Wednesday 28 November 2012

zamalek, chicken and a protest



Here is a map from our building to Zamalek. Sequoia is at the very tip of the little island.


We have started to count down the days until Brianna's arrival for Christmas. We are currently sitting at 17 .... so exciting!  (This photo was taken a few days ago. We really are updating it daily.)

Some puppies taking a nap along the side of the road.



This is the package on a frozen chicken we bought. LOL
You may have heard that last night - November 27th - there was a large gathering in Tahrir square. The school closed at 1:00. All the kids and teachers were home safe and sound. Actually, Becca went to a friends house for the afternoon and we went out for dinner with our friend Jason for his birthday. We watched tens of thousands of people pack the square on TV. When I saw a guy walking through the crowd selling bags of cotton candy I hoped that was a sign that everything was remaining peaceful. Becca was hoping for a day off school but that didn't happen. Everything was quiet. There was hardly a word mentioned about it on the news this morning. So ... everything carried on today as usual.

Next update ... Ain Sukhna .....

Tuesday 20 November 2012

A Birthday in Egypt



Birthday cell phone self portrait 
Wednesday the 14th of November was my 38th birthday. Although there was nothing special about the day, it was my first in a foreign country and that makes it memorable.
Ethan in his Galabeya
I’ve started spending my mornings at a preschool with 2 and 3 year olds. As I was walking there I was thinking that this was my first birthday outside in a t-shirt and bare feet seeing flowers and green leaves. The air was a pleasant 23 degrees with a high of 25. I spent the morning cutting, pasting, playing, singing, reading, dancing, cuddling, painting, colouring and wiping runny noses. Ethan wore his galabeya to school and I let the 2 year olds take a few photos with my point and shoot camera.  At 1:30 I went to costa coffee to pick up my new favourite coffee – a mocha with skim milk then headed home to relax.  At 4:30 I met Mike at Cilantro for another coffee. (Two in one day! What was this, my birthday?) At 5:30 we headed across the street to Deb’s place for drinks (Deb is a teacher at the school). She was trying out a new Egyptian wine and I really liked it! Becca met us there. She stayed after school to play tennis and took the late bus home. For dinner, we decided to try an Egyptian restaurant that was recommended to us by another teacher because it had a nice atmosphere where you can sit outside and order a beer. Unfortunately because the 14th was the eve of the Islamic New Year, no beer was being served. BOO   No drinks at the restaurant on my birthday. Disappointing.  I did have a very good meal with enough left over for lunch. Becca enjoyed hers. Mike wasn't especially excited about his meal and his body rejected it at about 3am. We won’t be going back there any time soon.

Thursday was a holiday! I lazed around the apartment catching up on some TV shows on-line. (specifically Parenthood, How I Met Your Mother and Modern Family) Mike wasn’t feeling the greatest and he had a pile of report cards to work on. By about 4:00 Becca and I decided we needed to get out of the apartment. I haven’t gone to a movie yet in Egypt so we decided to go out for dinner and a movie. “The Words” was playing at the Bandar Mall in Maada – fantastic. A movie at the closest theater to us in English and one that both Becca and I thought we’d like to see.    
The Bandar Mall isn't a real “mall”. It doesn't have stores. It has 2 restaurants, a café, an arcade, a kids center and 3 movie screens. One of the restaurants was a Chili’s that I was looking forward to trying. They advertise margaritas and I LOVE frozen strawberry margaritas so this was going to be my birthday drink.  We picked up a cab very quickly. We could have walked but because I’d never been there before and it was already dark at 5:15 we thought it best to take a cab. It cost all of 6LE to get there ($1). Becca and I were seated at a table right away at Chili’s. It was a nice atmosphere with lots of people around and music playing in the background. Our waiter was really nice, and as most waiters do here – he gave Becca a LOT of attention. Guess what? - they had the margarita mix but no alcohol. So I ended up with diet Pepsi.  Oh well – strike 2. Our food was delicious. 
Deep fried cheese with dip
Brownie with ice cream
Casadia with
rice and beans
After our meal we went upstairs to the movie. The movie theater was freezing. It was the coldest I've been here – even colder than the passenger waiting area in the Sharm el Sheikh airport. Movies in Egypt have 10 minute intermission. It gave us an opportunity to get a box of popcorn and warm up a little. The movie wasn't fantastic but I enjoyed being at a movie. Jeremy Irons was excellent – he was my favourite part.
On Friday Mike was feeling more human again. After a day of report card writing he was ready to get out. We booked a “driver” to go to the largest mall in Egypt, City Stars located in Heliopolis. Heliopolis is on the other side of Cairo. We read that this mall is super-sized with lots of selection and Becca was excited to go.
View of the front doors from the car window

