A MISRable Sense of Humour

Around 4:30 on December 16th during the bus ride home, I finally understood.  Shannon and I chat regularly on Facebook, and some of her comments over the previous two days had confused me.  I figured that she was extremely excited to come so she was packing early and was saying her 'see you really soons' in case we weren't able to connect on the day before her departure.  I had it in my mind that I had a full day away from school before she arrived on the 17th.  Sometime just before stepping off the bus, my mind was awash in phrases such as "oopsie daisy" and "oh gosh, I haven't booked the driver for tomorrow yet" ... she was arriving tomorrow.  Luckily, I got the ride booked, and the Cairene dust hadn't yet started to hide my weekend mopping work.

Given the joys of arriving in an airport with no access to a telephone and difficulties speaking the local language, I'd promised her that I would be waiting on her arrival at the airport.  Traffic was good during the trip and her flight was scheduled to arrive at 8:00 so my 8:05 arrival at the airport seemed just right.  Until Mohamed, the driver, advised me that the flight board indicated that she'd touched down 30 minutes early. Given I didn't know the Cairo airport too well, as my first and only visit occurred after my own sleepless odyssey to Egypt, I wasn't able to arrange a meeting place.  Well, I spent the next 15 minutes pacing up and down the airport in frantic 3 minute bursts trying to see if she'd already cleared customs while ensuring that I wouldn't miss her if she was just clearing.  About 20 minutes after my arrival, she cleared customs, we successfully navigated the gauntlet of 200 LE airport taxi offers (should be 75-100) and we started the trip home.

Two of the three things that come to mind when I describe Cairo are traffic and feral cats.  Wouldn't you know it, our ride home was one of those rare "where are all the cars" trips.  Don't worry, our trip home from Heliopolis ensured that she got a proper taste of proper traffic.  Also, for the next two days, there were no cats to be seen on my street.  Given Shannon's love of cats, I was worried that she'd purchase all of the local store's tuna in an effort to ensure that the local kittens were properly fed for a while.  Shannon did get her fill of feline friends though ... but initially, Cairo showed its sense of humour (at least the pollution was still there).

Given how energized most people feel after a long flight, I didn't really plan too much for Shannon's time here.  I was tired and I knew she was tired, so we both had decided to play it by ear.  In the land of pyramids, temples and souks ... our first destination ended up being the Maadi Grand Mall.  Ok, it's not a typical tourist spot, but it is a great place to get a feel for being in a different city.  (also, I needed to pick up the printer cartridge I'd ordered).  I introduced Shannon to the joys of clothing shopping here along with my secret addiction.  No, I haven't developed a taste for Shisha and likely never will.  On the 4th floor of Grand Mall is the watch kiosk.  Shannon showed the same love of knock-off watches that I enjoy.  (Sandi - ignore the next sentence).  There is something special about a replica watch that costs less than most dinners out.

No trip to Cairo is complete without a trip to the Cairo museum.  As life is much more fun taking the train, (and the 1 LE / $0.16 fare doesn't hurt), we hopped on the train and headed down there.  Well, despite having taken the train a few times to the museum area, I can never remember which stop to get off at.  They're both named after famous Egyptian leaders (Nasser and Sadat) and I completely forgot to check which one was correct.  Yes, I now know that Sadat is one stop too far.  Instead of getting back on the train, we elected to walk to Tahrir Square from Sadat station.  I'm not sure that my "this will be a great way for you to see the less expat areas of the city" excuse held water.  Eventually, we made it to Tahrir Square and got ready for the Government Store representatives.

Cameras are always magnets in Tahrir Sq.  Sometimes, they're incredibly helpful as you get help crossing an extremely busy street.  The rules for crossing the street are extremely simple.  Close your eyes, say a quick prayer to Allah, take a deep breath and start walking ... and never stop.  Cameras also seem to attract "museum employees" that are on their breaks.  Strangely enough the museum is always closed at the time of your arrival.  Sometimes it's prayer time, sometimes it's reserved for Egyptian residents only, sometimes it's closed that morning ... but inevitably, there is a reason why it's not advised to go to the museum quite yet.  Thank goodness, they always have a ready invite to an "art gallery", a "perfume shop" or a "jewelry shop" ready for you.  Each of these come under the umbrella of the "government shop."  Well, we dodged our couple of invites to the government shop and headed into the museum despite being told it was prayer time (at 10:30 instead of the normal 12:00).

So yes, even in the courtyard, Shannon was able to find a cat to say hello to.  I was glad to be returning to the museum as I hadn't brought my point and shoot the first time I toured the museum.  Given the multitude of replica statues in the courtyard, there were plenty of opportunities to take pictures of both of us in various poses.

The museum is an exhausting visit.  I find that my personal limit is about 2 hours before everything becomes a blur.  During my first visit, 2 hours hit while I was still on the first floor so I never made it upstairs.  This time, Shannon and I made it upstairs to see the two funerary treasures exhibits.  I hadn't seen Tutankhamen's death mask for 36 years and it's still as awe inspiring as the first time I saw it.

