Ummm.... what did you say?

Today was payday... which is always a good thing! But then my day got confusing and I decided I need to learn Arabic at a much faster rate than I am currently learning it. I stopped by a small shop to buy some water after school and saw my bowab, Muhamed. I figured out that he was offering to carry my bag back to the apartment for me in Arabic. I declined, saying that I had my school bag to put it in, but shokran! And I went on my merry way. I wasn't home for 2 minutes when I heard the doorbell ring. It was a lady who didn't speak ANY English. And my Arabic skills are not amazing. But I figured out she was telling me to call the housing guy from the school. So I did. And he didn't answer. So I called my saving grace "M" who always offers to translate for me. Luckily he was available and talked to the lady. She was there to collect the monthly fee that goes to the bowab. So I payed her. In my mind I was thinking "wow... they really collect their money at the end of the month."

About two seconds after she leaves my door, the bowab and the meter reader come to my apartment. The meter reader sees how much electricity you've been using somehow. I don't really understand it all. I should take a moment here to explain that in Egypt, no one sends you bills in the mail. They come to you door to collect their money. It's quite strange. So I invite them in and the guy goes to read my meter (whatever that is). And again, they're telling me to call the housing guy. So I call him, and he answers! I explain to him in English what's going on, and he talks to my bowab in Arabic, and Muhamed gives me the phone back. My housing guy tells me to pay the electricity with the money the school already gave me. Since I haven't been living here during the summer, the school already gave me money to cover the electric bill. So, I give the guy his money, ask politely for a receipt, and they leave. Wow, I really need to learn more Arabic! And they will really come to your door on the last day of the month to collect their money. Luckily it was payday.

I went out with some friends to the ACE Club and came home to a pleasant surprise! My sister, nephews, and niece were at my parents house and we could Skype. It made me so happy to be able to see and talk to them. Even Chloe said "Hi Sa" to me because she can't fully say my name and she waved and smiled. My biggest fear (Ok, one of my fears about moving here) was that Chloe and Jackson would forget who I am because they're so young. And two years is a long time to be away. But so far, Chloe and I still seem to be "besties" (as I call us, and she laughs), and Jackson still is my little man. Mathew and Marshal asked me questions about Egypt and we talked about school starting soon for them. They wish they lived here because school is always postponed! Typical.

Then my doorbell rang again when I was Skyping with them. I answered it. This time it was a Chinese woman. I can speak Spanish and English. I can barely get by with Arabic, and I certainly can't speak Chinese. I just kept looking at her and shrugging and she was asking me a question. Then she pulled out of her bag the ugliest dress/nightgown thing I had ever seen like she was asking if it was mine. I probably had a disgusted look on my face and just shook my head. I said thank you and closed the door. But seriously, I don't know who would ever wear that. Hopefully she wasn't trying to sell it to me.

2 more days until vacation!

One Week!

Is it bad that I will be on vacation one week from today and I haven't even started teaching yet? I'm going to say that it's not because I have been in inservice for three weeks! I am so excited for vacation! One week from today I will be in beautiful Dahab on the Sinai Peninsula. I'll be there for four days laying on the beach, snorkeling, relaxing, and taking in the sun. It will be perfect! I think it will be nice to get away from the city for a while (even though I've only been here for 3 weeks)... but it gets tiring hearing traffic all the time and dogs barking and people yelling and everything 24/7. The only downside of the trip is that it's a 7 hour bus ride, but luckily it's with people that I know and like. We're also coming back on my birthday (September 10 for anyone that still needs to send me a gift, haha!)... which means I'll be sitting on a bus for 7 hours on the glorious day that I turn 24 in Cairo. But I've already made everyone promise that no matter how tired we are, we WILL be going out to celebrate that night. And they agreed. What choice did they have?

My Egyptian life was made a lot better today by a few events. First, I had Mexican food! I adore Mexican food and can't live without it, and realized that there's a Mexican restaurant about 15 minutes away from my house. I love Maadi. Next, I went to a house where a couple lives who works at the school. They had a bunch of stuff left over from someone who left last year to move back home. This was perfect for me because they offered to give me whatever I needed! It's really difficult moving to a foreign country and not having a lot of kitchen supplies for example and learning where to go buy everything and also not having a ton of money to buy stuff. So I took everything! I now have more glasses, a strainer, picture frames, towels, sheets, and a blow dryer!! I have been living with NO hair supplies since I got here. I also lived without a fingernail clipper for 2 weeks. Gross, right? So I was pumped! It was so much stuff that I couldn't carry it all back to my house today... I'm getting the rest tomorrow.