Inside the mall
It took about 35 minutes to get there. The mall was as expected – huge, clean, expensive and full of Egyptians. We noticed very few expats, not nearly as many as we see in Maadi. Becca was happy to see stores like American Eagle (where she bought a shirt and scarf – NOT on sale) and H&M (where I found a top that was on sale). We ate dinner at Ruby Tuesdays (where there isn't any alcohol – Strike 3; I give up).  The mall was so big we spent most of our time just wandering around to see what was there. 

At Ruby Tuesdays
When we got home, the screen man came to put screen in our living room and dining room windows. The air is cool enough now to turn off the air conditioner and leave the windows open.  The screen is necessary to keep the flies out. Flies in Egypt stick to you. They’re awful. It's always a bit of a challenge when a worker comes to the apartment. They don't usually speak English. It's a good chance for me to put some of the Arabic I've been learning to use.  And if all else fails, we call the landlord who speaks English and he will talk to the worker.
Becca's favourite
homework spot
Saturday was Becca’s day to finish her homework. Mike and I bought some groceries and had them delivered.  My Arabic class is in the afternoon. (Saturdays from 4-8 until Christmas) Mike finished his report cards and Becca skyped with Brianna while she made supper. (Mashed potatoes might be her new specialty).
It was a nice weekend! Turning 38 wasn't painful at all. 


Report cards due on Sunday









And now for another side of reality:

Unfortunately we saw some of the dangers of Egypt in the past few weeks through events that happened to school staff. The school electrician was killed crossing the road. (Mike was told by a fellow teacher that 13 people a day are killed in Egypt trying to cross the road.) One of the young female hall monitors was hit by a molotov cocktail during a street fight. She was just an accidental victim in the wrong place at the wrong time but she now faces expensive plastic surgery. http://chemistry.about.com/od/firecombustionchemistry/a/molotovcocktail.htm

Saturday 3 November 2012

Eid in Dahab


Eid al-Adha – Feast of the Sacrifice - October 26 – 29 2012

This was on the side of road 119 on Oct 31/12 (leftovers?)

This Islamic holiday is observed by Muslims around the world in commemoration of the Prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his young and firstborn son in obedience to a command from God. Celebrations include the gathering of family and friends for meals, wearing new clothes and giving gifts. Observances include Eid Prayers, sacrificing a sheep, cow, goat, buffalo or camel in the name of God, giving away one-third of the meat to friends and neighbours and donating one-third or more of the meat to the poor and needy.
Because the school observes Muslim holidays, this meant a 5 day weekend for us and another opportunity to explore Egypt. We decided to go to a resort in Dahab on the Red Sea.  
There are two ways to get there from Cairo. We could take a 9 hour bus ride or a 1 hour flight. We chose the flight. A one hour flight actually turned into a 6 hour journey but it was still faster than a 9 hour bus ride.
ü  1 hour to the airport.
ü  2 hours sitting around waiting. The airport was very relaxed. We did go through a metal detector. They did check our passports. We did not have to take off our shoes or belts or take the laptop out of the bag. The security guard did ask us if we had a gun. That was about it. This was the first plane that Becca and I have ever boarded in the middle of a parking lot. The doors of the terminal open, you get on a bus, get off the bus in the parking lot and walk up the stairs to the airplane. Becca thought it was pretty neat …. Just like on TV.
ü  The flight was 1 hour. 
ü  1 hour to get off plane and secure a taxi. We were told that a taxi should cost us 250LE MAX and that the taxi drivers would try and get more from us. They were right. They started at 400LE. Mike was very calm and negotiated down to 250. I was very impressed.
ü  The cab ride through the desert mountains to the hotel was another hour.