I recognize that cats are special, but the little tabby on the right might have taken elegance to a new extreme.  There were many places around the museum to sleep, and this one's tastes must have leaned more towards sculpture than most.

So, we left the museum and started the trip back home (this time via Nasser station instead of Sadat).  If I haven't mentioned it before, Egyptians are incredibly friendly people.  So, as we approached the entrance to the subway, we met Sherif.  After a brief discussion on our visit and the political situation, he asked us if we'd like to grab a drink.  I couldn't possibly duplicate the route (and I doubt that without him we would be welcome there), but he lead us through a serpentine trail of alleys & sidewalks and we ended up at an alley cafe where the real museum employees take their breaks.  Shisha pipes dotted the landscape where the three of us sat down to enjoy tea and mango juice.  We discussed everything from the geography of the Bible (as a narrative of people journeying between Egypt and Jerusalem) to politics to his job at the museum.  I'll definitely be arranging a time to see him again as he had previously discovered a mummified cat and would be willing to take me on a tour of the hidden exhibits (along with his cat).  It really was a fascinating discussion and if Shannon and I hadn't needed to rush back to Maadi so quickly, we likely would've spent more time chatting with him.

In the end, Sherif showed us one of the government shops that catered more to the locals than the one by the museum.  As his daughter was getting married, he was buying some orchid essence as a gift for her. During our discussions, he had commented on Shannon's Psoriasis as Egyptian herbal remedies was one of his areas of study.  He helped negotiate the price for us and recommended a sandalwood blend that should help Shannon's skin.  She'll be doing a test run shortly ... even if it doesn't work it smells wonderful and lasts far longer than other "essences" (wait for the Luxor update).

So, we rushed home as we had decided that we would take the Luxor->Aswan cruise and needed to get the deposit to the travel agent.  Overall, it was a great first couple days and ... Shannon hadn't even seen the Nile yet.  (coming soon ... sunset on the Nile).

With apologies to Karen Carpenter

Unfortunately, when the working week starts on a Sunday and precipitation comes in 15 second "do you feel something?" batches, she was wrong on both counts.  That being said, it has been a long month and a bit since I posted here.  This blog became as dusty as my apartment once I was able to leave the windows open on a regular basis.  The lifespan of a mopped floor in Cairo is about 9 days - by day 10 the frequently walked paths in my apartment are easily discerned.

If there were a teaching equivalent to baseball's 'dog days of summer', that would be an ideal description for my November.  When I returned to university, there always came a time around week seven when I just wanted the class to be over.  It wasn't close enough to the end for me to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and the novelty of the subject had long worn off.  Well I found myself feeling the same way as a teacher.  The daily routine of the class and the roles of each member were well-defined and lacked originality (including my own), and my sense of humour had evaporated.  Looking back now, I know exactly why the downturn occurred.  And during that stretch, at least I had been warned that you should never contemplate quitting during your first two years or I would have wandered down that path with foolish abandon.

In retrospect, I can give myself a gentle kick in the butt.  For those of you that don't know, I enjoy sleep apnea on a nightly basis, which means the joys of a CPAP machine.  Let's just say that someone forgot to check his machine's humidity level.  Along with that oversight, the dust in the apartment had helped clog the filter beyond belief.  Add a month's sleep deprivation to everything and yeah ... it was a long month.  At least it's over now.  I'm thrilled to say farewell to the depression-like symptoms and that overall feeling of bleech.

In the interim, my sweetie has come and gone and we had a fantastic couple of weeks together.  In many ways, she helped restore my enjoyment of living here I was once again able to remember my initial views of Cairo through her eyes.  Yes, there will be a few vignettes posted from our pre-vacation week along with one or two describing the cruise.  We only took about 500 pictures during the couple weeks (and I dread the thought of tagging and cropping them already).  I've increased my stock of Egyptian attraction ticket stubs fourfold and we enjoyed a ton of highs and lows during the cruise.  I'll throw in a few teasers now to whet your appetites:

"five star ... I wonder who was counting"
"you picked a fine time to leave me Lucille's"
"impressive handcrafted workmanship.  The Nefertiti statues even had the same flaws."
"how many camels did she cost you"
"Canada dry never die"

In closing, x-mas occurred while I was silent.  In the category of strangest associations, my step-mother always insisted on including her Boney M Christmas album in the mix.  So, despite it not being included in the compilation, the song below will always be associated with x-mas in my mind.  I hope that you all had fantastic holidays and (family members only), Shannon is returning with gifts in hand.

