The Last Couple of Weeks

A lot has been happening here in Egypt over the past couple weeks for us.  School started, Princess had her first day of JK (KG1 – or Junior Kindergarten), Dimples returned to the nursery and Hubby and I had the pleasure of meeting our classes again.  

The weeks of preparation for classes to start came and went very quickly.  Last year, there was not enough time in the world for me to prepare for the first day of teaching.  This year, I was ready days in advance and could not wait to meet the kids.  The first days of parent meetings and the first day with the kids were everything I had pictured that they would be.  

But, nothing could prepare me for the first day of class for Princess.  We were concerned that our little girl who has refused to wear pants since she was 18 months old would put up a huge fight about having to wear the uniform pants and polo shirt.  That proved to not be very difficult at all.  Taking her to her class on the first day, I got all weepy eyed and emotional as I delivered her to the JK class.  Even though we teach in the same building, it was still very emotional to drop her off with her teacher.  I never had this difficulty at the nursery...there is just something about taking your kid to Kindergarten.  It made me think of how quickly the time has flown by since she was born.  Thankfully for me, she walked right into her class, sat at a table that was set up with a picture and markers to color with and that was that.  

Since the first day of classes, we have discovered that she LOVES her music class and that she is always the first to start the songs and dances.  We have found out that she DOES NOT CARE for Phys-Ed.  This is particularly disturbing for me, who has a Kinesiology degree and spent my life on a court or field of some kind.  I have since discovered that it is because her PE teacher speaks Arabic and she does not understand.  Now that we have that dealt with, PE has been more enjoyable for her.  She proudly shows us her work for the day and she is picking up on rhyming schemes and is able to read very simple stories.

Dimples carries on with his day as usual.  Nothing has changed for him since last year.  He still has the same teacher, but there are new kids in his class.  We hear reports that he is very reliable and compliant and works well with others.  The staff is excited when he opts to speak words in Arabic, even though the classes are taught in English.  I guess they like that he is picking up on their language.  We are thrilled to hear that he is starting to pick up on Arabic.  He probably knows more than we do. 

When we took Dimples to nursery this year, there was confusion as to which class he would be in.  They wanted him to be in a Nursery class which would mean that he would graduate from the Nursery this year and begin JK next year.  We were shocked that this would even be a suggestion!  He is far too young to be preparing to go to JK.  Princess is 4, JK seems reasonable.  Dimples would have been set to start JK at 3 and Kindergarten at barely 4 years old.  That is much too early.  So, we convinced them to keep him in the Toddler program and he is thriving there.  We did not see a need to rush him along into formal schooling.  Nursery is still primarily based on play.

I am sure by now that you have heard much about the dismay of the Arab world over the past week or so.  I have opted not to publish my personal comments or opinions, but, please know that our daily life has been uninterrupted by these events.  If we did not have television to watch the news, we may have never known about these events.  

Anyway, that is a little update from our part of the world.  I hope to keep the blog updated more frequently in the coming weeks as the excitement from the first couple weeks is now winding down.  I will add pictures on the next post, the one of Princess on her first day of school is priceless.

 

Swim Like A Fish

I wrote this post a couple days ago, but, am delayed in actually publishing it.

To celebrate the Labor Day weekend here in Cairo, we opted to spend the weekend at a hotel near the pyramids.  For those of you that have followed our blog, this is a semi-frequent occurrence for us.  We enjoy the change of scenery and the time away from our "responsibilities" around the house.

We decided to stay at a different hotel this time around and were farther away from the pyramids than we would have liked.  The last hotel we stayed at was right across the street from them.  There is something about those massive ancient structures that amaze me every single time I see them.  We have driven past and admired them frequently during our time here and they never cease to amaze me.  They are truly a perplexing part of history.

With all that aside, living in Egypt with a very warm, arid climate has its perks at this time of year.  When the temperature would be starting to drop at home in Canada, the temperature becomes bearable here.  Swimming outside in September is not an unusual thing to do.  In fact, it was pretty glorious.  The kiddos spent endless hours paddling away in the pool.  Princess mastered how to use a snorkel this weekend, which absolutely astounded me because I still struggle with a snorkel.  She stuck that snorkel in her mouth, planted her face in the water and paddled her way around the massive pool, end to end, repeatedly.  I was impressed.

Dimples also improved his swimming skills by finally venturing out in the water on his own...with his water wings on.  He realized that they do indeed keep him afloat and he mastered the concept of keeping his chin up.  He had a blast being lifted out of the water and being thrown in the air, a safe distance away into mommy`s arms.  He did not mind going under water and always surfaced with the most adorable, dimpled smile.

