Stories

So now that we are back and I have started to really think about the cool things that happened, I feel that I can better put into words these things.

After being in Egypt for 10 days we had not bought all of our souvenirs nor had Jeff had a chance to try Shisha. We decided to walk down the "boulevard" at our resort in Sharm El Sheikh and check out some of the little souvenir shops that lined the cobblestone pathway.  We walked into this one shop (because the guy working there was NOT standing outside hassling us to "come in" and "don't worry about money because looking is free").  This guy had the coolest little place. There were really neat, bright colored clothes draped across the ceiling and he had these stars (made from paper) hanging from the ceiling. There were little light bulbs in the stars that made the whole place glow.  He had the coolest stuff.  I wanted to buy it all. Instead, I picked up 4 of the stars and 2 photo albums for gifts. Jeff bought a cobra statue carved from wood. Then we mosied on and came across this one shop that had a whole bunch of glass pipes outside. We walked in and the young man (our age) inside was just as nice as could be (without pressuring us or being a salesman).  We ended up talking to him for a while and then he invited is to smoke shisha with him. (DISCLAIMER: Shisha is flavored Tobacco that is soaked in fruit to give it natural flavors.  It is smoked by MANY people in the middle east and if you smoke it with someone, it is a sign of friendship.  There is no buzz and no high from it. It is totally legal but is not proven to be healthy or safe.  It burns slow thus...it is smoked through a water pipe. The water "filters" the tobacco.) We said sure! So we sat there and talked to him for a while until we had to go get ready for our candle lit, beach dinner :)  Totally bummed that we had to leave our new friend Gorge, we told him that we would be back!

After eating so much that we couldn't even TOUCH our main course at dinner, we walked back to hang out with Gorge. We smoked Shisha again (well, Jeff and Gorge did) and we talked and talked. Gorge is Coptic Christian and we talked about the religion and customs.  He wrote our name on our arms in Arabic ( i had my middle name "Hope") and made us scarab beetle necklaces. When Jeff went through security at the airport the next day, the guys that watch you go through the metal detector would hold up Jeff's arm and say "JEFF."
It was pretty funny.

Gorge is 29 and works at this shop. His family lives in Luxor. 

This guy was really neat. :)  We exchanged information and we have even texted back and forth a bit.  We have a friend in Egypt :)

What We Learned in Egypt

So Jeff and I talked about what we learned while in Egypt. I decided to post these "learnings" to the blog.

• Cairo's day starts about 12pm and ends in the early morning hours. If your car breaks down at 11pm, you can take it to get fixed right then and there. 
• People tip (Baksheesh) for everything....directions, picture taking privileges, toilet paper, for the police to do their jobs, you name it.
• Ladies need to keep tissues in their purse. Not all places have toilet paper (or someone standing there to GIVE you tp for some Baksheesh).
• There is trash...everywhere.
• Zamalek is nice, cleaner, and different from most of Cairo that we saw.
• Bathroom doors open outwards...as they should. 
• W.C. is the "water closet" or more importantly...the potty.
• American's pay more.
• The museum is very different to say the least. Some items were identified by a torn out sheet of paper from a notebook with someone's handwriting saying what the object was. 
• Batteries (even double A's) cannot be carried on the plane.
• They have great cheese with all meals!
• Bottled water is cheap. When it is bought on the street from vendors, we paid 3LE a bottle..which is about $.60 for a liter.
• Halas means finished, In Shah Allah - God Willing, Shokran - Thank you, la Shokran - no thank you
• Most people in this developing nation speak fluent Arabic, pretty decent English and decent French.
• American's are naive.
• Welcome drinks are served when you arrive somewhere...popular drinks are Hibiscus tea and Egyptian Mint Tea
• They have "American Coffee," Nescafe, and Turkish Coffee. Every place we went to had normal coffee so if you've heard that you have to "filter the grounds through your teeth in Egypt" you heard wrong. If you specifically order Turkish coffee, then yes...that is true (Which we recommend trying).
• Koshary is AWESOME...especially from the restaurant Abu Terrak
• Cars do not stop for anything.......other cars, people, etc. Driving there was NUTS. I was holding on tight at first.
• Wearing flip flops is just fine. I ditched my shoes after an hour for my flops. So my feet got dirty...that's why God made water.  They were totally comfortable and just fine.
• Bring your own wash cloth if that is something you like to use in the shower (I do to wash my face).  I ended up using the corner of hand towels the entire trip.
• Driving age is 16, smoking is 18, and drinking is 21.......however, this really means nothing.
• Nobody ever said that only 2 people can fit on a motorcycle or scooter.
• 1875 watt blow dryer DOES NOT work in the outlet with converter (I saw black smoke and sparks).
• We agree that men trying to get you to buy their crap is the single most annoying thing and quite frankly, most annoying thing about Egypt. At every single place, we had to "run the gauntlet."  They don't let up, get in your face, and go straight for the woman.  No matter how many times I said NO THANK YOU (English or Arabic) they continued on.  Had they left us alone, we would have looked at their stuff.  It really ruined the magnificence of many of the places and bummed us out.  They were sneaky and tricky. They'd say "Just one pound" and then you would find out that they mean "100 pounds".  We understand that this is a developing country with many, many poor people. But when they are IN YOUR FACE (literally), it is a huge turn off to buy anything. We bought most of our goods from 2 people that did NOT pressure us. 
• Offer the people pressuring you Pesos, they will say okay  :)
• The Nile River Cruise was amazing. Just opening the sliding door (window), turning the couch and sitting their watching life pass by on the river was one of the highlights of our trip.  I would say we did that for hours.
• Jeff looks like Rambo.
• I was Shakira.
• 6 million camels was the best price offered for me....and a few chickens :)
• I would say that as long as the knees are covered in Cairo, wear what you want. We saw it all.
• Everyone "loves America and America movies."

