Today is Tuesday, July 12th. We leave Winnipeg on July 28th. That seems like a lot of time still. But when I looked at the calendar today it looks much shorter than it seems. Just over 2 weeks until we leave Winnipeg. The fact that we are about to embark on a 2 year journey is real to us, but still seems like a distant reality. It really should not seem so distant. Our house is becoming more and more empty, and we are winding down our responsibilities here, but it still seems far away, except when I looked at the calendar.
The other day we had the opportunity to meet some of the other new teachers that will be arriving the same time as us. It is a very diverse group with people teaching Kindergarten and others teaching Physical Education or high school. We really are all quite different, but are embarking on this journey together. I was thrilled to discover that there is another couple going to Egypt and that they are planning to attend the same church as us. That was quite reassuring to us. I am sure that we will become quite close with this couple. One of the teachers that we got to meet has taught at Heritage for 4 years. She had so much information for us that was reassuring and relieving at the same time. Everything I have read so far about dress codes and such seemed extremely different from what I would normally wear here. Apparently it is much more lenient then I originally thought and that made my packing anxiety decrease substantially.
The idea of living in Egypt is still a foreign idea for us even though it is getting closer. We have read books and articles, watched documentaries and have drawn from our own experience, but nothing will prepare us for our time in Egypt more then getting there and immersing ourselves in the culture. That does not come without its difficulties and imagine that amongst the joy and thrill of arriving in a new culture many new questions and concerns will arise. Things we will never have thought of before.
So, that brings us to today, July 12th. My basement is very sparse, we sold our couches yesterday...our little Princess struggled with the fact that they were leaving, especially "her" chair, but all in all does not seem to care today. We sold our car yesterday, so now we are down to our van. The luxury of having 2 vehicles at our house was certainly taken for granted as I was free to come and go as I please during the day, but now I am at home with no vehicle...and no stroller for that matter because it is with hubby in the van. So, today I am purging more things, configuring suitcases and arranging some packing, but still I feel like I live in disarray. Stuff is everywhere and no matter how much we get rid of, the more stuff I feel like I am finding. I cannot wait for it to all be gone!
Our journey to Egypt will begin early in the morning of the 28th of July. We will be driving to Nova Scotia to bid farewell to hubby's family. It will take us a week and we will take our time getting there with stops in Minneapolis, Madison, Flint, Kingston, Quebec City and Fredericton. I will have the joyous experience of traveling to PEI for the first time and hopefully get to see Green Gables. We will spend a week or so in NS and then on the 15th of August we will board a plane with our 7 bags (we HAVE opted to take less with us! We will see how long that lasts!) and begin our LONG day of traveling to Egypt.
It will be a busy couple weeks here as things wind down and we pack up the house and clean the house (the most dreaded part of moving). We hope to see as many people as possible before we go!
So, just over 2 weeks to go. I am sure we will encounter some hiccups along the way, but for now, Egypt still seems distant although our departure date is looming. I guess I am more focused on our cross country trip at the moment then the cross the ocean one. I am sure that will change as the 15th of August draws nearer.
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