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