One last thing made me have a nice day. I hung up pictures of my friends and family in my apartment. I am slowly working on making my apartment more home-y. I figure I better try since I am going to be here for 2 years. It made me so happy to be able to look around and see pictures of the people I love! I also have the pictures of playwrights on my wall because they're my inspiration and because I'm just that cool. So overall, I'm feeling better about making this apartment feel like it's more my own.

But one bad thing did happen today. I went on a huge rant in my blog yesterday about Coke products and I stand by them! And I don't drink any soda. But I have been drinking Fanta Orange sometimes since I've been here. Well... I was looking on the can and realized that Fanta is a Coke product!!! I feel so ashamed. It really quenches my thirst because it's so hot here and it doesn't taste like soda. So now I don't know what to do. Maybe it's okay because I only drink it sometimes? But maybe I just shouldn't to stand my ground against Coke. But then again maybe it's okay because I won't be shopping at other evil corporations like Wal-Mart for 2 years. So it's a give and take. I'm going to give in and say it's okay once in a while. But only while I'm here and only when I'm really thirsty and hot. So there.

Tomorrow's my hump day! Yay! Only 3 more days left of work until vacation starts!

Can't I just have a telephone?

There's something at school that is taking me a while to get used to: the role of matrons. Matrons are ladies who work for the school; they generally do not speak English, they are usually very young, and they are obviously Arab/Muslim. Their job is to sit outside of the majority of classrooms and offices and... wait. Wait for you, the teacher or administrator to need something or need a message to be sent. Because we have matrons, we don't have telephones in our classrooms or a loudspeaker coming from the office. It seems very strange to me, but apparently it's very common in Egypt. So usually when I'm walking down the hallway, I'll see all the matrons sitting outside the rooms practically falling asleep because they're so bored.

I asked an expat who had been here for a while... what do I do if I need a message to be sent right away or have an emergency in my room? You tell the matron. And since they don't speak English very well, you get a student to tell them the message in Arabic. I used a matron the other day for the first time. I was working on covering my bulletin boards in my classroom and didn't know where to find the fabric that goes over them. I asked a fellow expat. She said, "oh honey, you don't do that yourself. You send a matron to get it for you." So I worked up the courage, and asked a matron to get the fabric for me in purple. Luckily, she speaks pretty good English. Did I mention that my classroom is right across from the head principal's office? No pressure there. So I must have the really good matrons by my room. I just hope I'm never too loud with an activity or something to make her mad.

Today we had to get blood drawn for our HIV test to get our work permit. I know, it seems a little extreme to get an HIV test to be able to work here. I thought it would be sketchy ... but the doctor seemed to know what he was doing, haha. The only thing that made me nervous was that he didn't wear gloves when he did it! Isn't that something all doctors do when they're drawing blood? Especially when they're testing the blood for HIV? Maybe the concept of gloves hasn't hit Egypt yet. Furthermore, wouldn't it be discrimination in the US to fire someone for having HIV? I guess I'm not in the US anymore, and hopefully I don't have it!! But how would I know? This is how I freak myself out.

I'm slightly depressed because I realized that I bought Dasani water today and I didn't know that Coca-Cola is the Company of Dasani. For those of you that don't know, I strongly boycott Coke products, and you should too! Coke is pretty much the devil and they have a huge negative impact on indigenous people in Mexico because they're trying to take all the clean water that's left and use it to make more Coke. They're also responsible for a ton of health issues and overall bad things. So I hate them and don't buy any of their products. So now I feel bad for buying Dasani water... but I didn't know!! And I only bought 4 bottles of it... so now I guess I know. Live and learn... and then only buy Nestle Pure Life water.

The Battle of the Internet

Nothing in Egypt comes easily. I have been trying to get internet for... a long time now. My friend (I'll call him M) has kind of taken me under his wing and is always looking out for me. He also speaks fluent Arabic because he's from Jordan and Arabic is his first language. He was very influential in helping me get internet. It took us FOUR trips to TE Data (my internet provider) to finally get it!! And I still have to go back one more time after I pay my phone bill to prove to them that I am living in this apartment. They can't seem to understand that the lady who lived here before me moved back to the US and that I live here now. They also wanted a ridiculous amount of paperwork, and practically my left ovary. M had to fight with them in Arabic and I had to practically cry and yell at them in English and tell them I just wanted to be able to communicate with my family back in the US... couldn't they understand that?!?!? I brought them everything they told me to and they still wouldn't hook it up?!?! Oh yeah, if I wanted to cancel with them and go with Vodafone who only wants my passport and telephone number... TE Data still wanted the same amount of paperwork. So I was stuck!! Finally they called a manager. And I finally have internet!! Egypt is crazy. I haven't even tried to get banking yet because it is even harder to get. In case anyone is keeping score... it's tied: Egypt 1, Sara 1. After I get banking I will totally be ahead. One battle at a time.

