Sharm El Sheikh

Who does not like laying by a pool, enjoying the sun, swimming in the pool and slipping down a waterslide?  Well, that is much of what we have been doing over the past several days.

Grandma and Auntie are here on vacation, and, it is our Spring Break, so, we choose to venture off to Sharm El Sheikh for 5 days.  We got a great deal on some flights and an even better deal on a 5 star all inclusive that we could not pass up on.  The trip so far has been exactly what we have been looking for.  And, to think, all this fun, beauty and relaxation was only a 1 hour flight away...after an hour and a half in the car of course!

The pools are beautiful, the water is the bluest I have ever seen, the sun is warm and bright, the pools are magnificent and the food has been good overall.

Our days have been full of relaxing by the pool, swimming with the fearless Princess who tears down that waterslide like she is older than she is.  I am very proud that she slides on her own.  All she asks is that we catch her at the bottom.

Today, we (Auntie, Hubby, myself and the kids) took a speedboat trip around the Red Sea.  We saw a Russian Shipwreck, explored an island and saw Saudi Arabia in the distance, and, played with jellyfish.

Yes, I said, played with jellyfish.  For anyone who has seen Finding Nemo, Dory gets stung by jellyfish...they are not to be played with.  Turns out, the ones we were seeing all over the lagoon, do not sting...at all.  So, we picked them up, touched them and put them back in the water.  Princess and Dimples  thought they were great.

Snorkeling is pretty impressive in the Red Sea.  It is not my favorite activity.  I feel a little anxious with my face stuffed in the water, having to breath through my mouth, but, Hubby grabbed my hand an dragged me through the water.  The fish a very colorful and it truly is magnificent.  All the adults took a dunk in the snorkel adventure...Dimples was not overly thrilled to see mommy face down in the water, but, he survived.

The time in Sharm has been very restful for everyone...it will be tough to leave here tomorrow.  We get one more full day here and then it is back to Cairo.  Enjoy the pictures!

Dimples hanging out by the pool.

Princess by the waterfall.

On the speedboat.

On a rocky island.  Saudi Arabia is in the background.

The 5 of us on the rocky island.  The Red Sea in the background.

Hubby going for a snorkel.

The water was kind of cold.

Hubby and his first jellyfish.

I turned to look at Dimples and he was in the process of picking up this jellyfish.  I was shocked.  This guy does not like to touch glitter!

Hubby and Princess driving the boat.

A Red Sea Sunset.

Pyramids, Sphinx and Camels

Day two with Grandma and Auntie was very exciting, fun and entertaining.

We started the day by walking past the Great Pyramid.  Always magnificent.  Especially for people who see it for the first time.

While Auntie and Grandma gazed an the beauty and wonder of the Great Pyramid I was looking at the huge line of tour buses!  This was exciting.  Although I enjoyed my first adventure at the Pyramids without the tremendous amount of foreigners around, it was very nice to see that Tourism is returning to Egypt.  The first time we went in November, there were no tour buses...there were some small tour vans, but, that was about it.

With the increase in tourists comes the increase in vendors trying to sell you stuff.  The nice thing now though, is that with the increase of tourists, they did not appear to be as pushy.  Especially when we told the that we live here.  They tend to back off quickly when we tell them that we live here.

Once we were settled with the idea of being around the pyramids, we ventured in.  Hubby stayed outside taking photographs because he had gone up twice.  Grandma, Auntie, and I made the climb through the precarious ladder bridge and into the tomb of Khufu.  It is a steep climb, but, worth it to say that you were in the Pyramid.  The awe and wonder of how they lugged those massive stones becomes really impressive when you stand in front of them.  Today however, there was a really strange group of tourists having a seance around the sarcophagus of Khufu.  People were climbing into the tomb, laying down and the people were chanting and putting their hands over the tomb.  Super weird.  Not something you see everyday, and, we were not certain what their motives were.  The unfortunate thing is that as other people, ourselves included, entered the tomb, we could not see the sarcophagus because they would not move.  But, we were at the museum the day before and saw dozens of sarcophagi, so, we moved on.

Then, we came across the guy that hubby used for the camel ride in January.  We did not have to negotiate because he had done that before and very quickly boarded our camel.

Auntie rode Pepsi, Grandma rode Charlie Brown, Hubby rode Moses and I rode Mr. Grumpy Pants aka Mickey Mouse.  My camel would moan and groan whenever they wanted him to sit down.  We took our camel ride through the desert, around the pyramids, to the panoramic view.  We encountered a lot of tourists there, including some Toronto Blue Jay fans.  We enjoyed our donkey pop (a phrase I coined for the man on the donkey who brings you a soda).  This is where you get the awesome views of all 9 pyramids at a time...and where all tourists take the very cheesy photos that always are good for a laugh.

