It has been a long week. Last weekend was very exhausting, as we moved into our new apartment in Ma'adi. It wasn't that hard for us, though. We hired two guys to move us and for less than 30 U.S. dollars, they had us moved in no time. It was amazing how fast they worked. I don't think I lifted a finger. Our new apartment is really nice. It's clean, which is key here in Egypt and a little difficult to find. The appliances are fairly new and nice. We live on a quieter street, kind of a subdivision off of the main area in Ma'adi. You can even see a pyramid from our apartment balcony. We'll have to send pictures.
We like this area of town a lot. It's the home of most foreigners, so there are a lot of businesses and restaurants that cater to ex-pats. We don't feel like such oddities anymore. We liked being special in our old neighborhood, but it does get old being stared at. Here, we are just one of many. The unfortunate thing is that we will miss out on practicing our Arabic. Even a lot of the taxi drivers speak English in this part of town.
The good things - it's greener, closer to the Nile, so much quieter, and the other teachers are not too far away. We've been really busy settling in and picking up a few new things to put in the apartment. Leia likes it too because now she has two balconies to sun herself on all day.
We're in withdrawl because we are waiting for our internet to be set up at the new place. It will take nearly a week, so right now we've been frequenting the neighborhood internet cafe. We couldn't hold out any longer.
Next week is the Eid vacation, so we have a four day weekend. Yeah! It will be the end of Ramadan, though, so our schedule will go back to three o'clock days. Oh well. We'll just enjoy our four-day weekend.
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Saturday, October 15, 2005
Saturday, October 15
I think one of my blogs never posted. I blogged after Joe arrived back, but it seems that it never showed up. Joe's quickly adjusted to being back in Cairo. I guess he had to jump right back in the next day at school, so he didn't have a lot of time to relax. I know he had a great time in the States. I got to hear most of the details of the wedding and seeing his family.
We've been hanging out a lot. The biggest thing is that it is Ramadan, the time of year when all Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. We fasted and hung in there for five days. It was really difficult, I have to admit. Not drinking any liquid is the hardest part. I can't imagine what it's like for smokers who can't smoke all day. After about five days, I decided that I was tired of getting up, eating breakfast and then trying to fall back asleep. I also decided that I'm a three-meals-a-day kinda gal. I get ornery when I don't have my meals. So, we caved and we're back to eating at regular mealtimes. We just arent' taking our lunches to school because it's really rude to eat and drink in front of people who are ravenous.
The atmosphere changes during Ramadan. They put up special latterns. Everyone rushes home and the traffic is crazy. People sleep in the afternoons in order to get through the toughest part of the day. At iftar (the time when they start eating after the sunset prayer), a strange eeriness falls all over the city. Joe and I have found that this is an excellent time for taking out the dog. Why, you might ask. Imagine Cairo, a city bustling and overbrimming with people, people constantly in the streets, hanging out on balconies, driving cars, honking horns, and then suddenly - nothing. We walk through the deserted streets and all we hear is the sound of silerware clinking against plates. It's so refreshing, but strange nonetheless.
Joe and I got good news today. We are not going to be living on the streets of Cairo afterall. I think in my blog that got deleted or maybe in my last blog, I said that we are trying to move to a different part of the city called Maadi. It's greener, nicer, more foreigners and most of the other teachers live there. We weren't sure if we would get the place we liked because a man was still living there, and the landlady wasn't sure if he was staying or going. Our current landlord had shown our place already, so we were worried we'd be out of a place. Anyway, we found out today that we will get the new place! So far, we are looking forward to it. It's small, but it has a newer washing machine, air conditioner, bathroom, and balconies (which Leia will love). I'm sure we'll find lots of weird things when we get there, but I think it will be nice to have a change of pace and new neighborhoods and businesses to explore. I think we'll miss it here a little, though, because we know our neighbors, door guy, even the guys at the supermarket pretty well. We'll just be another foreign face in Maadi.
We've been hanging out a lot. The biggest thing is that it is Ramadan, the time of year when all Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. We fasted and hung in there for five days. It was really difficult, I have to admit. Not drinking any liquid is the hardest part. I can't imagine what it's like for smokers who can't smoke all day. After about five days, I decided that I was tired of getting up, eating breakfast and then trying to fall back asleep. I also decided that I'm a three-meals-a-day kinda gal. I get ornery when I don't have my meals. So, we caved and we're back to eating at regular mealtimes. We just arent' taking our lunches to school because it's really rude to eat and drink in front of people who are ravenous.
The atmosphere changes during Ramadan. They put up special latterns. Everyone rushes home and the traffic is crazy. People sleep in the afternoons in order to get through the toughest part of the day. At iftar (the time when they start eating after the sunset prayer), a strange eeriness falls all over the city. Joe and I have found that this is an excellent time for taking out the dog. Why, you might ask. Imagine Cairo, a city bustling and overbrimming with people, people constantly in the streets, hanging out on balconies, driving cars, honking horns, and then suddenly - nothing. We walk through the deserted streets and all we hear is the sound of silerware clinking against plates. It's so refreshing, but strange nonetheless.