The Eid el Fitr break is coming up. From what I understand... it's the holiday after Ramadan. Even though Ramadan is pretty much a month of holiday. Anyway, I'm deciding whether I should go to Dahab for break or stay here in Cairo. Dahab is a beach-y place on the Sinai peninsula in Egypt about 7 hours away from here. Some of my friends from school are going, and it's the cheapest option. Other friends of mine are going to Thailand (which I would love to do but just don't have the money right now), or Turkey and various other places. I think I'm going to go to Turkey in November during the "Thanksgiving" break Insha Allah if I have enough money though!! I'm thinking I should really go to Dahab instead of sitting at home for 10 days and I can go snorkeling or diving there, relax, go out, and get away from the "big city" life for a while. Even though I've only been here 2 and a half weeks. That reminds me! I made the 2 weeks without getting traveler's illnesses!! I have been healthy thus far. I think this is a good sign... hopefully this means that Egypt is a good fit for me.

I went to Khan el Khalili again tonight with some friends. This is the big market I've already been to twice before. It's so much fun there! Tonight, some shop keeper told me that I have beautiful eyes. I pretty much wanted to marry him for saying such a nice thing... or not. Last night I went to the Air Force Club with some friends and had such a good time. It was pretty much the closest thing to an American bar I will ever get to here. I even drank Bud Light!! It was pretty amazing. I got home at 3 AM and decided it would be a good time to SKYPE with my parents... so I ended up staying up until 5:30 this morning skyping with people! That's only because I'm living in the future... 7 hours in the future to be exact. Tonight I went to the ACE Club again. It's a club for expats living in Egypt and it's fun to go to because it's cool to look around and see people from all over the world. It's also nice to sit outside with a nice breeze! I'm starting to enjoy it when it doesn't get over 100 degrees here!

I had a dream last night that I decided to go home for the first break. Which is weird because I've only been here for a little while. More things ensued while I was there in my dream... but I somehow lost my passport and was worried about how I was going to get back to Egypt. When I was working on waking up this morning... my eyes were still closed, and I was deciding on whether I was in Viroqua or Egypt. Then I wondered which was better... then I wondered if I had ever been in Egypt at all. Maybe I had never gone and everything that had happened here had been a dream? As much as I miss everyone at home, before I opened my eyes I hoped I was in Egypt and that it wasn't a dream. I feel independent here and I know (or hope) that after this experience I will be able to take on anything life gives me. When I opened my eyes, I was still here in Egypt. And I was happy.

One last story. At the market in Khan el Khalili, you can get your name written in hieroglyphics on necklaces. I already have one, but the shopkeeper was super nice and wrote out my name in English, then in hieroglyphics, and then explained to me what each letter meant. The S meant that I will unite two families, and I forget what the R meant. But... I have two A's in my name which means that I have a very strong-willed personality and that I am a goddess. I joked around with the shopkeeper and told him that I already knew I was a goddess and that my family and friends already know I have a strong personality. He asked if my male friend was my husband and I said... hell no! Do you think someone with 2 strong personality signs would have a husband?!? And he said yes... it would just mean that I'm the boss in the relationship. Haha... it made me laugh. So the moral of the story is that I will unite two families (like in Romeo and Juliet?... I guess they never united though) and that I am a goddess who is strong-willed. Pretty accurate I'd say.

