My Cairo: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

It's been a while since I have written in my blog.  Living here has been tougher for me than anywhere else I have lived.  I spent hours writing a post the other day but decided to keep it as a journal entry, rather than posting it here, because it was too negative.  It was during a time when we were stuck at home a lot due to terrorism threats.  Of course I want to keep it real and be honest but I also want to be positive.  I feel bad complaining as I sit in my expensive (even for American standards) apartment with air conditioning, Internet, hot water, a maid, and plenty of food to eat.  I have it really good here and I wouldn't say I am unhappy but I am ready to move on.  We move in a few months and I am excited and relieved.  I have loved seeing the ancient sites of Egypt, experiencing a culture that I was pretty much clueless about, and traveling.  But it has come at a cost, too.  Almost a year ago, I wrote my Pros and Cons list of living here...today's post is how I feel about living here today.

To start out on a positive note:

The Good...

Homeschooling my children has been a very rewarding experience.  I never planned on homeschooling.  I was a public school teacher in the USA.  As a child, I enjoyed the social aspect of school and the variety of teachers to learn from.  Our circumstances are such that homeschooling here was our best option and it has been fabulous.  Of course I have had days where I question my sanity and patience but overall it has been worth the effort.  I have gained another year with my twins that I would not have had if I had sent them to kindergarten.  And my preschooler would have been bored-out-of-her-mind without her sisters to play with so it was a win-win.  I have felt so much satisfaction in teaching them to read.  Even though I was a teacher before, I did not teach kindergarten so I had not taught a child to read (from the very beginning) but rather helped them become better readers.  I was a little intimidated at first.  I used a variety of teaching techniques.  My favorite book has been Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.  We are only half way through and they are doing great.  It's been nice not having to follow a school's schedule.  We like to sleep in - so we do.  We like to vacation or go on field trips when we want to go - so we do.  I also like being in charge of what my children are learning.  Last but not least my husband's employer reimburses me for my homeschooling expenses.  Our school has been better than any school that I have ever attended, worked in, or visited and I did not even use all of my allotted budget.  It's been such a blessing to have such great materials and learning resources to use in educating my children.  I think my girls have really enjoyed it, too.

Field trip - making Egyptian bread.  It was delicious!

A lot of uninterrupted family time.  It's been so nice not being pulled in so many directions like we have in the past.  The lack of socialization has been tough at times but it has brought us closer together as a family.  I have made a few good friends here and that has made life more enjoyable.

Women's day at our club's pool - a few hours twice a week when men are NOT permitted in the pool area.  As you may know some Muslim women cover completely up from head to toe even wearing gloves while others may choose to dress modestly without a head covering.  Most that I come in contact with dress modestly with long sleeves, pants/long skirt and a scarf covering their hair.  Only men that they are related to are allowed to see their hair.  Women's day is the time when all women are free to take off their coverings and not have to worry about men seeing them.  Women are allowed to swim anytime but it is most comfortable on the women-only day; on regular days the men tend to stare making me very uncomfortable.  It took me a while to figure out the women's days but I am so glad that I did. 

The Bad...

I look forward to being able to take my kids to a playground to play (or better yet have a backyard play set) without having to walk through a high stress environment.  It is around half a mile walk for us to get to a safe playground (or the pool) where my girls can run and play.  Keep in mind that I have 3 kids and only 2 hands so when we walk I have to trust 2 of my kids to hold hands with each other and not let go while crossing the street.  The traffic is scary and we have been close to being hit.   Sometimes drivers will stop for us to cross the street and other times we practically play chicken.  We walk by a lot of embassies with young guards and their AK-47 weapons.  I really hate walking so close to guns that are sometimes carelessly being held with the barrel aimed in our direction.  I have mentioned before how dirty and broken up the sidewalks (if they are even in existence) and roads are here.  Also, it is starting to get hot here and the garbage and feces on the sidewalks are starting to smell awful.  Suffice it to say that it is a stressful walk and sometimes I just opt to stay home.  I used to get stressed bringing all 3 of my young children to Target.  It's funny how things change.

