Complexity of Life Overseas

We are all human.  We have wants and desires like everyone else.  Even the little ones that are traveling know what they want and what they miss, even though they cannot necessarily explain it.  One of the major indications that Princess is "homesick" is that she climbs into our bed almost every night.  That NEVER happened at home in Winnipeg and I pretty sure she just wants to be close to familiar people, even if it is an unfamiliar place while she sleeps.

Our time here in Egypt has been a tremendously amazing experience so far.  Although we have not really ventured out and been tourists yet, (our plans keep getting changed), we truly have experienced life in Egypt because the people that live here do not venture out to the Pyramids everyday or visit King Tut's tomb every weekend.  The beautiful wonders are on my agenda to see, but as our teaching schedule gets busier and busier, the chances of an excursion like this may be a ways off.  BUT, we have experienced Egypt...well, life as a wealthy person in Egypt.

You may remember one of my first blog posts when I spoke about how I was concerned about adapting culturally.  That I wanted to live closer to the school because we would be closer to the local Egyptian people.  Well, the more and more time we spend closer to the school, the fewer and fewer people we see actually outside.  Granted, it is hot out, but the biggest thing is that we are in a relatively wealthy community.  EVERYONE  drives a car in this area and most of them are BMW's or Mercedes Benz vehicles.  So, unless they are going out to the car, you do not see much of the local people around.  Now, the porter's (or bowab's) they are around all the time.  They are the doormen/gardeners/helpers for the each individual building.  They get "free" accommodation (sometimes not very nice) and a very small salary.  It seems so pretentious for the seemingly rich people to pay the people that do all the hard work around the building such a menial salary.  During the heat of the day however, you find these groups of porters hanging around in the shade enjoying each others company.  I do have to say that it is nice to never have to carry our groceries up three flights of stairs, and if we ever have a problem in the flat we just let him know and he takes care of it for us.  We truly enjoy our bowab, Dimples even knows his name...he calls for him from the top of the stairs and since the stairwell is all marble it echos.  It is really quite cute and the porter really likes it.

One of the more challenging things that we have really had to adapt to is life without a vehicle.  When I pictured our lives in Egypt I thought that it would be a cross between what life was like i

The evenings are getting cooler now.  It is definitely a season change here although it is still in the 30's everyday.  But the evenings are beautiful and we go up to the rooftop and just let the kids run around.  They have so much fun up there.  The dogs come out to play and Dimples often finds the broom and has a blast.  There is a lot of construction happening in our area and it has been fascinating to watch how they build villas.  It is VERY different from at home, and it looks for more challenging that at home, but they do work very quickly.  There is a law here that if you buy property you have to build the foundation by the end of the first year.  Then there is no law as to when you have to finish the building, so in our area there are countless numbers of unfinished buildings.  It is kind of an eyesore at times, but we have started not to notice.

The dates for the election in Egypt have been set!  It is an exciting time for Egyptians, although it leads to much uncertainty as the dates approach.  More on that to follow!

A born traveler and photographer...she never leaves without her camera.

Dimples love dustpans and buckets.  This picture is on our rooftop terrace...which is awesome once the sun starts to set and the temperature cools down a bit.

This is some of the construction next door to our apartment.  All the wood in the building will be moved as it is just used to help set the concrete. 

Princess and her doggie.  Sushi and Princess are pretty good buddies.

The local mosque just down the street.

Dimples is growing up...no more soother and look...he is losing his baby face!  Still lacks in the hair department though!

Where the streets have no name...

Ah, life in Egypt has been an adventure thus far.  We are out and about trying new things when we are not exhausted from a day of teaching.  There are so many fun things to do out here and we have not even scratched the surface.