It was a magnificent way to spend 2 days.  It was also a spectacular way to distract my mind that has been racing a million miles a minute with new teaching ideas and lesson plans.  I did not have my computer or teaching materials with me on the weekend so it was truly an excellent way to unwind from the rigors of preparing for the beginning of the school year.  I feel completely prepared and am excited to have students in my room again on Wednesday.

What really got me excited was when I saw two students that I taught EAL to last year sitting on the floor outside one of the offices.  They were waiting to rewrite some exams.  I sat down with them, chatted about their summers and helped them study for their exam.  Sitting and helping them study really got me in the mood to teach.  I am ready...even though I have the nervous/anxious/excited butterflies fluttering around in my stomach.

I just cannot wait!  But, wait I will...I have no choice.  First up, parent orientation days.  Tomorrow, we get to be a parent at the orientation as Princess will begin JK this year.  Then, on Tuesday, it is meet the parents day for the high school...this is where Hubby and I will shine as we meet the parents of our students and let them know what they can expect.  It is one of the most important days of the school year and I cannot wait!

On another note, my super amazingly awesome grandparents celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this past weekend.  The whole family got together to celebrate and we really wished we could have been there.   It is truly an amazing testament to the power of love and commitment when you see a couple together for 60 years!  Happy Anniversary Grandma and Grandpa!

That's all for now... Tomorrow I will write about the first two days of school...all I will say now is that they were pretty fantastic!

Beach and Sun

A couple days ago, we had the awesome opportunity to spend the day by the Red Sea.  We loaded into a bus with all the new staff and heading out early in the morning for the day.  It was a fabulous day (even though we faced some discrimination by the resort because we had children - I always hate that when it happens).

The kids were both so excited to spend the day in the water.  Princess is becoming quite the little swimmer and Dimples loves to sit in the sand and make sand piles.  The beach was covered in soft sand and extremely warm water.  It was such a great way to spend the day!  I do not think the kids left the water for more than 10 minutes all day, and, I am pretty sure that we used 1 entire bottle of sunscreen because it was SO hot that day.  But, no one was burnt and the kids still talk about heading back to the beach.

Probably the highlight of the day for Princess was the creation of multiple sand castles.  Mostly, they were sand piles with gates and windows and flags, a moat and, of course seashell decorations.  Hubby and a friend were creating a "mancave" castle and Princess decided to decorate it with seashells and coral as well...much to their dismay.  Sandshark (a family tradition) also made an appearance on the beach that day.

I love that we are able to get in a car and head out to the beach with less than a 2 hour drive.  Perhaps this may be a more common excursion for us this year.  Who knows?  Enjoy the pictures!

Princess and Daddy playing with the wet sand.

Dimples and the water

Some kind of mutated sea urchin that was found

Princess and one of the teachers building sandgate.

Daddy and his kiddos

Princess and a big hole...with a path to the water

Sandshark with shell teeth and eyes

Rocks for Dates

The last 24 hours have been busy and exciting for us!  You never know what will happen when you step out the door and the last day has been no exception.  

We had been asked by the school to help out the new teachers in our area to ensure that they were adjusting well and to help them with anything that they needed.  It has added an extra layer of work over our first few days, but, it has been very fruitful.  It is nice to be able to pass on things that took us awhile to figure out on our own.  We had a lovely dinner with them yesterday and a couple came over in the evening and stayed visiting until the wee hours of the evening.  

In the early evening yesterday, Princess and I went for a walk for a bit.  As we were walking we came across a man that was chucking large rocks into the palm trees to collect dates.  I had always wondered how they got the dates down from the top of the palm tree and now I know!  He offered us a couple of rocks and together we chucked the rocks up to the top of the tree.  When we successfully hit  the bunch of dates or the branch holding the dates, the ripe (or soon to be ripe) dates fell from the tree to be collected.  Princess found such joy in this activity, even though her rock never made it high enough to hit the dates.  It was like trying to hit a piñata...except you get dates when you are successful instead of candy.  I wish I had a camera with me to capture the moment, but, it will exist in my memory.

Today we took the teachers out to Maadi to meet the other new teachers and to have lunch, a walkabout tour and a felluca ride.  A felluca is essentially a large sailboat that floats down the Nile.  We have never been on one and it was very lovely.  The kids were thrilled to be on the boat and talked about the crocodiles in the river and that there were SO many crocodiles.  Princess has a vivid imagination.  Again, I wish we had a camera, but, we did not because the little one was out of battery and the big one was too cumbersome for our day trip without a stroller (we forgot it in Winnipeg...turns out we were quite forgetful the day we left).