Delays

I went to school yesterday (yes, on a Sunday... my work week is Sunday through Thursday) eager to meet the entire staff of Hayah. It was the first day for all staff, not just the new staff orientation. The day started with a meeting in the gym... and there was a delay/bad news right away. I already knew that the government said no schools are allowed to start until after Ramadan and Eid El Fitr (the holiday after Ramadan) are over. But Hayah was going to "ignore" this and start anyway. Well... guess what... not anymore. Apparently we've been ordered not to start or the school will be shut down. This means that I don't officially start teaching until September 13.... I was supposed to start teaching next Sunday, August 29th. Holy ****. I was really pissed off at first (pardon my French, but I was). Why am I here?!?! Why couldn't I stay home for 3 more weeks, then come if I'm not starting until the 13?!?! Then the new expats had a meeting with someone from the school who tried to calm us down. We're not getting paid any differently, and I'm still working next week... even though I should have been teaching. The school is going to plan fun and CHEAP things for the new expats to do every day that we are on break now since we're starting late. A lot of expats are going on trips during the long break, like to the beach. I would really like to... but money's tight right now. So keep your finger's crossed! Apparently this is very normal in Egypt. Last year the school shut down for 2 or 3 weeks during the H1N1 crisis. Hopefully this is the only time we shut down!

On to other happier/catch me off gaurd school news... I also found out yesterday that I'm teaching high school elective drama classes. What does this mean exactly? I'm not sure. There is no curriculum for drama classes, so I'm kind of making things up as I go. Which is cool, but kind of scary. Did I mention yet that classes are split according to gender? So I'll have all 7th grade girls in a class, for example, and then all 7th grade boys. Which will be interesting... you never want a class of all boys at any age. I haven't received my actual teaching schedule yet, but we are supposed to tomorrow. "Insha Allah" (God-willing), as everyone says, I will.

I like to share interesting things about living in Egypt... this is one of them. Each apartment building, like in the US, has what's called a bowab (or landlord if you prefer). My bowab's name is Mohamad. Here's a fun fact about names. If you ever meet someone of Arab descent and they tell you that they will give you 2 guesses and 1 million dollars if you can guess their name... your first guess should be Mohamad. If that's not right... your second guess should be Ahkmed. Chances are, you've just won yourself a million dollars! Anyway, my bowab is so sweet. Every morning he is out washing everyone's cars like all the other bowab's on the street. When I walk by him on my way to the bus stop, he always says "Good morning miss... miss Sara." Basically, your bowab will do anything for you... run your errands, buy your groceries, take out your trash, fixes minor things in the apartment, etc. You just tip him. It's amazing. And if you're nice to them, they're nice to you.

In the US, you never see people just hanging out or walking on the interstate. You also never see people driving a donkey on the interstate. In Egypt, however, these are all quite common. You will also see people sleeping in the back of trucks, or sitting on top of semi-trucks. These are all reasons I love Egypt. A trip from here to there is never the same and you always see new things.

I hear you call my name, and it feels like home

That title has absolutely nothing to do with this post, but I like it :) I just realized I'm becoming one of those people who update their blog everyday. I hope I'm still cool. But this one won't be very long because I don't have a lot to say. Of course I'll get on a rant and this post will probably be the longest one yet.

Today I went with 2 Egyptian friends to a place called Islamic Cairo. I took the Metro for the first time! It's kind of like the subway in NYC, except it's above ground... but it's the public transportation system in Cairo. And it only costs 1 pound!! That's like 25 cents! There are seperate cars for women only, but we took the mixed one because we were with one boy. And I could still take the mixed car, even if I were with all girls. It's a choice I guess. It was hot, but not very crowded... not as crowded as the Metro system in Mexico City anyway. We went to Islamic Cairo to see mosques, which I was pumped about because I've never been in a mosque before. Unfortunately, there's apparently a new rule that no foreigners are allowed in the mosques after 3:00 because people are praying, and security guards want to go home for Ramadan, etc. I didn't really understand it. So... that's pretty much the one thing they won't let you do as a foreigner here!! As an American especially, you can pretty much get away with anything. For real.

So anyway, we got to go in one mosque. Luckily my friend brought an extra head covering for me. You may or may not know that a female must cover her head when entering a mosque, and everyone must take off their shoes. So, for the first time, I wore a head covering and took off my shoes and went into a mosque. My friends went to pray, and I waited. A man walked up to me and asked me where I was from. I told him the US (I hate saying America, because technically speaking Mexico, Canada, etc. are all considered part of "America"), and he offered me a seat, and told me I could go up the tower if I'd like to. I said thank you, but I was waiting for my friends. There's an example of how I can get/do anything because I am American. When they were done, we looked around and walked up the tower. I could see all of Islamic Cairo from there! It was beautiful! The mosque itself apparently was nothing too special according to my friends. There was a fountain in the center, and places to pray. Men and women pray seperately. There were no rows or pews like in a Catholic or Lutheran church... it was more like seperate areas.