A security guard with a rifle. Buses waiting to take us to our plane. Our hotel coming into view. Camels on the road!
The hotel, Daniela Village Hotel http://www.daniela-hotels.com/pages/dahab/, was very beautiful (for Egypt), all white against the blue water with the mountains in the back ground. Our “triple” room was as we expected – 3 single beds. It had air conditioning, a fridge, no TV, big windows and patio door.  The staff at the hotel should teach classes in hospitality. They were super friendly and anything we asked for was delivered to our door very quickly.  We arrived just in time for dinner. The hotel provides a buffet breakfast and dinner to all guests every day; a nice bonus.

The hotel at night. No Camel & Horse sign on the boardwalk in town. The view from the restaurant in town. Becca Boo!
Our hotel ran a shuttle bus to “town” which was just a few kilometers away. The shuttle didn’t leave until 9 at night and returned at 11. I suppose the lateness of this trip is a result of supper being served between 7 and 9 p.m. As we arrived at the tourist strip in town, what we were hoping would be a relaxing stroll along the boardwalk quickly deteriorated into a nightmarish pressure cooker. We had taken approximately 8 steps along the boardwalk when we met the first of many high pressure entrepreneurs attempting to get us to either buy one of their products or eat at their restaurant. They aren’t nearly as aggressive/intimidating as the folks at the pyramids but their determination and persistence is remarkable. These people really won’t take “no” for an answer.  In a way, it’s a nice change from many North American eateries where you sometimes feel like you’re doing them a favour by entering their restaurant. They could learn a great deal about customer service from the Egyptians.  Finally we decided to go in to one of the restaurants and have a drink but when we noticed that there were no alcoholic drinks on the menu we decided to leave. Our waiter (I don’t think we’ve seen even one waitress in Egypt) quickly had us sit back down and disappeared to another establishment and returned with our beer. They weren’t about to let a little thing like no liquor license get in the way of making a sale. 
Later on, the ladies in the group decided that they would purchase some Dahab pants (see picture)  but after at least half an hour of trying on pants and then trying to agree on a price, they left empty-handed. The talks between the NHL owners and the players’ association would pale in comparison to these pants negotiations. We did return the next day where the pants were purchased for the original asking price. Score one for the Egyptians. Mike decided he wanted to purchase a souvenir, something that really captured the essence of this great country, “the cradle of civilization”, with its marvellous history of Pharaohs and pyramids ---- so he bought a t-shirt with a picture of a camel smoking sheesha on it.

View of the hotel from the water. Our lounge chairs. Becca in the Red Sea. My view for most of the day.
Mike with his new friend - he named her Penelope. 

The next morning we got up bright and early for breakfast. They had a chocolate fountain! Becca and I had crepes with chocolate and an omelet. After breakfast – the moment I had been waiting for since we booked the trip – it was time to read my book while relaxing on a lounge chair on the beach wearing anything I wanted (bathing suit or shorts or a tank top – anything goes at the resort). Aaaahhhh ……… BLISS. It was a lovely relaxing day.


The hotel has about 10 resident cats who are very well fed thanks to patrons like Amanda. Becca on our patio.

On Saturday afternoon Becca was looking for something to do so Mike booked us on a 4-wheeling trip through the mountains to a Bedouin camp for tea. Becca was pretty excited about driving her own 4-wheeler. This was Mike’s 1st adventure on a 4-wheeler.  It was fun and I’m so glad we did it. When we got back, Mike and I went for a swim and I ordered my very first swim-up bar cocktail. It was delicious!

View of Dahab from above. Becca and Mike with their 4-wheelers. Camels resting on the mountain path. 

Lizard at the Bedouin camp. Our guide thought it would be funny to put it on our heads. A sandy beach section ..
... to bad it was dark. Becca returning to the hotel with the guide on a motorcycle after returning her 4-wheeler.
Sunday was another relaxing day on the beach. Unfortunately it was very windy and the glass bottom boat we wanted to go on to see the reef and fish and such was delayed so we couldn’t take it. We should have taken advantage of snorkeling off the shore on Saturday morning … oh well …



We made it home safe and sound late Sunday evening.  I read the final page of my book (The Friends of Meager Fortune) as the plane touched down.