1970s baroque at its finest

How Permanent is Temporary When the City is So Significantly Transformed at Night

One of the local minarets

Well, my apartment repairs are finally done.  The door will always open when I have key in hand, the washing machine no longer kidnaps my clothes for hours upon end, and the three piece bathroom is once again a functional three piece bathroom.  Oh, that main bathroom is still decorated in 1970s baroque avocado fixtures and it will never allow me to forget Canadian winters, as the ongoing gentle plaster snowfall will never end, but it's significantly better than it was previously.  Gradually, I'll try to integrate additional use of the more modern and aesthetically pleasing beige half bathroom ... but for now, the power of ritual can keep its hold on me.

I find myself facing questions about time.  Oh, it's no longer a sunset / sunrise issue - the sun does rise about 90 minutes earlier here so I had to adapt to adding that time to the clock - but it's a question of permanency / lack thereof that I'm struggling with.  Initially, most of my purchases were driven by finances and necessity:

"you picked a fine time to leave me" ... Lucille's wedding shop

(sample internal dialogue)

• Do I have towels?  No
• Are towels necessary?  Yes
• Can I afford those nice towels?  I'm really not sure
• Can I find something cheap to help me make do?  Yes
• Ok, buy some Carrefour towels.

Somewhere along the way, I received my first pay.  Since, I tend to lean toward the thrifty and cautious end of the financial spectrum at the best of times, that first payday didn't add too much comfort.  I'm only starting to get a feel for what my budget is for necessities and, given my recent door experiences, how much I should set aside for emergencies.

Revolution Graffiti - ubiquitous and always in English

Quick aside - I recognize the irony of keeping my emergency funds in my apartment

Well, I find myself in need of a changed mindset.  Despite some atypical expenses last week, I got a fairly good feel for what a week's finances means in Egyptian  Pounds.  So I'm at the store yesterday (Spinneys - the Egyptian version of Walmart) and I'm once again looking at household appliances:  rice cookers, kettles, cookware, etc...  For some reason, I found myself purchase averse for a different reason that I felt previously.  There really is no sense of permanency in my life right now.  As I'm working for a private school, there's no guarantee that I'll still be working there next week.  At the same time, I'm enjoying Egypt enough that I could easily see myself staying here for at least another contract period.  So when you're living in a place without a fixed time frame ... how do you deal with household goods?

One of the few times that WTF is written by a happy author

Looking back at my recent purchases, I've had no problem purchasing portable packables.  I found cotton shirts that I loved (and may end up back at that store again today) and happily paid the 600 LE to get them.  But, I'm having a tough time with purchasing the items that would be nice to have ... those "luxuries" that I don't really need.  So, do I invest in the rice cooker that might end up given away quickly, or do I avoid purchasing one today and wonder three months from now why I didn't do so earlier.  I imagine that this is just a product of comfort.  Given my apartment frustrations, it has yet to fully feel like home; I haven't really moved very far beyond the initial settling in period.  Add to my 3+ hours per day of emergency dealings a further 2+ hours of day-to-day chores ... and I rarely start my classroom prep before 9pm.  Given that I'm spending more than 1 hour per night per class ... and I'm up at 5:30 every morning to catch the bus to work, I'd be burning the third end if candles had more than two.  Likely things will feel more permanent shortly; but for now, I still feel in many ways that I've only been here a couple of days and still haven't really found a place to call home.

Because we love you ... M  A  A  D  I

These photos were all taken during one of my many strolls of the neighbourhood.  I'm sure it has everything to do with the climate, but Cairo undergoes a complete transformation when the sun sets.  People emerge from their homes, and the streets light up.  And no, it's not just the typical store neon sign or otherwise lighting, The minarets turn on their green lights - I learned that not all green lights signify mosques but all mosques will have green lights at night.  Trees are lit up with LED or incandescent bulbs, and the whole atmosphere of Cairo changes.  It's the rare block that doesn't contain some kind of decorative lighting somewhere.

Along with the people, the strays come out too

You still can't escape the incessant blaring of horns from the traffic waltz; but there seems to be a slightly friendlier undertone to the cacophony.  I'm told that there actually is a significant amount of order in the seemingly chaotic traffic flow ... perhaps I'll understand it someday.  The streets are filled with pedestrians at night and the street vendors park their pack animals and carts along the roadside to sell whatever they've harvested that day.  Also, on a more frequent basis, you can find me, wandering the streets, learning the neighbourhood, and wishing that I had a tripod and a camera that could do the sights justice.  I'm glad that I'm getting used to the nighttime streets now - by December the sun rises when we're on the bus to work and sets during the trip home.

The wake-up catch-up

Every so often, I'll finish a blog leaving something unsaid.  Last night, I knew that my ramblings were getting a little lengthy, and the hour was getting late, so I figured I'd leave out this part of last night's conversation.  Unfortunately, I woke up after far too short a night's sleep and my mind went back to one of the questions the manager asked me last night.

"What do Canadians think of Egypt?"

I started by confirming my impressions of Egypt to date.  The people are incredibly helpful and so far I'm thrilled to be here.  I love the history here and the museum was incredible.  At this point he stopped me and asked me to redirect my thoughts towards my impressions before I got here both of Egypt and the Middle East.