On the weekends we like to venture out to a nearby town, Ma'adi.  Navigating around Ma'adi is supposed to be fairly easy with a map and getting around on foot is supposed to be no problem.  Note how I mentioned SUPPOSED to!  The streets do not have names in Ma'adi...they all have numbers and to top it all off, the streets have no signs.  SO, even if you have a makeshift map and know where you need to end up there is a good chance you will get lost on your journey.  Even the cab drivers in the area have to ask people how to get to certain places, and even then, the people they ask do not necessarily offer correct directions!  The first time we went to Ma'adi our driver asked close to 20 people for directions to the road we wanted to go to before we finally settled on being dropped off at a nearby mall and opted to walk the rest of the way.

Remember how I mentioned that walking around the town should be easy.  It probably would be if we had no children and no stroller.  The roads are crazy!  There are cars driving wildly along the road and there are makeshift sidewalks that are not necessarily any safer because anyone or any vehicle for that matter can venture onto the sidewalk...and then there are the really narrow sidewalks that half of one person can fit on, so forget taking the stroller on the sidewalk.  So, the stroller is on the road and Princess is being carried as we try and race the cars through the round-a-bouts and make it safely to the other side.

But oh, the adventure. We love it!  Princess yells, "go faster mommy" as I try and beat the cars to the "sidewalk".  She loves the wind in her hair.  The liberation of not having a carseat has been overwhelming for her as she can sit by the window like a puppy with her hair blowing in the wind.  Dimples is also a fan of the carseat liberation.  I do not feel that great about it, what with the crazy traffic laws and unpredictable drivers, it would be nice to know that if we crashed the kids would not go flying through the windshield.  But so far, we have been safe, and I hope it stays that way.

The sandy roads are glorious and the dirt on our feet marks our path.  Kind of like Hansel and Gretel but not as tasty.  We have to wash our floors regularly because the sand and dust drifts everywhere whether you like it or not.  And, the ants are out in full force.  We have found most of their little hiding places so they are not that bad...but these little nasty ants like to bite and although they have yet to find me, they certainly enjoy the rest of the family.

Probably the most splendid part of being in Egypt right now is that the weather is amazing still.  It is in the low 30's during the day and in the high 20's in the evening.  (Celcius of course).  The breeze at night is amazing and the dark nights are great for restoring energy after a long day of teaching.  It is amazing how a different culture raises kids and students because it certainly impacts a classroom differently.  I cannot go into much detail on the classroom behaviour, but it is slightly different than at home.

We are loving every minute of being in Egypt and it is such an interesting time in this part of the world.  In my next post I will write specifically about the revolution, the vote and the violence that is happening here.  But for now, it is a peaceful place for us to be.  We cannot here the whir of traffic speeding by our house and the volume of the community is next to nothing here.  It is a silent dream and with that I am off to sleep to recharge for another day with my lovely students in the math room...

Kids are Kids

This week I realized that kids are kids no matter where you are in the world.  AND, whether you are in Egypt, Mexico, Canada or United States, kids all behave the same too.  Sure, there are cultural differences along the way, but in the end, kids want to be loved, cared for and nurtured...AND KEEP SECRETS!

Day One of teaching and 4 rulers were snapped by the grade 9's!  I did not know what to think...my first thought was, HOW DARE THEY!  Which quickly shifted to, why didn't they tell me.  After that quick and fleeting thought I came to the conclusion that because the school has such high standards for behaviour, they feared they would be sent to the office and being sent to the office simply would not look good on the first day.  Should they be deceptive and lie??  I would like to think that I am an open person and that I would be fine if they told me, but would I still work through the same thought process...

THEN

I thought of Adam and Eve.  When they did something they should not have, they ran and hid and tried to keep their deceit a secret from an omnipotent being!  He already knew what they did and they still tried to hide it.   I am just a teacher...I did not find out about the cracked, snapped and completely useless rulers until the end of class and yet it seems to be in our beings to be devious and hide the truth when it may be potentially harmful to ourselves...the immediate pleasure of the deceit is great, but quickly turns to poison in our souls.  Now, the whole ruler situation is very minor compared to the fall of mankind, but still...it is where my mind wandered.