In my own opinion (and maybe Jeff's too), the most important thing that I learned was just how spoiled and frankly, just how naive and just plain stupid we Americans are. We expect everything to be handed to us on a silver platter.  Most of us speak one language and we don't even speak it that well.  People out there are working hard for pennies and yet they are kind, open, and what I noticed was that many seemed very happy without having a lot of material possessions.  Religion is their life. Family and friends are second. We American's have a lot to learn from the world.

GrEeCe

Greece is awesome and we have been here a total of 2 hours. Very western compared to what we just came from! (I even think we can drink the water). We are back to having Internet full time in the room so I will get all pictures posted and blog a little more. Just wanted to let you know we made it here okay!

Last night to end our Egypt adventure, we had a candle lit dinner on the beach (Red Sea) and it was great. Flying out of Cairo this AM, we flew right over the pyramids. It was a great way to say goodbye to Egypt. :)

Sharm

Jeff has a headache so I have been out exploring the resort on my own. He has until 2pm to get over it because we are going out on a speedboat to this island to snorkel in a coral reef. This is the bluest water I have ever seen. And to be honest, I can see why the Israelites spent 40 years wondering around here :) 

So earlier I said that the Cairo Museum Mummy room was a story in itself. When we got to the museum, our guide was taking us to all of the major artifacts and was really going fast. Then he told us that there was only 15 minutes left to see the mummy room if I wanted to. I started crying. I did NOT want to only spend 40 minutes in that museum and was totally bummed. Our money is limited and we really couldnt afford to go back another day. So we sped through Tut's stuff (saw the mask and lots of his stuff) and then I paid the extra $25 to go into the first mummy room. I was emotionally spent and frustrated. When I stepped into that room with 15 pharaohs including Ramses the Great, his father Seti the 1st and who they believe to be Hatshepsut, I was an emotional wreck. I went in there alone. There are two mummy rooms and I went in the first and let Jeff go into the second. It was a dark room and each mummy is displayed lying down in a glass case. Only their head, arms and toes are exposed. Ramses the Great is thought to be the Pharaoh that is in the book of Exodus.  He ruled for over 60 years when the average Egyptian lived to be 32 years old. He was a warrior and built many things as did his father Seti. Anyways, you could see their hair, nails and even their eye lashes. For about 7 minutes, I was totally alone in this room with royalty. Me, and 15 kings that I have been reading about for 22 years. I bawled. Thank God I was alone........I sobbed in my shaw and was just over come with emotion.  I was upset my time was short but so overwhelmed at what I was seeing. I came out of that room looking like a hot mess. No camera are allowed in the museum or I would have snapped a few. It was worth every penny.