With apologies to my grade 9 geography teacher

I would anticipate that most people's immediate thoughts would gravitate towards the following:

• Geographic features:  Nile, Desert, sand, Suez
• Cities:  Cairo, Alexandria
• Exports:  Oil
• Monuments:  Great pyramids, Sphinx
• Historic Figures:  Cleopatra, Tutankhamen, Ramses
• Movies:  Brendan Fraser, Elizabeth Taylor
• Zahi Hawass:  (gets his own category)
• Politics:  The Revolution
• Artifacts:  Hieroglyphics, mummies, Rosetta Stone

Middle East?

Given that our conversation was more philosophical than superficial, I didn't share these initial thoughts; but I realized that in my mind, Egypt was a country without a category.  It came as quite a surprise to me ... and I'm glad that my Liberal Arts training helped develop my "where did this thought come from and what am I going to do with it" skills so that I could communicate this concept with some hastily constructed justifications.  When I read the BBC, it still feels strange to be clicking on the Middle East when I'm looking for articles about Egypt.  Iran and Iraq ... definitely part of the Middle East.  But Egypt ... it feels like a country of its own.  I know that Egypt is part of Africa, but I think of Africa as those parts south of the Sahara.  Overall, the best description I could come up with is an Arabic Athens.  Egypt has that Mediterranean feel to it in my mind and that separates it from the other African and Middle Eastern countries.  But, there's a little too much sand to place it totally within the Mediterranean category.

We have always treated Egypt as a source of awe and amazement (which is probably why the revolution seemed to come as such a shock).  I remember when the Tutankhamen artifacts came to the Royal Ontario Museum; the tour spawned a two-year Egyptian art pop-culture fad.  I can't think of a movie based in Ancient Egyptian History that wasn't a success:  Cleopatra (and upcoming remake), Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Mummy.  Until recently, any press that I can remember has always been sympathetic to Egypt.  Unfortunately, the best description of how Canadians feel about Egypt escaped my mind at the time - when I told people that I was moving to Egypt, the vast majority of people either wanted to visit Egypt or knew someone who had been and loved it.  And with a sly grin, I now get to say, "I'm here."

Well, for now I'm preparing to return to my battle with the greedy washing machine.  I'm hoping that they're able to repair it on Monday as the contests of wills when I'm trying to open the door is getting tiresome.  As school starts in three days, it's definitely time to get my prep done and lessons prepped.  And depending on how my day goes, tonight may end up being one of my geeky tourist moments as I've yet to take any photos of Cairo at night.

Finding some semblance of comfort

The school feels vaguely movie-like - at times I'm Clueless

After a little over a week of trips to and from here, I'm starting to feel a little more grounded.  Oh, I still have my Alicia Silverstone moments while there, but I'm feeling vastly better than I did 10 days ago.  My classroom is coming together, and along with an extra day of work time (Sunday wouldn't have felt like Labour Day anyways), I'll be at the point where I can say enough.

Yup, palm trees in the courtyard.

Getting ready for class has been a relatively all-consuming endeavour for the past week.  A large part of my workload has been developing and arranging all of those things that I never anticipated would need to be considered.  What's my late policy?  How will I deal with classroom management issues?  I assure you that this isn't going to devolve into one of those "teachers are underpaid because nobody knows all the things we do..." soapbox sessions, but I never really realized how much goes on behind the scenes.  Even having done my three practica during teachers' college didn't really prepare me for this.  But, given that today was payday, I shan't dwell on the negatives for too long.

6th of October City

During the trip home today, I was looking out of the window and realized that surprisingly enough, Cairo is starting to feel like home.  Oh, it's a little bit lonely at times, and my list of valuable phrases has only increased from about 5 to 15, but I'm at that point where sights are starting to seem familiar.  I'm no longer shocked by the pedestrians that cross the highway in the morning; although they are helped by the speed bumps in the highway (Giza's way of trying to encourage drivers to maintain a speed of 60 km/h), I still don't see myself trying that crossing anytime soon.  I've actually started to internalize the sensations felt during the drive so I can slip in and out of consciousness on the way home and wake up when we exit the highway at Maadi.  I'm even starting to recognize some of the strays in my neighbourhood.