Joe and I got good news today. We are not going to be living on the streets of Cairo afterall. I think in my blog that got deleted or maybe in my last blog, I said that we are trying to move to a different part of the city called Maadi. It's greener, nicer, more foreigners and most of the other teachers live there. We weren't sure if we would get the place we liked because a man was still living there, and the landlady wasn't sure if he was staying or going. Our current landlord had shown our place already, so we were worried we'd be out of a place. Anyway, we found out today that we will get the new place! So far, we are looking forward to it. It's small, but it has a newer washing machine, air conditioner, bathroom, and balconies (which Leia will love). I'm sure we'll find lots of weird things when we get there, but I think it will be nice to have a change of pace and new neighborhoods and businesses to explore. I think we'll miss it here a little, though, because we know our neighbors, door guy, even the guys at the supermarket pretty well. We'll just be another foreign face in Maadi.
Saturday, October 01, 2005
Saturday, October 1
Can it really be October? It seems that the first day of October brought some cooler weather with it. Today was the first day that I haven't turned on the air conditioner. It's so nice to have the windows open with a fresh breeze coming in. There seems to be a different feel to the air. It's not as heavy and oppressive as it was before; instead, it hints at the cold months that will eventually come. I love it.
Since Joe's in America, it's been an extemely quiet weekend for me. I would have hung out with some people from school, but since they all live in a different section of the city, I was too lazy to go all the way there. Instead, I've just been bumming around the house.
The neighbor's asked if they could show our apartment to some people since we told them we are moving out. Unfortunately for me, the house cleaning woman didn't come today, so I spent a good deal of the day mopping floors, dusting, etc., etc. I forget how much work it is to keep this place clean. The neighbors have instructed me three times not to tell the people how much we pay. I guess they are hoping for much more than Joe and I pay.
The funny thing is that Joe and I don't really have a place yet. We may have a place in Maadi (where the other teachers live) if the man living there now decides to leave. If he doesn't, then we have two weeks to find a new place. That's life, I guess. We're hoping we can find something that's not too outrageous, but that has better appliances than we have here. It's like this place is sending us signs. The air conditioner, the washing machine, the TV, the faucet - all of it's going to hell. The aches and pains of renting in Cairo, I guess.
Tonight, I was walking by the brand new cafe that opened across from us. I can't quite figure out what was going on over there, but I think they were slaughtering an animal in front of the cafe. There were people all gathered around, and I thought I saw a man flipping a slab of meat on a table. Another man was hosing off the sidewalk. There was a pretty bad stench wafting in the air as well. I just don't get it - are they slaughtering an animal because Ramadan is coming soon or is it because the cafe opened? I'm probably way off.
You see, it's always interesting. I know I say it often, but sometimes it's as if I wake up suddenly with the feeling ,"Where am I? How did I get here?" How did I get here? I guess that's the randomness of life. You never know where it will take you.
Since Joe's in America, it's been an extemely quiet weekend for me. I would have hung out with some people from school, but since they all live in a different section of the city, I was too lazy to go all the way there. Instead, I've just been bumming around the house.
The neighbor's asked if they could show our apartment to some people since we told them we are moving out. Unfortunately for me, the house cleaning woman didn't come today, so I spent a good deal of the day mopping floors, dusting, etc., etc. I forget how much work it is to keep this place clean. The neighbors have instructed me three times not to tell the people how much we pay. I guess they are hoping for much more than Joe and I pay.
The funny thing is that Joe and I don't really have a place yet. We may have a place in Maadi (where the other teachers live) if the man living there now decides to leave. If he doesn't, then we have two weeks to find a new place. That's life, I guess. We're hoping we can find something that's not too outrageous, but that has better appliances than we have here. It's like this place is sending us signs. The air conditioner, the washing machine, the TV, the faucet - all of it's going to hell. The aches and pains of renting in Cairo, I guess.
Tonight, I was walking by the brand new cafe that opened across from us. I can't quite figure out what was going on over there, but I think they were slaughtering an animal in front of the cafe. There were people all gathered around, and I thought I saw a man flipping a slab of meat on a table. Another man was hosing off the sidewalk. There was a pretty bad stench wafting in the air as well. I just don't get it - are they slaughtering an animal because Ramadan is coming soon or is it because the cafe opened? I'm probably way off.
You see, it's always interesting. I know I say it often, but sometimes it's as if I wake up suddenly with the feeling ,"Where am I? How did I get here?" How did I get here? I guess that's the randomness of life. You never know where it will take you.
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