I have lost a lot of my freedom here.  Some of the things that I used to take for granted I will never take for granted again:

Freedom of Religion - in Egypt it is fairly easy to convert to Islam but it is against the law or quite difficult for a Muslim to convert to Christianity.  Fortunately, I am happy with my religion and we are able to go to church here but I am not free to talk about it or share my religion with others. 

Freedom of Movement - meaning that I am usually in our apartment or close to it most of the time.  I have written about driving here and how I do not feel comfortable with the traffic so I don't like to drive.  Riding with a driver makes us car sick so we usually stay home.  Once we move home, I look forward to being able to take my kids ANYWHERE in our vehicle without the stress of the traffic, not knowing my environment, and the fear of getting in an accident and having people scream in my face or worse!  Plus, there is the potential for bombs but that is part of the ugly.

Freedom of Dress - if you know me, you know I dress modestly in the USA but here I feel uncomfortable in the clothes that I used to wear.  It is hot here so short sleeved T-Shirts are the most comfortable to beat the heat but I am more "comfortable" around others in a long sleeved shirt or at least one down to my elbows.  I used to wear capris back home but here I am more "comfortable" in long pants or a long skirt.  I get less of the unwanted stares and looks when I dress to fit into my environment.  Fortunately, I have found some linen pants that are long and comfortable in the heat.  Also, I have had to search to find knee-length shorts for my girls so they are more "comfortable" too.  In a way, I have appreciated the modesty here.  I was always uncomfortable (especially for my husband, even though I am sure it was not as uncomfortable for him) with the amount of exposed breasts in Puerto Rico or other places that I have lived, so it's nice to not have so much "exposure."

Freedom of Speech - it hasn't been an issue for me but I have to think twice sometimes before saying something. 

In the USA we are so blessed to have so many freedoms!

The Ugly...

We lived for a month with rats in our apartment.  Luckily they were not on the floor running around but in the drop ceiling where the AC and heating ducts are located.  We had many workers come out and try to find out where they were coming in; it took many visits and the sealing-off of quite a few holes to FINALLY keep them out.  I HATE rodents so it was extremely stressful to hear them running above head and see them if we looked in the vents.  Fortunately, we had workers do all the dirty work of cleaning out the ceiling panels and sealing the holes, BUT . . . droppings would fall into the apartment so there was a lot of cleaning and sanitizing needing to be done inside, too.  One reason why it took so long to get rid of the rats is because at first they did not use cement to seal the holes to the outside.  One worker actually asked me if I had any old clothes that he could stuff in the hole.  Really?!?!

I look forward to not having to worry about bombs exploding in my neighborhood.  A few weeks ago, I heard (even kind of felt) a loud bomb blast close to our apartment. One of my daughters thought it was an earthquake.  My other daughters were busy playing and watching TV and didn't notice a thing.  I was glad that we were safe inside. This was the first time that a bomb has exploded near our "safe neighborhood" and of course I was shaken up. I sent a text to my husband telling him what happened and then I asked him to "get us out of BFE ASAP."  It didn't help that he was on a flight to Dallas, TX, for work and we were stuck here.  Of course there are riots and terrorism everywhere in the world; feeling safe is probably something that is harder to find nowadays.  BUT I look forward to living in a place where I do not have to check my phone for text messages from our embassy letting me know if there have been any bombs, suspicious devices or protests in my path before I go ANYWHERE.

So, there you have it...I am trying to not be "trunky" but I am ready to move on.  I have appreciated our time here and have learned a lot.  In this lifestyle of ours (moving around a lot), I have learned that I can live anywhere for 2 years.  We have enjoyed certain aspects of life in Egypt, but I am tired of the hard things that have become commonplace during the last 16 months.  Ready for the next chapter!