In case anyone is considering visiting me, my current list of valuable words/phrases is:
Sah-baht  al  Care ... Good morning                             Mah-sah  al  Care      ... good evening
beh-kom  dah       ... How much is this                          Mah-ah-sah-lah-mah ... goodbye
Lao  Sah-maht      ... Please                                          Fa- heem                  ... I understand
Mish  Fa-heem     ... I don't understand                         Shh-mel                    ... left
Share-ah  meh-teen  Cam-sa - sab-bah-een ... Road 275
Yeah-mean           ... Right                                            ah  lah  tool               ... straight ahead
Yell-ah                  ... Let's go (thank you True Lies)     in shah-al-lah            ... "if god wills it"

As I'm sure you can imagine, I rely heavily on Mish fa-heem right now.  I'm sure there will be others that I thoroughly enjoy, but in shah-al-lah has to be my favourite.  Although there are theological overtones of fatalistic beliefs ... that isn't the true meaning in practical use.  The first usage is ... I've got a two o'clock appointment and I'm running behind and traffic is hell ... I will arrive there in shah-al-lah (ie  at some unknown later time).  When I return to Canada, and Shannon asks me when I want to go to Red Lobster, I will definitely employ the second usage.  Given that underwater cockroaches (lobster, shrimp) are my least favourite meal, in this case it means something like "if god wills it, I'll go there but don't expect that I will unless fate compels me."  In effect, it's a very polite euphemism for never.

Just a couple of quick vignettes from tonight and I'm done.  I decided that I'd walk to a new wireless store to get my data topped up, and couldn't find where it was located.  Oh, I'd drawn myself a sketch of my route ... but street signs don't exist here (that I've seen), and I soon realized that I was within a couple of blocks but couldn't find the store.  After walking up and down what I believed to be road 216, I knew that it was time to ask for directions.  So I wandered in to the closest grocery store and was thrilled to find that they had my favourite pop.  If I haven't mentioned it, most of the pop over here is either Coke, Pepsi or fruit based ... and my favourite has to be Schweppes Gold Pineapple pop.  Well, I asked the cashier and he wasn't too sure.  The moment that I pulled my map out to try to figure out where I was, someone else in the store came over and tried to help me.  When he couldn't, he walked out to the street and found someone who knew where the store was and made sure that I knew where I was going.  Although I didn't understand the directions, as he kept saying "momen", I wandered where he was pointing, and found the store beside a coffee shop named "Mo'Men."  When I say the service is excellent here, I mean it.  The moment you're lost or confused, people always go out of their way to help.

My second event during my walk tonight occurred at my favourite stationery store, Samir and Ali.  I'm sure it's a standard practice, but once you find somewhere that you feel comfortable (when you're not familiar with the area), you automatically head to that store or location no matter what.  There's a pharmacist right beside my building, but I always walk 10 minutes to the Grand Mall despite the limited selection because he understood my drawing of bandaids.  Similarly, I buy my water from one store (by Grand Mall) and my bread from another store (especially since I just found marmalade there) - even though both stores sell both items.  Well, I was at Samir and Ali tonight getting some school supplies and happened to run into one of the managers there.  When he found out that I was a teacher, he invited me in to his office and we chatted for about 30 minutes about politics, religion ... and he translated some additional phrases for me.  (Please note that I would never broach one of these subjects myself, but was happy to discuss them once he started the conversation).  During our chat on religion, he confirmed that the reason why he was helping me was that it was part of his faith.  And given the number of people that have helped me out and gone above and beyond what I could have expected, I realize that his behaviour is typical - people really do walk their talk in Egypt.  It's definitely a refreshing change from the West where many many people only seem to dust off their faith around Easter and Christmas.

Problem based learning (or experience is a harsh teacher)

So, I was having a fairly good day today.  I found an optometrist that would fix my glasses for free (I have been wearing my back-up pair).  That same optometrist helped me find a barbeque lighter so that I can actually use my stove.  Found the recommended emergency stomach medication, found alarm clocks at a good price and even located a couple of promising clothing stores.  Wow, things were looking up for me today.  Sadly, I tried to stretch my luck a bit too far.

On the way home, I met our doorman in the hallway and figured that I'd ask him to borrow a screwdriver to repair my shower curtain rod.  Although the mathematician in me appreciated the opportunities to consider triangles in more than one plane, the shower rod functions far better when it's parallel to the ground and not threatening to fall out of the wall at any moment.  I was thrilled to realize that he understood my need for a screwdriver and he even popped upstairs to help me fix it.  Unfortunately, when he needed to return downstairs to find some shims to fix it, I followed him into the hallway and the door closed behind me.

Well, I learned very quickly that I hadn't needed to obsess so much about my door not being locked when it was closed because I couldn't open it from the hallway when it was unlocked.  So there I was, outside my door with very little money in my wallet, no ID, no cell phone and no keys.  Given that all of my contact information was on my cell phone, I had no way to contact anyone.  For the first time, I experienced a huge dose of 'what can I do panic.'  After some time trying to discuss things with my doorman (who doesn`t speak English), we found someone who directed him to someone else who would try to break into my apartment.  I wasn't comfortable with the process, but I was getting desperate.  After waiting a half hour, the fellow arrived and within 10 minutes realized that he couldn`t break into the apartment.  Silver linings were appreciated today.