Now in Sharm

We made it down the Nile and are now in Sharm.  The Nile cruise was amazing. Jeff was sick with Tut Butt for one day of it. So we discovered that we can open the sliding glass door, turn the love seat, and sit and watch life on the Nile pass us by.  So we were still in the A/C and not in the 110+ degree heat. He was at least able to enjoy that :)   Now that we are back with Internet, I will post some more later. Its 1:30 am and I am pooped. 

This whole experience has me speechless. #1 - Americans are spoiled and have it made. #2 - The people always shoving their goods in your face and asking for baksheesh (tips) has become very trying on my nerves....but I understand it.

More later. Night!

Day 3

We slept a little later and Abdo picked us up. He ended up having to push his car about 5 Kilometers to a mechanic. His alternator had been shot. He didn't get home until very late and we were up and at it again.  He took us to the Citadel which I thought was very cool. It is a castle or strong hold that dates back centuries. In this castle is the mosque of Muhammad Ali. That is what the pictures are of. Muhammad Ali was very important to Muslims and his tomb is in the mosque as well. We went through the military museum and walked around the place. It was beautiful. Next, we got gas in the car which was an experience. They still pump gas FOR you here. Next, was Coptic Cairo....some of the older churches in the world. About 10% of Cairo is Coptic Christian. The oldest mosque in Africa is also in this section of town.  We went into a shop and found some cool stuff. That is where we bought our souvenirs for friends and family. We got quite a bit and had to barter. It was really a great time. There are pictures of Jeff signing his debit card slip in the shop :)  After was the museum and that was an experience that I would like to take time to really write about. I am really tired and we have a flight early in the AM. The next 4 days, we will be on a cruise boat on the Nile and may not have Internet. If you do not see / hear from us...its because we do not have Internet.  So hang in there with us :) We will be in Aswan floating up to Luxor. Until next time!....  In shah Allah!

Day 2

I barely slept because I knew what I would be seeing the next day. At 8:30, we met Abdo and started our sight seeing. First he took us over a bridge with a great view of the Nile.  And he took our picture.  He then took us to the Step pyramid of Djoser and then Memphis and Saqqara. We actually climbed and went into the Red Pyramid of Snefru and King Titi's pyramid at Djoser. It is illegal to take pictures inside the pyramids but if you tip the guy in there the right amount, he will take your picture for you :)  Then we went to a papyrus store where were saw how it was made and we were pressured to buy something. It was all very neat but very expensive for us.  Then, they Great pyramids of Giza.  Walking down and into the Red pyramid was amazing but very difficult and it was so hot and there were a lot of people at Giza. So I passed. There were other things that I wanted to do in Cairo (like the mummy room at the museum) and so I opted not to pay extra go in.  Just standing there and climbing on it was enough for me. The Sphinx is breathtaking. The detail is amazing and we cannot fathom or figure out how such perfect detail was put into their stone work.  It is perfect. I also realized that the Sphinx has a tail!  We ate at a restaurant that was pretty good, called "The Sphinx" and Jeff bought a Sphinx at the Sphinx.  A little boy hustling goods told me I look Egyptian and then continued to call me Shakira. He later approached me and asked how many camels for me. I said, Honey, you don't have enough."  He laughed.  It was a very busy day and we just took it all in. I took about 350 pictures and Jeff took almost 200.  We went to a village right outside of the Giza pyramids around sunset. We hired two camels and a guide to take us into the desert overlooking the pyramids for sunset. This was the highlight of my day. We had to ride the camels through the village that is very poor and dirty. Kids were playing in the streets and there was trash everywhere. There were also dead horses and dogs eating them. Right across from a dead horse would be children eating dinner and laughing with their families on the street. It really made me realize how well we have it in the USA. We saw a girl collecting drinking water from a facet at a cemetery.

For me, the most amazing thing was riding the camel back through the village and watching the people.  Then to my left were the pyramids with the sun setting behind them. Then...the prayer call would come over the loud speaker calling people to the mosque to pray. That was a very emotional moment for me and I will remember that moment for the rest of my life. I actually pulled out my camera and started recording. Once I figure out how to post the video on here I will. 