After that, we walked around a market... it was sooo hot! I had to stop for a second in the shade and drink some water. I felt bad because I knew they were fasting and couldn't drink water. I apologized, but they didn't care. They know that I'm not used to the heat yet. Somehow we ended up in the same market that I was at Wednesday night with my expat friends... I'm not quite sure how it happened. We had dinner there (after fasting was over, of course) and came home.

I have school tomorrow.. but it's more meetings and time to set up my room. It's strange to be going to work on a Sunday, but I will get used to it. It's nice having Friday's off! School officially starts next week!! I'm excited but scared. I guess this was kind of a long post. Sorry! One more thing... I learned today that a Muslim man can marry a non-Muslim woman, but a Muslim woman cannot marry a non-Muslim man. I'm just passing on the facts of what I learn.

Beer, Sheesha, and New Friends!

Yesterday was our last day of "New Teacher Orientation." The most exciting part of it was seeing my classroom! I have a little stage area, and a large open working space. There are some chairs in it, but no desks (which is what I wanted... what would you do with desks in a drama classroom anyway?), and a cool CD player. And the best part is that it's mine. No one else uses it unless they need it for a special event or something. I also talked a little with the head of my department about where the drama program has been in the past and where he would like to see it go. Our goals were pretty much the same which is awesome. I'm working on developing a more concrete curriculum of what I want to do, and we're going to have a meeting next week to talk about everything! Overall, I feel great about everything... except for the fact that the students tend to be spoiled and a little out of control (from what I've heard... from everyone). But hey, it will just be an extra chellenge. I want drama class to be fun and exciting and challenging, but there also needs to be control, obviously. So we'll see what happens!

OK, quick story. This is hilarious! I met a neighbor the other night waiting for the elevator. She is Egyptian, but speaks English very well and she's a doctor. We talked for a little bit (she asked if I was married), and exchanged numbers in case I ever needed anything which I thought was very nice. Two nights later at around 10:30 she was calling me... which I thought was strange. I answered. She said she was sorry to disturb me, but that she had a gift she wanted to give me. Then she asked if I like cats. Cats? I asked... like the animal? Yes. Cats. She wanted to give me a cat as a gift. I panicked. I have nothing against cats... but I'm never really home and this isn't even my apartment and how would I get it home with me and potty train it and ohmygod what do I do? I said the first thing that came to my head. I told her I was allergic. She didn't understand. I said that cats make me sneeze a lot. I asked her if she had a lot of cats. She said yes, and she wanted to give me one. But that she would think of another gift for me. Do I feel bad for lying? Yes, because she is very nice. But I just don't want a cat. It would freak me out. Anyway, I thought it was hilarious. That's Egypt for you.

Last night was the falucca ride on the Nile! It was so relaxing and fun to be with a lot of the people from the school for a couple hours on the river. We went right at sunset, so it was beautiful! We all broke the fast of Ramadan together with dates and water, and then had dinner. Afterwards, some new teacher friends and I went out to a bar in downtown Cairo. Downtown is so much fun!!! There's buildings and people everywhere. We went to a bar (after going through a metal detector) that was on the 9th floor and sat outside. We could see all of Cairo practically! It was beautiful. I drank 2 kinds of beer: Sakara and Stella. They were okay. Oh yeah, on our way walking trying to find the bar, every guy was going crazy. It was 5 girls and 2 guys and they were ALL staring at us and saying in appropriate things in English and Arabic. I thought it was funny. We weren't even dressed skanky! And there were men in the streets playing backgammon and smoking sheesha. Everywhere. Sheesha is just like hookah in the US, flavored tobacco. So it's not illegal anywhere, it's just everywhere in Egypt. So at the bar, we smoked sheesha in an apple flavor. It was part of the cultural experience. The sheesha guy was all about us too... he wanted his picture taken with us. So we did. Again, I laughed.

After that place, we went to find the Cairo Jazz Club. Some people had left, so 5 of us squeezed in a taxi and went searching. When we finally found it, it was closed for Ramadan! So we got in another cab and went to this place called Harry's Pub. I felt like I was in the US! We even had popcorn! One thing was different though... there were definitely hookers there. I saw them leaving with guys. They were pretty high class though because it was an expensive bar. There was also a hotel attached to the bar... so yeah. Use your imagination.

We squeezed in a taxi around 2:30 in the morning to come home. Usually places stay open all night (apparently), but closed. Of course, because of Ramadan. I know it's a very special holiday... but I can't wait for it to be over. I'm sorry. Anyway... on the way home there were lights everywhere and big buildings and people everywhere on the streets still. It was cool.