The second hour of being locked out of my apartment saw the start of my wanderings.  I had some vague ideas of where a couple of people lived in my area ... but I learned quickly that I couldn't figure out which buildings they lived in.  I wasn`t quite at the point of desperation, but it was coming soon.  I had a feeling that I knew where one person lived but they were a 15 minute cab ride away and I wasn`t quite ready to risk a trip there when I wasn`t certain that he would be home.

Hour three gave me a huge reminder of why I truly enjoy living in Cairo.  As I had nowhere else to turn, I wandered down to the local pharmacist as he speaks fairly good English.  I was a little worried when the afternoon pharmacist wasn`t there and the night pharmacist`s English wasn`t as good.  At that moment, a customer asked me why on earth I would be looking for a locksmith in a pharmacy.  Once I explained my situation to him, the customer translated my situation to the pharmacist ... who knew of a locksmith in the area.  So, my journey to the appropriately named Freedom Fish Market started.  Within an hour, I had found the locksmith, they had given me a ride home and my lock cylinder was replaced.

Well, teachers` college taught us to be reflective so ... here goes

• Lesson 1:  Always have a spare key or two.  I now have three keys to my front door - one for my key ring, one for my wallet (as I always have it), and one that I will place with someone for safe keeping just in case.
• Lesson 2:  Carry your cellphone everywhere - even within your apartment.  As someone that isn't used to carrying one, I never realized how valuable it was until I was lost without the ability to contact anyone I knew.
• Lesson 3:  Keep back-up contact information on hand.  I had been intending to place some contact information in my wallet for the past week - it`s now been done.  
• Lesson 4:  Take a deep breath.  Had I sat back and considered my options more fully, I would have likely found the locksmith (that was only 3 blocks away).  Now that my mind is a bit clearer, I can remember all the times that I`ve found someone willing to help me (even when I didn`t require it) and likely could`ve found someone to direct me a lot sooner.  In addition, the initial attempt resulted in additional damage to the door.

So, after a long day, it`s time for bed.

Pharoah's revenge - the blog version

Well, usually I won't post quite as often in one day, but I just heard my first "InshaAllah" regarding tonight's cocktail party.  In practical use, this means something between "I'll try to guess at the time, but don't expect 100% accuracy" and "yeah right, like that's gonna happen anytime soon."  I'm anticipating the former, which should give me enough time to get a few pics of the outdoor world posted.  Oh, and "Pharaoh's Revenge" refers to the standard digestive adjustment that westerners experience upon their arrival in Cairo due to the different bacteria in the food.  Surprisingly (likely due to the excess quantity of Imodium that I brought), my system adjusted immediately.  Of course, given the occasional refrigeration issues that occur over here, I anticipate that I'll welcome my excess supply sometime soon.  Sadly, I had to laugh when I read the packaging:  "store between 15º and 30º."  Ummm ... I am way too cheap to run my air conditioner that often and it's rarely below 30º in here on a consistent basis.

When my mother asked what I first sensed about Cairo that was different than the west, she was quite surprised when I mentioned that Cairo sounded different.  I did notice that the landscape tended towards beige as opposed to green but that wasn't a lasting memory.  And despite the warnings of air pollution, unless it's one of those extremely humid days, it's rare that things smell different.  The major difference is the sounds that you hear.  Definitely, top of the list are the calls to prayer.  As previously mentioned (and at times based on the position of the sun and lengths of shadows), a voice is heard to sing out in Arabic.  This occurs within malls, and around every mosque ... and can be heard for a 3 block radius.  Also, the barking of feral dogs along with the essential beepings of horns ring out frequently.

Really, it is proper etiquette

So looking back at my apartment, you'll see my garbage.  Apartments are typically run by a bowab (or doorman) who among other things, picks up your trash on a daily basis.  Although mine only speaks Arabic, I plan to learn enough to get to know him ASAP.  If you need anything done, he'll look after it.  If you have any questions, he'll find the answer.  From what I understand, his salary is paid monthly by the tenants.  The amount is unofficial and is paid 'voluntarily' by the tenants.  I'll find out how much the donation is in a couple of weeks when rent is due.

I may think of my balcony as dangerous, but it doesn't hold a candle to the elevators.  Step in, close the door, and watch as the concrete (and doors for other floors) move by.  On the 5th floor, I don't have too many other options (as I usually return home rather exhausted from a 30+ minute walk) so I've learned to adapt quickly.  Since I can't always get the main floor door to close properly, and the elevators stop on every other floor, my usual approach is to take the right hand elevator, get off on the 6th floor and walk down.  If my foot doesn't offer enough scale, you could probably fit 4 cases of pop side-by-side on the floor and that's it.  To add to the comfort inspired by my elevator, there is a box without a cover with a bunch of wires hanging out of it beside the elevator door on my floor.

I do live on a very comfortable street.  Maadi is one of the few areas of Cairo known for having a lot of trees and gardens.  I have to admit that it's extremely nice to have a shaded area immediately outside my building's door to help adjust to the temperature.  We have a number of feral cats in the area (I tried to get pictures of a couple of them under the covered car ... lighting wouldn't work).