We are now back home and getting ready to settle in for the evening.  The kids are quickly readjusting to the time zones, while mama and papa are still adjusting, thanks to very little sleep on the plane.  Tomorrow we are heading out to the Red Sea for the day.  It will be a great time to swim in the water and play in the sand.  The kids cannot wait.  (I promise the camera will make the trip tomorrow).

And...We're Back

After taking several weeks away from Egypt visiting family and friends in Canada, we are back.  

Our time in Canada was very fruitful.  It was so wonderful to reconnect with people we care about.  It was hard saying goodbye, but, at the same time, we are very excited to be back in Egypt.  Our travels were not without difficulties this time around, however.

Last year when we flew to Egypt, we were blessed by many “angels” along the way.  There were many people that went above and beyond any and all expectations that made our trip that much easier.  This time however, we seemed to encounter the opposite.  

Our travels started off very well.  We were quite concerned about Princess saying goodbye to the family, but, she was very brave.  The limo driver was very patient and helpful.  The lady at that checked our baggage and produced our boarding passes was also pleasant and helpful (Although, they weighed our carry on baggage.  This was a first for us...but, we were okay!  I hate having to shuffle belongings at the airport, while being watched by all the people waiting to get checked in).  

But then, we got on the planes.  The flight attendants were bossy and pretentious (on most of the flights, especially the last one), the flights were all late arriving at the layover destination, we left one of our carry-on bags on the plane (we are hoping they will find it and send it to us), the food was worse than usual, the seats were closer together than we have experienced, the entertainment system was not working in the bank of seats that we were sitting in on the flight from Toronto to London, the entertainment system from London to Cairo was inadequate and we had to rush to rush through the London airport to get from one terminal to another, go through security again and go through 2 checkpoints before we could stand in line to sit at the gate to Cairo.  Thankfully, the flight to Cairo was delayed, otherwise, it would have been a close call as to whether we would have made the plane on time.

Sheer sense of relief prevailed once we stepped off the plane in Cairo.  Having landed in Cairo 3 times now, we know the drill.  Follow the signs, get the entry visas, fill out the landing cards, go through customs, then, collect our bags.  This usually is a long and drawn out process, but, for some reason, everything ran smoothly.  The only troubling part was when we were going down the escalator to the baggage claim and seeing 40 men standing on the baggage belt that our bags were to be coming on.  People were shouting and women were screaming.  We had no idea what was happening, but, assumed that someone had died because it had that feeling to it.  I was perplexed as to why they would all be on the conveyor belt until I saw them pull a small, limp, yet screaming little girl off the belt.  Not knowing what happened, I can only assume that she was playing on, or near the conveyor belt when it started to move.  We do not know what happened to that little girl, but, we can only pray that she is okay.  It was a somber welcome back to Egypt.

We eventually found our driver and made our way back to our house.  It was so incredibly nice to walk into our home after 24 hours of traveling.  We quickly loaded our bags into the flat and started unpacking our things.  Princess and Dimples quickly went to their room and reacquainted themselves with toys that were left in Egypt for the summer.  It was almost like Christmas for them. They both seem happy to be home again.  Dimples dove right into the sand on our walk to the store.  It was almost like we had never left at all.  It was a good thing that we had energy when we arrived because the school had asked us to visit some of the new teachers that had just arrived.  We had lovely visits with them and look forward to working with them this year.

Meeting the new teachers got me even more excited about the upcoming school year.  I have been excited to start teaching my new students for a couple weeks now.  I have been creating documents daily that will help aid my organization throughout the first couple of weeks.  I am excited to use them...I know, only a teacher would get excited about an organizational document.  But, I feel that I have an advantage going into this school year that I did not last year.  This advantage comes from knowing the students that I will be teaching in the coming year.  I do not know them well, but, I have seen them around for a year.  Having taught grade 7-9 at the school, I have a good idea of how my class will run and that is a huge asset for the first couple of weeks.  Of course, there will be unexpected circumstances, but, nothing that I am concerned about. 

Anyway, now that we are back in Egypt, I will commence my weekly updates.   The posts will range in variety from school experiences, to travel and exploration stories.  I do not expect to be writing many posts on cultural adaptations this year as we are quite familiar with how things work around here now, but, WHO KNOWS!  Keep posted, stay in touch!

Then There Were Nine...

Wow!  Time flies when you are having fun!  We have been back in Canada since June 27th and now, we are looking at having only 9 more days here with family and friends.  It has been fabulous to reconnect with those that we have missed during our time in Egypt. 