I feel like I've done a lot in the week and a half that I've been here. But so far I love it. I really miss everyone from back home, but all the friends I'm making here are great. It's definitely a huge change from my life in the US and all the luxuries I had there (like all my clothes, a dryer, things to do my hair, etc.) that I don't have here yet, but I feel like I'm in the right place.

Am I really working here?

I finally got to see the school where I'll be teaching at today. It is about 30 minutes away from where I live in New Cairo. A bus (not like a big yellow school bus) will pick me up everyday, and drop me off near my apartment. And Holy Toledo... the school is freaking amazing. It is gated and there are 24 hour security guards. You have to give them your name and check in to even be let in to the school. It is only going into its 9th year, so it's still new. The facilities are fantastic... there is an olympic-sized outdoor swimming pool, tennis courts, restaurants, Smart Boards, and grass!!! Which is very hard to find in the desert. There is air conditioning in every classroom, but not in the hallways.

Hayah is an international school, but it is pretty much all Egyptian students. They speak English in all their classes, except Arabic class (obviously). I kept thinking to myself... how did I get this amazing job?!?! I have no experience. And the staff is so supportive and helpful. They're communicative and actually have goals. They actually focus on the staff and support them and value them. That seems to be extremely rare to find in a school unfortunately. Of course this is only my orientation... everything could change once school starts. Oh... and my principal is wonderful. She's funny, likes it when people stop in to talk, and she's caring. I feel so blessed to be working here.

There are certainly going to be challenges. The first year teaching is ALWAYS the biggest challenge because I don't know what I'm doing yet really. I mean, I know what I'm doing, but I don't yet. You know what I mean? And I'm teaching in a completely different culture than I'm used to. Western thinking is very linear... we have steps and like them. Egyptian thinking is very... non-linear. We will see how this pans out. To be continued...

I am going to something fun tonight that I don't know the name of! Some fun market or something with some new expat teacher friends. And tomorrow night, I'm going on a falucca ride on the Nile!! I'm not sure what "falucca" means... but I think it's some kind of boat. Am I right?!?! Anyway, it sounds extremely fun!! And I'm hoping there's wine involved. And yes, this is all with fun teachers. I'm not actually looking forward to school starting and having to do work... but I guess that is why I came here. Oh yeah! And there is a TGI Friday's near the Nile. Who would have thought that?

The Only White Person in the Room

The last 24 hours have been crazy! Last night I went to my friend's house for fetar (I hope I'm spelling that right) dinner. It was an amazing cultural experience! There were about 40 people there that were all friends with her family and everyone came up to me and introduced themselves in English. Some people knew about Hayah and were very interested in what I was doing here. They even offered help if I ever needed it during my stay here. I have learned that Egyptians, as a whole, are extremely hospitable and will help you out whenever you need them.

But on to the dinner. The table was full of food. And it was all Egyptian food! Everyone grabbed a plate, got some food, stood around and talked to each other. This was a challenge for me because everyone was speaking in Arabic. Occasionally, someone would come up and talk to me in English... probably because I looked so out of place. But I loved every minute of it. I don't think I've ever been the only white person in the room before who doesn't understand what's going on. After the meal, the table was filled with dessert! My friend's mom literally took a plate for me, and filled it with dessert. I guess that is Egyptian hospitality. It was all so delicious, but don't ask me what I ate. Then we watched t.v., talked (well, they talked in Arabic and I tried to understand what was going on), and my friend drove me home. I would say that every night of fetar is like our Thanksgiving in the US times 5.

This morning I got up at 5:30 to go to the pyramids! We went as part of our orientation... I'm not even sure what to say about them. I can't upload pictures right now, but they were unbelievable. I couldn't believe I was actually seeing them up close! I also saw camels!! It was all very exciting.

Tomorrow, I am going to the school for the first time! I'm pumped to see what it looks like in person. Oh yeah... I wanted to talk about traffic. It's insane. There literally are no rules. There are no lines to stay in, they don't drive with headlights on at night, there are no stop signs, no stop signs, nothing. It's mayhem. I don't understand how it works at all... but apparently it does? Also, cars park other cars in all the time. So I asked someone once, "What does the other car do if it needs to move?" Well, the person that parked the other car in leaves the car in neutral. That way, the other person can push the car out of the way if they need to. Crazy, right? I kinda love it. And taxi drivers will honk at you when they drive by to see if you need a ride... especially because I'm foriegn. It's kinda nice of them... but extremely irritating when all I hear is honking when I'm walking down the street. Sometimes I want to yell "NO!! I don't need a f***ing taxi!!!!" But, they wouldn't understand me anyway. So I say "la" (no) and shake my head.