I had heard before we left that Egyptian kids in school can be a handful because they LOVE to talk.  Those that know me well know that I fall into this category as well.  I was prepared for the amount of talking...or so I thought!  Take a typical North American classroom and amplify that by at least 20 times.  And they can be loud!  It was so incredibly crucial to lay the law of the land quickly in regards to the talking otherwise the rest of the year would be a nightmare...this landed 3 kids in the hall on the first day.  Hall time is not a logical consequence in my mind yet it is a school policy in the discipline procedure so it had to be done. 

Don't get me wrong I am LOVING the students that I have been blessed to teach.  They are all so beautiful and have amazing personalities, but as I watch them interact with each other it reinstated that these Egyptian kids are exactly like kids in Canada.  There are the popular kids, the smart kids, and the jocks.  You can see who have been teacher's pets in the past and there are those that carry the mantle of the "bully", the tough guy and the class clown.  But oh are these kids ever funny.  I just cannot wait to spend the rest of the year with them.  I am sure they will drive me nuts sometimes, and I am sure that I will drive them nuts sometimes.  But deep down they want to be loved on and cared for by their teacher.  They want a classroom that is full of respect and learning and they want to succeed.  You can see it in their eyes even when they look at you like you are on a different planet.

The first few days of my first official teaching job have been a success in my eyes.  I was told that I have a lot of MOXIE for a first year teacher...I knew that it was a compliment but I still looked it up just to be sure, there were many positive things, INITIATIVE, GUTSY, GREAT SKILL/KNOW HOW, certainly makes the new teacher feel good about the work they are doing, especially since just before that I got a surprise evaluation from the Vice-Principal.  The students are all sitting where they need to be and they are doing the work they are asked.  There are naturally more challenges teaching Manitoba curriculum in an EAL (English as an Additional Language) setting because the students just do not have the language abilities that a student in Manitoba would or should have.  For example, trying to teach the Divisibility Rules to the grade 7's required extensive definitions and examples because the vocabulary is far more challenging for these students.  But, the extra work in explaining the task has led to some excellent marks because the amount of time on a topic is almost double that of a class in Manitoba.

Will I get through the curriculum this year?  Probably not.  The teacher last year never got to the last two units because they ran out of time.  I am aiming for completion and it is good to have goals.  Are my goals realistic?  Probably not, but if you do not aim for the stars you will not reach the moon and getting to the moon is an incredible accomplishment in and of itself. 

So, I will finish where I began, kids are kids no matter where you are.  It is refreshing to see young faces excited to learn and as usual the challenging students seem to be my favorite.  I  have never understood why the difficult students, the more time consuming students and the students that are the most likely to cause problems in class are my favorite to work with.  They require so much more energy than the smart kid in the corner that finishes their work quickly.  I guess that is why the Lord has blessed me with the abundance of energy that I have because without it I would be exhausted by lunch!

Oh the ants...

In Winnipeg we deal with mosquitos.  Those pesty little bugs are everywhere in the summer, sucking the blood out of its victims despite the constantly swatting at them.  They are persistent and annoying.  We do not really see many mosquitos here and are happy about that. BUT...

Instead we have ants.  Ants are everywhere, and they should not be.  They should be outside.  But, in tropical, hot climates they always seem to find their way inside...much to a home owners chagrin.  I have to be honest and say that for some reason I did not expect ants to be an issue in Egypt.  My thought process was...it is hot, and it is a desert, there cannot possibly be ants everywhere...but oh, there are so many ants.

I remember when I was in Florida for Missions Training Program.  The girls dorm was overrun by ants to the point that the directors had to put ant bombs in the dorm to eliminate them.  They were climbing all over everything, towels, clothes...and heaven forbid if there was food in the room.  After the ant bombing however, things returned to normal and all was well.

We have had some days where there have been thousands of ants climbing the walls in the bathroom, the sink in the kitchen or the stove.  We wish we would have known because we would have brought ant traps from home (they are very hard to come by here) and we want to stay away from using chemicals like Raid because of the kids.  HOWEVER...