We got back to Abdo and the car and headed back to the hotel. Remember when I said the people drive like maniacs....well, as we were in a very crowded section of Cairo, Abdo's car stalled. So after looking it over, they were going to have me drive and pop the clutch. I didn't want to do that so I said I would push. Jeff and I pushed and Abdo popped the clutch and the car started back up. How we found enough room to push I have no idea. We got a little ways down the road and th car stalled again. So we pushed again with great success.....then we got on the highway.  This is scary enough IN a moving car.....poor Abdo's car stalled again. This time, it was smelling bad. So he managed to roll to the side of the highway and we all got out. Now, there was a concrete barricade and then a trash strewn hill that led down to a street where there were men gathered and watching. We really had no choice so Abdo went down to talk to them. Jeff and I stood behind the barricade praying to God that no one came along and hit the car or us. Then Abdo had to leave us and go find the mechanic down the street.  Jeff and I couldn't just leave his car there so we stood there and waited; two whities, in the dark, along the side of a highway, with our watches on, my purse and he was wearing a backpack. After what was about 5 minutes, the "men" at the bottom of the hill split into two groups and start climbing the hill towards us. I almost peed my pants. Half sat on one side and the other 4 on the other side. At the same time, a Mercedes and a newer Jeep pull up behind Abdos car and a bunch of men got out to talk to each other. We were scared to death.  It wasn't until the men got in their car and left that I took my eyes off them and realized that these "men" on either side of us were about 12 years old. They started trying to talk to us in Arabic.  Of course we couldn't understand each other. I kKNOW that they spoke some English and we all joked about it. We laughed and talked to these kids until Abdo came back.  Their picture is above and I got a kiss on the cheek....We ended up having to take  a taxi to our hotel so Abdo could get his car fixed. It was an exhausting day.  But one of the best days of my life.

So far

So today we took the day off. We have done nothing but sleep, hand wash clothes, and eat. So I thought I would take some time to write. 

Day 1
We left from OHare on July 9 and when they say a 12 hour flight is a long one, they are NOT joking. We both tried to sleep and I succeeded for about a total of 2 hours. When we left it was night time and they came around and closed the windows on the plane as soon as we were over the ocean.  We actually ended up flying right over Canada and out into the ocean crossing Newfoundland. A few hours after that I opened the window and took a picture of the sunrise over the ocean from the plane. We flew in over England, France, across Italy, the Med Sea...and we both watched as we flew over Israel and the West Bank. I was awe struck knowing that I was seeing the Holy Land and a place that has endured war and turmoil from the beginning of time.
I think that I was running on pure adrenaline. Jeff wasn't really feeling very well.  Once we landed in Jordan and got off of the plane, we both started to feel a little bettter.We were DEF the minority! We first cashed in some $ for some Jordan currency to bring home and then we found a Starbucks in the airport. We sat there for a few hours until it was time to board our plane.

So we take our bags through "security" and there is something in question about my suitcase. Of course, all of these people are gathered around and talking to each other in Arabic about my bag and I had no idea what was going on. They asked me to open it and so I did. A man pulled out my batteries and talked to another guy and it was just a mess. Then they had Jeff and me step over to this desk away from everyone else with our suitcases and sit down. He got on the walkie and asked someone for what must have been a manager. Then we were told "5 minutes." Fifteen later, no manager and a guy went through Jeff's passport. He also had Jeff open my suitcase. It was about thirty minutes before our plan was supposed to take off and I was getting scared. Then I started to cry. Jeff tried to explain to the man sitting with us why I was upset. The man did try talking to us a little and was more friendly after that point. (He was a very good looking man I must say).  Anyways, someone came and told us in broken English to take our bags to the ticket counter at our gate and we would just have them checked. I guess they were too heavy for the overhead bins. SO WHY THE HUGE "pull us to the side and make us wait" drama?  (I will keep what I really think to myself at this point.)

We had about 30 minutes to wait (ended up being our plane was late anyways) and there was a little boy, girl, baby girl and two moms sitting across from us. We started talking to the kids and they were so funny and nice. Anan, the boy...tried teaching us some Arabic and explained to us what a Tok Tok is. (It's a VERY small car thing that hauls people around.) We ended up getting their phone number and the mother said that if we needed ANYTHING that we should call them. They lived in Cairo.