Wow, I kind of went on a rant there. I've almost been here a week!

Did I just go on a date??

Where do I begin... (don't freak out mom and dad). I met this guy from Nigeria in the internet cafe. You meet people everywhere here. He's been in Cairo for 2 months, and we ended up hanging out yesterday. I thought it would be a casual thing... but we ended up taking a taxi (my first taxi experience in Cairo) to get sushi. This was also my first sushi experience... ever. I must say that it was very tasty. We ended up talking for 2 or 3 hours in this restaurant about everything... our lives, why we were in Cairo, what we wanted to do in the future. And I'm not going to say that I "like" him because we just met... but we kind of meshed. I think we might be good friends during my stay here. We have a lot of the same philosophy on life. He plays football (otherwise known as soccer), and he's very into travelling. He kept saying "life is a journey." Umm... yeah, I know. That's pretty much how I live my life. It was so nice to talk to someone that's from a completely different place than me, in a completely different part of the world, and connect with them. He also paid for everything, which made me think it was kind of a date. Well, it at least kind of turned into one. He said he wants to make me dinner (who does that?!) ... a traditional Nigerian meal. Most people reading this might be freaked out, but there's something very genuine and honest about him. I'm just happy to be making friends because it has been difficult being here and not knowing anyone or how anything is done. Anyway, I guess we'll see how it goes. Oh yeah, he had really nice arms and a hot tattoo.... I think we all know I'm into that.

In a nutshell, I want to briefly share what I've learned about Islam and the Arab culture while I've been here because I think it's fascinating. I've already shared a little about Ramadan and fasting. I learned about marriage from my friends from the school that I've become close with. In the Islam religion, people don't "date." If 2 people like each other they get engaged, and then have a period of "dating" that lasts anywhere from 2 months to 2 years, and then they get married. If they find out they don't like each other in that period, they give the ring back and every gift they got for each other, and call the wedding off. I don't think that's very common though. It's also very common in the Arab culture for people to marry first cousins. Weird, I know... but one thing I've learned being here is that everyone has a different culture. I'm in the minority here. I'm learning that just because a culture or belief is different than mine, that doesn't mean it's wrong or bad. It's just different. I wouldn't like it if someone told me that my beliefs or my culture was wrong. So I listen respectfully to other people, and hope that they will do the same to me. And they do! :)

Orientation started today and all the expat (non-Egyptian) teachers that I've met are awesome. They're friendly, funny, and willing to answer all the questions us newbies have. We went shopping today to a huge mall and I felt like I was in the US. It was a nice feeling. Tomorrow I am going to the pyramids!!! I am so excited!!

And I can't upload pictures yet because I need to buy a new camera. I don't have the proper chord to do so ... so I'm kind of waiting to get paid. I'm also waiting to get DSL in my apartment which may take until November. It is Ramadan and everything moves much slower. "If God wills it" (as they say), it will happen. This usually means "we will take our sweet time getting it done." That is another thing I've learned :) Arab time is definitely not American time.

Life in Maadi so Far

I have been in Maadi (kind of a suburb of Cairo) for about 3 days now. I have learned so much and there has been a challenge every day!! I am trying to get used to the constant noise of dogs barking outside my window (even though I live in an apartment on the 6th floor), and the calls to prayer 5 times a day. But it seems like they happen more than 5 times a day because it is Ramadan right now. Ramadan is the month of fasting for Muslims. They don't eat or drink from sunrise to sunset, or smoke, or anything "bad." It is a great time to be here because there are lights up all over the neighborhood, people are really nice to each other, and there are fireworks every night. And when I say fireworks, I mean little firecrackers :).

I have been making some great friends so far, and I'm getting out every day and exploring my neighborhood. I've especially been exploring Master's, the internet cafe, haha. Almost everyone speaks English because a lot of expats live in this neighborhood, meaning people that are not from Egypt. It is really hot!! I always carry around a bottle or water because I pretty much feel like I might pass out everywhere I go unless it's after sunset.