Then, we ventured down to the Sphinx by camel.  It was a long ride, but very, very fun.  The Sphinx was equally magnificent but our stay was short.  We got our pictures, walked around and carried on to our Egyptian Feast

But first, we had to walk through the vendors.  People selling pop, hats, shirts, statues, postcards, pens and the like were all vying for our business.  They were pretty calm however, not really causing many problems.  But, Hubby always enjoys negotiating with them.  He finds it hilarious to watch their faces as he haggles for the lowest price on whatever they are offering.  We ended up with some really good deals at the end.

Our Egyptian Feast included Auntie and Hubby helping make the shamy bread.  There is no menu at this restaurant.  You just sit down, order drinks and they bring food to you.  An array of fabulous salads including delicious, garlicky beets and wonderful dips...and of course the fresh shamy bread.

Then the chicken came out.  We watched it on the spit on the way in.  It was truly divine.  Hubby had eaten there before, but, it was the first time for the rest of us.  It was a wonderful meal.

We then headed home.  Exhausted from the heat, we came for a rest before we retrieved the kiddos from school.  All in all a great day that concluded with an awesome dance party.

Hanging out on the Great Pyramid

Grandma and Charlie Brown

Auntie on Pepsi

Holding the pyramid

Auntie and I hanging out by the pyramids

Our delicious lunch

Making bread with the ladies

The chickens on the spit

They're Here!

Around 2:50 PM yesterday afternoon, we had the pleasure of reuniting with Auntie and Grandma.

It was an exciting reunion...especially for Princess.  After almost 8 months of being apart from her beloved Auntie, we were unsure as to how she would react.  Would she be shy??  Would she be her normal exuberant self?? Or, would she exhibit some other unusual behaviour??

Immediately I realized, that time apart does not matter.  Her Auntie and Grandma are still, her Auntie and Grandma and she ran up to them so fast...she gave them the biggest hugs and kisses.  It was a special tear filled moment for most involved.

Then we waited...

We could not find our driver, and Hubby had left his phone in the car so we could not call him.  We had to just wait.  We discussed the flight in...Grandma and Auntie were tired.  We were determined to keep them up for the rest of the day to help them get used to the time change.

They did great and stayed up past 9 PM!

After a good night`s rest, we decided that today we would head down to Tahrir Square and to the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities.  We took a taxi through the gridlock to the Square and wandered around the museum for a couple hours.  The museum is so massive and there is a lot of stuff in there.   It really is quite magnificent.  The most amazing thing about the museum is that almost all of the artifacts are not roped off or in cases.  Most of it you can walk right up to and touch...or in the case of Princess, try to climb it.  Touching is strongly forbidden...so you can imagine the reaction when Princess tried to climb it.  Hilarious.

Although the museum is magnificent, it is difficult to navigate.  The museum was hit by a riot during the revolution and many of the placards explaining what everything is are missing.  The interest level is always higher when you know which king, ruler, or pharaoh the items belonged to, or where they were found.

I always find mummies fascinating.  That is always my favorite corridor any time that we go to the museum.  They are still in great shape.  The ones with portraits painted on them make it seem even more realistic and fascinating.  The sarcophagi and coffins are also fascinating parts of the museum.

And then, there is the entire room devoted to King Tut.  Immaculate.  Enough said.

After awhile though, everything starts to look the same, so, we opted to head out and explore the beauty and historical significance of Tahrir Square.

Everyone knows the story behind Tahrir Square.  Just over one year ago, the international news stations had never ending coverage on the Revolution.  Today, we walked over there.  It was actually my first time.  Hubby, Grandma and Auntie walked right into the middle of the square for some photo ops while Princess and I stayed in the restaurant and people watched the guys with the cigarette boxes for hats.

Then, the real adventure began.  We introduced Grandma and Auntie to the Metro.

We have been on the Metro here before, and it was great.  It is a fast way to get from point A to point B,
and, it only costs 17 cents.  Today, the Metro was packed.  Grandma and Auntie got a first hand glimpse as to how you have to be pushy to get where you need to be sometimes in Egypt.  They also got to experience how helpful and kind Egyptians are.  We managed to get onto the train, and, just when we thought it was full, another 10 men squeezed themselves into the train car.  It was really squishy...think clown car.  For Grandma, who does not really like crowds and tight spaces, she rocked it out like a champ.  It was helpful that the next stop is where half the train car got out.  We then enjoyed a relatively uneventful trip the rest of the way to Maadi.

