn to jump out in front of cars to cross the street and if you don't, you will never make it across! The sidewalks are sporadic and bumpy, most people walk in the road. Even though there is dust everywhere, we find the culture VERY clean. Everyone keeps themself clean and the sidewalks and store fronts are constantly being swept and mopped down. Pollution is a challenge both noise and smog. However, I feel like my allergies are better here than they were in AZ. Taissir feels the same. I also don't feel the smog like I did when we were downtown or closer to the Nile.

We have tried several restaraunts. I think our favorite it Fino so far. It is an Italian bakery that sells sandwiches and great salads. The feta cheese here is delicious and nothing like our feta, except that it is white. It is much softer and a very mild flavor. The Egyptian bread is thicker than Lebanese pita bread. It is thin on one side and a little fluffy on one side. The olives are also fantastic. The green ones are really fantastic and are a little spicy. Egyptians like spicy food and I am loving the spiciness! So far the falafel(tameeya) made with fava beans is one of my favorites. I also like the spicy eggplant which can be made into a sandwich.

Everything is deliverable....the drugstore, fancy restaraunts, fast food, or anything you can imagine. We had groceries delivered already when it was very late and we were exhausted. Something I could get used to for sure!!

City living definitely appeals to me. I love that we don't have to do any landscaping and we can walk everywhere! Everything is less than a half a mile away...the school, the CSA, grocery stores and restaraunts. Zayna is not feeling well today so we are laying low...perhaps we will go to the beach if she is up for the ride! I will keep you posted! -Dawn