One night I made crepes.  They were absolutely delicious and they were almost all eaten...and then we fell asleep watching a movie and stumbled to bed in a half awake state.  Come morning we had a major problem.  As you probably have guessed we had some visitors in the kitchen.  Thousands of them actually...and these guests were definitely not welcomed in our home.  So, hubby took care of them with some Raid like product.  He followed their lineup from the crepes, down the cupboards, along the baseboards and into this teeny tiny little hole and carefully avoided any food areas.  I am glad to say that since then we have seen very few ants...but ant season is just around the corner.

So, we went from mosquitos to ants...I am not sure which are worse, but the little black ants do not bite which is nice.  They are just irritating to clean up.  Needless to say we have learned quickly that we cannot leave anything out, ALL crumbs must be picked up immediately (and this is easier said than done with toddlers around) and wash the dishes immediately.  That way, the ants have no reason to look around.  Now, I have heard that cockroaches also like to hang around occasionally throughout the year.  They certainly would not be welcome visitors here...thankfully the only ones I have seen so far are the type that I like.  On their backs with their legs in the air, drying out in the sunshine!  I hope that is the only way I have to see them...they certainly are not attractive creatures.

Smoking or Non?

It is amazing to me how we never realize how good we have it sometimes and how lucky we are.  We often get so used to our surroundings, laws and regulations that we come to expect certain things and even, gasp, forget the way things once were.  

Well, I certainly forgot about smoking laws in Winnipeg.  It was pretty well 9 years ago that the city implemented the no smoking in public places by-law.  I remember it very well because at the time I had been working at a restaurant (as with much of my life over the past 9 years).  The restaurant had a lounge that was "smoking" and a dining room that was "non-smoking".  I always thought it was absurd because there was no clear division in the restaurant and it is not like the smoke knows where it can and cannot go.  I always hated working in the lounge because the smoke was worse, but regardless of where I worked in the restaurant I came home smelling like french fries and cigarette smoke. 

Now the city is talking about no smoking outside at sporting events.  The government is certainly taking a stance on second hand smoke and having lived in Winnipeg for so long it seems absurd to think of someone smoking inside at all...

When we arrived at the airport in Frankfurt they had these ridiculous looking crates for people to smoke in.  It looked like a glass enclosed bus shack.  The smoking room was a cramped space with too many people filling their lungs with the much needed tobacco smoke.  They looked kind of ridiculous all squished in there and the smoke popped out through the cracks in the glass and the door as it opened and closed, but at least that was an improvement from the last time I was in Frankfurt and the smoke wafted freely throughout the airport.

Now, we are in Egypt.  I am growing more and more fond of this place everyday, but imagine my surprise when we walked into a restaurant the other day and were asked if wanted the smoking or non-smoking section.  Suddenly I realized how fortunate we were in Winnipeg to not be asked that question anymore.  I think that we are blessed to not be exposed the smoke if we do not want to be.  So, here we are at the restaurant as I try not to look shocked and quietly requested the non-smoking section. 

We are now venturing out of our home more frequently and as we explore the smoke is everywhere.  At the playground, the restaurant, the halls of the mall, the stores, the shops, the taxis...everywhere and we cannot escape it.  It is a part of life here and it seems like everyone smokes.  For example, we were getting ice cream the other day and we sat at a table and there was a young couple smoking cigarette, after cigarette...over a span of about 15 minutes I think that they smoked 12 cigarettes between the two of them.  It is something that will take getting used to for sure as I am not used to be around the smell of smoke when I do not want to be, but regardless of my opinion, it is a part of life here.  One of the many cultural adjustments we face, not major just surprising.

So, it is with that realization that we remember things we took for granted back home, perhaps one day the laws will change here, but living in a country that is in the midst of a revolution, the laws are not the first thing on the minds of people.  They are more concerned of what the government will look like in the near future as they should be.