It is hot here now.  Hovering around 34 degrees in the afternoon, very quickly you can overheat.  It is always nice to get home to the A/C and have a rest from the sun and blazing temperatures.

The rest of the evening will be for relaxing and enjoying each others company.  Tomorrow, we head to the pyramids...3rd time for Hubby, 2nd time for me and 1st time for Auntie and Grandma.  Watch out camels, here we come!

Enjoy the pictures from day one of Auntie and Grandma in Cairo!

Auntie at the museum.

Grandma and Auntie in Tahrir Square.

People watching the man with the cigarette box for a hat...whatever keeps you cool!

Walking down Road 9 in Maadi!

Egyptian Culture Day

It is Spring Break.  The students were excited for this break...so were the teachers.  It is a phenomenon that occurs at every school.  Everyone likes a holiday.

Before our holiday could begin, the school hosted an Egyptian Culture Day.  It was perfect timing really; in Social Studies we had been discussing culture as I mentioned in a previous post.  I used Egyptian Culture Day as an example.

It was remarkable really.  The planning was really well done.  Students sang, danced and played instruments.  They brought in musicians and dancers from outside the school.  There was an abundance of Egyptian food, and, most everyone was dressed in traditional Egyptian dress.

A couple posts ago, I talked about the onion and the layers of culture.  This Egyptian Culture Day was the skin of the onion.  It had all the bells and whistles of an entertaining afternoon, but, as I have been teaching the grade 7`s, there is so much more to culture than the skin!

The afternoon was essentially a 3 hour celebration of culture a la Folklorama.  It solidified the idea that we identify cultural perspective with the outer skin; judging a book by its cover.   Just like the onion, with hidden layers, culture is the same, so why is it hidden in Cultural celebrations!  While all these thoughts ran through my head, I also thought about why we buy certain fruits, vegetables and onions.  We inspect their skin, look for blemishes and then, we decide whether we want to buy it or not.  What you see is what you get...usually.  That is the purpose of the outside skin.  It lets people know what to expect and to decide if they want to invest in what they see.

It becomes the choice of the onlooker to decide if they want to buy in to what they see.  It is quite clear that we have invested in what we have seen here in Egypt.  We have invested in the lives of students, the people around us and the people we work with.  We have invested time, energy and effort.  We have invested hours doing research, marking papers and pushing forwards when sometimes we just want to stay home.  We have decided, based on what we have seen, to invest in the lives of the people here.  Through all the effort and time spent building relationships, I truly feel like, as on onlooker of this culture, that I have started seeing the inside layers of the onion.

I have spent a lot of time talking about and reflecting on onions.  When I want to prepare a soup, I cut the onion in half and immediately see all the layers.  That is the one thing that cannot be done with people and with culture.  You will never see the inside layers without the investment of time into building relationships.  People will not share their inner thoughts, beliefs and values with you, if, they do not sense that you really, truly care.  It is only with time, that the layers of culture begin to expose themselves.  It truly is a fascinating adventure.

With all that in mind, it was a wonderful afternoon.  Let the pictures speak for themselves.  

They're Coming!!

It is April 3rd, 2012.  I am sitting in a quiet flat, everyone is in bed except Mama.  It is 8:45.  Hubby is not feeling great and the kiddos finally went to sleep (after putting them to bed multiple times and one diaper change later).

It has been a hectic week.  Field trips, finishing units and administering tests.  Nevermind all the marking and prepping for the first couple days after Spring Break...and that extra little project I have taken on, well, that is my own doing.

Tomorrow is the last day of classes before Spring Break.  The students are excited, the teachers are excited and, oh ya, our kids are excited...BECAUSE...

Auntie and Grandma are COMING!  Princess is asking non stop, "when will they get here"?

The answer is always, "they're coming in _________days and _________sleeps"!  She then starts jumping and dancing around.  I do not think she understands just how much time that actually is, but, she is excited nonetheless.

Yup, Auntie and Grandma are coming to visit this weekend!  We are all excited.  We cannot wait to show them around and give them a taste of what life for us is like here in Egypt.  The next couple weeks on the blog will have lots of pictures as we explore different parts of Cairo.  Some we have seen before, others will be new...and, we may even venture out to the sea...at least that is the plan!

Happy Easter to all our friends and family as well!  It is always a special time of the year.