And yes, at times the landscape is beautiful.  At least 1/3 of the trees are in bloom right now.

Unfortunately, to go along with the the beauty, there is also a lot of garbage.  Sidewalks are frequently cluttered with garbage, broken glass, sand ... or just don't exist.

This gym isn't just good ...

Found the library today too

Appliance Adventures and Internal Images

Dona Super Market - where prices vary day by day

Off the top, I do have every intention of cooking regularly in the near future.  Given our nightly sojourns to western-style restaurants (our orientation leaders' preferences), I've been happily living on a huge meal per day.  I would like to say that it's my attempt to observe Ramadan ... but there are a few other issues at play. I haven't yet found any large grocery stores in the area closer than شارع 9 (sharra tissa or road 9) which is a 20 minute walk away.  There is a limited selection at my local store (which I just happened to spy yesterday on the way to the Grand Mall), but my bargaining skills require further development before I become a regular customer here.

If only I knew what you wanted yesterday

So, having completed my shopping trip yesterday, I figured it was time to enjoy the fruits of my labour.  I had pasta or rice waiting for me along with my left-over chicken fajitas from the night before.  I figured I could just wash a plate, a pot and some cutlery and look out culinary world (ok, perhaps desperation bachelor sustenance).  Bravely, I approached the stove, turned on the gas and pressed the little button on the left hand side and ... no spark / no flame.  Well, there was a combination lighter / bottle opener hanging on the wall so I figured I'd give that a try ... no spark / no flame.  I could use the two emergency wood matches I found in a bottom drawer, but I'll save those for a moment of ultimate desperation and continue my fasting lifestyle for another day or two.  At least I got the majority of my dishes washed today.  I've already added a sink stopper to my to buy list as the plastic lid I used as a substitute resulted in me using far more Fairy dish soap than I wanted.  In the interrim, I have found Arzak el Qawther to satisfy all of my dinner needs.  I can't wait to try their Kushari tonight on the way home.  Egyptian fast food really is a dream come true - last night's beef Shawarma was fantastic.

Don't let the floral cover fool you

To add to my day off bravery, I attempted laundry.  After all, how tough could it be to operate something as friendly sounding as an "Extra Super 800 ES 180" washing machine.  Well, I quickly learned that the Extra 800 referred to the mg of acetaminophen required to cope with the frustration of trying to use it.  Part of the joys of figuring this out was the 60 second delay between turning it on and having it actually do something.  So I'd try a setting, wait for 30 seconds, and then try something else.  Also, please note those "buttons" underneath the detergent holder ... within 15 minutes I figured out that those were just images of what the washer might be doing if it got to that number on the far right dial.  Given the age of the washer, my 15 minutes of internet searches resulted in nothing.  Somewhere along the way, I realized that the water needed to be turned on at the back.  Oh, and the two cups of laundry soap recommended by the detergent manufacturer is about 3x what is required - imagine my excitement when I saw foam galore during my first load.  And the final joy ... the door handle doesn't seem to work.  Pull the door handle and nothing happens.  At least I remembered the screwdriver that had previously resided in the basket on top of the washing machine which allowed me to actually open the doors.  Well, the whites are white, and the darks are dark ... and after 7 hours they're starting to get dry.

Otherwise, I'm quite happy with the apartment.  I'm not sure how I'm going to use bedroom #2 and the half bathroom, but I can't complain about the space.  In no specific order ...

Above:  Between the number of wires hanging around, the proximity of the building next door and my acrophobia ... the clothes might dry faster out here but it's never going to happen on this 1.5 m x 6 m balcony.

Right:  The entrance way to my apartment.  It doesn't quite feel like home yet, but it's going to be an easy sight to get used to

The part of the L-shaped living room that I don't use (yet).  The couch may be more comfy and the dining table is right behind ... and likely I'll be enjoying this part more in the future (since the air conditioner is just to the left).

This is my usual sitting area.  I'm not quite sure why I gravitated to this spot (likely it has something to do with the TV being on the left and my Wii getting attached to it sometime in the future.

Finally, my main bedroom.  The entrance to the balcony of despair can be seen on the left.

Monumental currency and the joys of supply & demand taxi pricing

A history student's dream - money and monuments

So day two involved grocery shopping.  Given that none of us are fully ready for the undefined pricing offered at the local stores (and associated haggling), we headed up to the Carrefour City Centre to do our shopping (think Walmart with staff speaking some combination of the following languages:  Arabic, English, French, German).  The first thing I noticed was the variations in taxi prices.  To get to the City Centre, it costs about 20LE (about $3.50).  Once my shopping was done, it cost 35LE ($6.00) to get back home.  Given my lack of alternate means of getting home (with 1000LE worth of groceries and supplies).  I've heard of prices as high as 50LE for the same trip so I figured if the taxi driver was ok with helping me get the groceries into my elevator, I'd be ok with the price.  I should mention now that the money is bilingual.  The English side has images from Egyptian History and the Arabic side has pictures of Islamic buildings (I'm guessing Mosques).