But, at the same time, Egypt has become our home; and, like most times you are away from home, you start to miss it.

In ways, we are very ready to go back.  In others, I could see us staying here much, much longer.  But, when it is time to board that plane, I know that we are headed back to our home.

When I was a student, summer vacations were never, ever long enough (even though I forced my siblings to `play`school during summer break).  As a teacher, I have come to the conclusion that they are FAR too long!  I think I was ready to get back in the classroom 2 weeks ago.  Ever since then, my mind has been spinning with idea after idea. I have had to run to find a piece of paper of a computer before my excellent idea withered away into oblivion. 

My classroom has been decorated already...in my mind of course.  It looks great.  Hopefully it will look as good on the walls as it does in my mind.  I have full units of study ready to go...unfortunately, it has to wait until September 4th. 

In the meantime, we still have 9 days left here in the prairies and then we lift off for Egypt.  I think that they will be very full days where we will be seeing lots of people, going to lots of fun places and of course, dealing with our luggage (I really despise packing).  It seems that no matter how hard we try, we always have more things that we have space.  And, with the change in luggage allowance from 2 bags each, to 1, packing becomes a LOT more difficult.

In the end, it is a reminder that we have too much stuff.  It forces you to re-evaluate the value of the things you have and why you acquired them in the first place.  We will be leaving things behind, saying farewell to some of the kids favorite toys and donating some clothes.  In the end, the philanthropic nature of departing with things has been beneficial for our children.  It helps us remember to hold dear the things that are most important in life.

Our FAQ's

I have been completing neglecting the blog since we have returned to Canada for the summer months.  We have been back in Canada since the end of June and have been having an awesome time connecting with those that we love and care about.







I was going to do an, "Egypt, Year in Review" type blog, but changed my mind.  Instead, I am going to write about the most common questions we have gotten since we have returned.  They range from culture adaptation, to food, to dress, to the school and our general way of life.  I will begin with the most commonly asked question.


#1 - Are you safe there?



Yes, we are most certainly safe in Egypt.  We live in a quiet suburb about 45 minutes from downtown.  It is just like living anywhere else in the world.  You learn where not to go and when to not go there.  There was never any moment that we felt we were unsafe.


#2 - What about the Muslim Brotherhood?  Will that change your way of life?

The reality is, we do not know the answer to these questions.  The presidential elect was only announced a couple days before we left Egypt to return to Canada.  We do not know what he has in store for Egypt.  We are not concerned about Mr. Morsi being name president and we are not concerned (yet) about the Muslim Brotherhood have political power over Egypt.  The reality is that the military is still playing a large role in the governing of the country.  For right now, we believe that President Morsi will be good for Egypt.  I am not expecting any drastic changes in the way I will be expected to dress or behave.


#3 - Is it hot there?

Yes, it is hot.  But, temperatures vary throughout the year.  Summer months are hot and dry.  You do not feel like you are melting, but, you do feel very hot.  It is nice not to have to deal with the humidity.  In winter, it cools off, only 19 Celsius during the day. But, it is a nice change from the heat.  But, by March, it begins to warm up.  Only a few "cooler" months.



#4 - How do you have to dress there?

The reality is that this varies depending on who you ask.  Men can wear anything they want really, but hubby usually opts for shorts and a golf shirt.  The kids can get away with anything they want too.  As for me, I aim for modesty.  I always have my knees and shoulders covered.  I try not to attract any unnecessary attention upon myself.  I do not wear a head scarf (hijab).  But, I do carry a scarf with me if I feel I need to be more modest.  After spending 10 months in a country where women are very modestly dressed, it was hard to enter into a society where short shorts and spaghetti straps are acceptable.  The amount of skin was overwhelming at first, but, it did not take that long to adjust.  It has shifted my personal perspectives on modesty, however.  That is a blog post in and of itself.


#5 - What is the school like?

We love teaching at the school.  We enjoy our students and enjoy our work.  We feel like we encounter many opportunities for success each day that we are with our students.  We like that the school is still relatively new and that we have the chance to share our opinions and ideas freely.  We enjoy our teaching assignments (I will be teaching grade 7 again and hubby will be teaching gr. 9-12 Business) in the 2012-2013 school year.


#6 - Are you going back?

Yup, we are!

#7 - How much more time is on your contract?

One more year.  Then, we will have to decide if we want to stay longer, or, if our time in Egypt has come to an end.

I think that covers the major questions.  I will see if I come up with any others in the next little while.  The reality is...we really enjoy Egypt and we like our simple way of life.  However, right now, we are really enjoying our time here with friends and family.  It is going by way too fast!