We are still headed to Cairo

We are still on our way to Cairo. The packers are at the house and we leave on Saturday for a week in Italy and then onto Cairo on the 1st. I have had my moments of hesitation and great concern but everything in my soon-to-be neighborhood of Maadi is calm. There is a 7 p.m. curfew and movement is restricted for now but I feel confident that things will work themselves out in time. I am really looking forward to keeping this blog and sharing everything I can.

While in Italy I may post a few photos of relics or other interesting things. I love relics (old bones that are considered sacred and housed in amazing boxes).

Some photos I took in June

Roadside vendor in Maadi. Note the black/white painted curbs. They are very tall so you can't drive over them. Otherwise they would.



One of the grocery stores I will shop in. It's in an apartment block and is in the basement. Looks are deceiving--it's quite large under there with lots of stuff packed in. Notice the guard at the desk and the motor bike for deliveries. Everything can be delivered.



Boabs (building/street guards) 

A table in the center of the falucca. You bring along whatever you want: tablecloths, food, and drinks.  

A pretty common building site in Cairo. Lots of buildings that were started but not finished.

Another roadside vendor in Maadi.

I'm going to live in Cairo, Egypt for a few years

I am a lucky person. My third time living abroad will begin on September 1 in Cairo, Egypt.  The other places were easy--England and Australia. This will definitely be an adventure and I enjoy having a blog to share all the interesting things I discover. Dave and I will actually live in a suburb of Cairo called Maadi. It's 25 minutes south of Cairo and is where most of the expats live. Maadi has lots of trees and plants which surprised me as Egypt is a desert and gets only 1 cm of rain a year. An underground aquifer close to the surface feeds them. Cairo as a whole doesn't have a lot of trees and plants. Just buildings. As you will see in my photos.

 

I went for a look-see visit in June and was honestly overwhelmed. I'm not gonna lie. They say it takes 6-9 months to adjust and I hope I become like a lot of the expats I met there who LOVE the place. I am not worried about the security issues as our company keeps close tabs on everything and has two planes on standby to evacuate us. What I am most concerned about are all the strange and new amoebas and stomach bugs that I will get used to in fits and starts. I had a taste of that in June. Expats handle food differently. Some do not eat at restaurants. Some eat out all the time and never get sick. But we will have to clean all the food not in boxes or cans with a bleach solution before it goes in the refrigerator.

Mostly my thoughts have been on how much I will miss my children and dogs. Sydney is 23 now and will live in the house and take care of Tazi and Bella. Ben is a junior at OU and both can't wait to visit at Christmas. We would like to get a dog in Cairo but I don't think its an easy thing to do. Muslims do not care for dogs and consider them dirty and othersuch. But there are lots of feral dogs (and cats!! Lots of skinny cats.) and they break my heart. I had a s-w-e-e-t momma dog come up to me and start licking my pants! It scared the daylights out of me because of diseases and such but she kept following me and looking at me with those loving, pleading, sad doggy eyes. It was awful and I wanted to cry. (If I had everything my way that girlie would have been MINE in a heartbeat.) But then I cry whenever I see sad homeless dogs. As far as I know at this point there are no animal rescues there; I think people either rescue a street dog, get one from a family that's leaving, or maybe hear about dogs from the veterinarians. That is my plan right now: get to know the vets and see what happens. I know for certain that I need a dog because I lived without them when I was in Australia for 11 months and it was AWFUL. Awful, awful, awful!!! Dave is adamantly opposed to getting a street dog so I will have to handle this carefully...Street dogs need love too!!! It's not their fault.

We will live in a villa (home with tall fences). Some families live in large apartments but we need a yard (for our new dog). As is the custom there we will employ a housekeeper/cook, gardener, driver, and a boab who is a security guard that hangs out in a little building in front of your house to watch what goes on. The housekeeper helps to keep the dust down which in the older villas is a constant job because its the desert and the wind blows and the windows are leaky. I will write about the houses and dust and boabs and all other kinds of stuff (including photos) because it was so interesting!

I've been shopping like a fiend and although that might sound fun it gets old after a while. I was told to bring clothes, shoes, soaps, shampoos, cleaning supplies, party clothes, conservative clothes, patio furniture, grill, air purifiers (got 2 of them), toilet paper, cans of chilis for cooking, vanilla for baking cause they don't sell it there (contains alcohol), and a giant stock of all my vitamins. I'm bringing my bedroom suite, my living room stuff, my kitchen table and chairs, and a spare bedroom suite. We will buy everything else over there. I'm having trouble trying to decide how much of my little "things" I have gathered over the years to bring. But nevermind that . Here are some photos I took in June.

p.s. I like to talk in the 3rd person sometimes so if you notice me writing "sylvia didn't like that!" then know I'm being silly. I haven't lost my mind just yet. Although menopause is sure doing it's best to make me insane.



Maadi traffic, including donkey cart. As a driver it is fend for yourself. No rules, stop signs, or red lights. Crazy roundabouts though. That is why I will have a driver.



Evening in Cairo while sailing on the Nile in a falucca



Street in Maadi with a boab hut on the left. This is a relatively clean and neat street.