And riding in a car in Egypt is a magical experience.  You're never quite sure how you get to your destination in one piece given the speed of driving and the lack of discernible rules.  There are no stoplights and the dotted lines signifying different lanes tend to be optional.  At night, headlights aren't often used and it can be tough to spot the vehicles coming your way.  Overall, the conventions seem to be:

The Arabic side of the same bills

1. 3 to 4 beeps of the horn seems to advise other drivers that you're doing something that they might not expect (passing close by and in their blind spot or preparing to cut them off).  (during the night, flickering of the lights is used in conjunction with the horn).
2. 1 to 2 beeps of the horn seems to be a general sign of I'm not sure that I like what the other car is doing (drifting into your lane, slowing down)
3. 1 long beep of the horn tends to signify frustration with someone stopping quickly or doing something that completely impedes the progress of the car behind.
4. And the last resort is always yelling "yalla" or some other request to hurry up.

Despite the multiple travel warnings of the dangers crossing the street, it hasn't been too bad so far.  I tend to be a bit more patient than the Cairenes, who tend to just walk out when they see a break in traffic with the expectations that people will avoid hitting them, which may contribute to my lack of difficulties.  The key seems to be walk when you have a decent space, maintain the same speed (so the drivers can anticipate your location) and don't stop or back up under any circumstances.  Given the difficulties that I've seen from others in our group of new recruits, I'm guessing that my Toronto childhood taught me a valuable (and previously latent) skill.

Food shop #1 - getting some of the staples ready

In case you're wondering what 1080 LE ($185) gets you at a slightly higher priced store, my shopping cart was overflowing with essentials and house set-up items.  Off the top of my head, some of the prices were (divide by 6 to approximate dollars):

• Battery charger:  200 LE
• Clothes drying rack:  90 LE
• 12 x 1.5 litre Evian bottles:  170LE (supposedly a scandalous price due to recent shortages - I'll take $2.50 a bottle given the recent heat)
• Towel:  35 LE
• Sheets:  56 LE
• 24 cans Fanta Apple pop:  51LE
• 1.5 litre bottle of Pepsi:  3.85 LE

With the other 400 LE I got almost all of the initial necessities (laundry detergent, assorted cleaning products, dish soap, plug converter, food staples, spices & oil/vinegar).

Well, I'm hearing the mid-afternoon call to prayer (look to the top right with all the speakers).  This tells me that it's almost 3:55 (ie almost the time when the length of an item's shadow is equal to the length of the shadow at noon plus the height of the item).  I'm still playing a bit of blog catch-up as I have both photos from indoors (along with the challenges of figuring out what's necessary) and photos of the outdoors (10 steps from beauty to squalor).

The Arrival

It's definitely time to dust off this blog and get it up and going again.  After two years of preparation and a slightly hectic summer of job hunting, I'm about 2 weeks away from finally being a teacher.  Overall, it's been a whirlwind month (has it really been that long?) between first learning about the possibility of a job in Egypt and today.

Week one involved dealing with administrivia galore.  It seemed that whenever I tried to complete one task (getting certified in Manitoba), another few tasks were added to my to do list.  I found that I was so focused on what I needed to do (will my police check arrive in time) that I never really sat down to realize what was happening.

Week two was my week of waiting.  I started planning for the courses that I would be teaching and amassing any resources I could find to get myself ready.  Things started getting crossed off of my to do list and best of all, I was no longer adding to it.

My third week was the shopping week.  Things such as luggage, teaching equipment, power converters (etc) were acquired and it finally started to dawn on me what I was up to.  Despite having advised everyone how thrilled I was to be blending math, science and history in such an amazing way (teach two and live close to the third), it didn't really start to feel like reality until this week.

Finally, week four happened along with the typical last-minute crises that always crop up despite the best laid plans.  As my dealings with my student loan have always been slightly confusing and frustrating, my arrangements for repayment were par for the course.  I went through the typical packing crisis of what to take and how will I fit it all in such a small place (thank goodness my wife was able to keep a cool head during the process).

Well, I've arrived.  Sounds slightly anti-climactic doesn't it.  During my flight over (somewhere between watching the "Hunger Games" and "Shakespeare in Love", the full magnitude of what had been going on hit me.  At least my "what the hell am I thinking" moment of reservation occurred somewhere in the air over Newfoundland ... and it was too late to reconsider.  By the time I arrived in Frankfurt, I was tired enough that any concerns and worries had faded from my mind.  During the flight to Cairo, even the large population of crying children couldn't keep me from fading in and out of consciousness throughout the entire flight.

Well, time to get back to my kitchen clean-up.  Tonight will be our first touristy-trip part of orientation and I can't wait.