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...
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...
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