Everyone is super nice. The first full day I was here, I thought I would be cool and go explore my neighborhood a little bit. On my way back to my apartment, however, I realized that they all look the same!! Also, all the signs are in Arabic... I can't read Arabic (yet). So while I was looking for my apartment, i walked right past it. Three people stopped me, and told me turn around. At least, I assued that's what they were saying. They were speaking Arabic and just kept pointing back. Then a nice lady was explaining to me where I lived in Arabic and pointing. I just kept saying "shokran" meaning thank you, one of the few Arabic words I know, and went inside. Oh yeah, I also tripped on my way in. So I'm pretty much the new American girl in the neighborhood who doesn't know where she lives!! I'm making a great impression.

The next big thing on my list of things to do is to go to the market. This is a daunting task to me and sounds very scary because not only am I shopping in a different country, I'm paying in pounds, and then I have to carry all the stuff back to my apartment. I should explain that people don't walk on the sidewalk here... everyone walks in the street. And cars expect you to get out of their way. But I'm going to do it. Oh yeah! My big thing I did yesterday was light my stove! It was very exciting and my new friends from the school helped me... well kind of forced me to do it. But I was grateful.

That was the longest blog post in the world. I have been writing my journal that the lovely Casey Clark bought for me for graduation. It has my favorite quote on the front... "Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterly." (In case you were wondering, I also have a magnet and a coffee mug with the same quote). That's kind of my mantra for this trip. Anyway... at the end of each journal entry (and I've been forcing myself to write daily), I say that tomorrow I will struggle more, and learn more about myself. So that is how I will leave this blog.

Good Omens Turned Ugly

Yesterday was an amazing day with my parents. I spent the morning finishing packing, getting one last tanning session in, and we left for Chicago around noon. We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express at I decided that it would would be awful to try to get around the airport with 2 suitcases and a carry-on... I could barely make it in the hotel!! So, I decided to take one suitcase and one carry-on with me to Cairo to live on for two years. Yes, I cried when deciding what I had to leave behind. It was the only stuff I had that I knew that was coming with me... if that makes any sense. But I sucked it up and decided it would make me a better person.

There were 2 omens of the night... omens that I believed to be good. We had "Wheel of Fortune" on in the background, and one of the puzzles was "Final Boarding Call." Weird, right?! And, we stayed in room 522. My address in Viroqua with my parents is 522 S. Washington Ave. Again, weird. My last American meal was at TGI Friday's.

I woke up at 4:00 AM this morning, and we got to the aiport a little after 7:00. But, not only was my flight different... I didn't have a ticket number with either of them!! My flight was changed from American Airlines to Delta, which is fine. But neither of them had a ticket number. Delta had be booked on their flight, but no number. Then I had a panic attack. I had no way of getting on the plane and getting to Cairo. I called the only number I had... the superintendent of the school. I finally got ahold of her and she called people in Egypt. She called me back around 9:00 AM and told me to have my dad buy me a new ticket, and the school would reimburse them. So my dad charged a round-trip flight to Cairo for $2700. But I had a ticket number and a flight! The only kind of bad thing is that the flight changed, so I am currently sitting in JFK airport on my 7-hour layover. It was VERY dramatic. I didn't think I was actually going to make it to Cairo.

My goodbye with my parents was very fast. We suddenly realized that they couldn't come past the security checkpoint, and we said a quick goodbye. I was also frantically telling them to call the superintendent and tell her that my flight had changed so someone would be in Cairo at the aiport to pick me up! When I walked past security to find my terminal, it was a strange feeling of being on my own. I realized that I wouldn't see a face that I knew for the next 10 months or talk to a familiar friend in person. I felt incredibly sad and alone, but also like I was starting an amazing adventure and changing already.

Let's hope there's no more airport drama because I want everything else to go smoothly! I'm currently reading more about Cairo, my school, and listening to Arabic. Keep good thoughts!

Tomorrow...

I can't believe I'm leaving for Chicago tomorrow and flying out Tuesday morning for Cairo. I have been a big bucket of emotion today... and the last week really. It's been so hard saying "goodbye" to so many of my close friends and family, but I know it's not goodbye forever. It's just hard to leave all of my family, friends, and my old life behind. Tonight is the first time I can truly say that I feel confident and ready to experience what Egypt has to offer me, and to start my first teaching job. I will miss everything/everyone that is here, but I'm ready to embrace the future and live my life doing what I love.

My emotions have been a roller coaster, so who knows how I'll feel tomorrow. All I know is that I'm doing what's right for me... and that's a nice feeling to have. By this time in 3 days I will be in Cairo!!