We finally got on the plane and the man that ended up sitting next to us was the only other white guy on the plane. He was British and is manager of a construction company that builds hotels. He has been living in Cairo for  a year and travels the middle east all of the time to over see the hotel construction. His name is Andrew. This man was a God send and I asked him queations for the entire flight. He told us the ins and outs and even wrote down places that we should eat for us. I felt SO MUCH BETTER after talking to him. That's not even the best part. When we got off the plane in Cairo...we were CLUELESS. We needed to get a Visa, exchange money, fill out these forms, wait in some lines, etc. Jeff and I had accientally switched passports and had to refill out some forms....it was funny.  This guy lead us every step of the way. He even stood with us and made sure that we had our luggage. He walked us through the terminal and when our driver was not there, he called our hotel and took care of business. He waited with us for 40 minutes for our driver. He had even offered to take us home with his own driver. Angel Andrew was amazing. We took his card and eventually were picked up.

Cairo...........people drive where they want, as fast as they want. They don't stop for people.  Jeff and I were both thinking it was CRAZY. It is like NASCAR driving in go karts....everyone wants to get to the front of the line.  We got to our hotel and passed out.

WE MADE IT

We just got to our Hotel at Hotel Longchamps. This is crazy and there is so much that I want to type. Bottom line, after being detained at the airport in Jordan (something to do with my batteries in my suitcase), we made it safe and sound. Our first flight was 12 hours long and it was strange being the minority. Jeff wasn't feeling well and we slept very little. But the people were nice and it was the best landing ever......very little turbulence.

I do want to mention something.....after the incident in Jordan, while we were waiting to board our plane, we met a little boy named Anan who is ten and his sister. They were so cute and their mother was so sweet. then on the plane, God must have been looking out for us. Right next to us was the only other white guy on the plane. He was from England and has lived in Cairo for a year. This man is now being called Angel Andrew.  He showed us the ropes, waited for our luggage with us, called and took care of business when our driver was not waiting for us......seriously....an Angel. 



We are pooped and have a big day tomorrow. It is about midnight here.


More to come later.....................................................................................................

~Tami and Jeff

THANK YOU

I would like to thank the amazing Alexis Barton for creating a NEW AND IMPROVED blog for me, with all the "stuff" I wanted but didn't know how to include!

ADD ON: --- Comments have been fixed, so now you can leave comments on posts again! --- 

Random facts I have learned

Below is a list of things that I have learned over the past 4 weeks of learning, researching and studying....

• There is so much more to Egypt than just pyramids and heiroglyphics
• The Great Rift Valley in Africa extends up into the Red Sea
• All of that silt in the Niles that I teach about, comes from the volcanic activity in the Ethiopian Highlands.
• There is the Sahara, the Sahel and the Sudan (not the country but the high grassland region)
• There are about 82 million people in Egypt. It is the third most populated country in Africa.
• The word "Geometry" means "Earth (geo) Measurements (metry)....what does this have to do with Egypt? The people of anceitn Egypt would survey the land to divide it among families and to settle disputes. The literally took measurements of the Earth...hence....creating Geometry.
• If I want to buy something...divide that number buy 5 and that will be the approx. cost in US $
• I am from Canada, not the USA is asked. Unfortunately, the USA is associated with people that have a lot of money. So the price will be hiked WAY up if someone looks or sounds American or even British. (Cost for Egyptian to get into Museum in Cairo is about 4 Egyptian pounds, which equals about eighty cents in the US. If you sound "American" the price is 100 Egyptian pounds....About $25 US.
• If a family is going to have company, they rent a large tent so the family can stay with them.
• Kids are required to go to school between the ages of 6 and 12, where they can then drop out. There are public and private schools. Many Muslim students go to the private, Catholic schools.
• It seems as though many Americans are very interested in learning about the middle eastern culture. This is exciting for people in Egypt, especially when they move here. Many feel that they are treated very kind and are surprised at how welcoming and NICE Americans are! Amira, a lady that we spoke to, was astounded when she was in the grocery store and a gentleman said hello to her and asked how she was doing. 
• Egypt is the heart of the old world....the crossroads. Before the west was settled, Egypt is the major intersection of trade routes and many other centralized events.
• Egypt is not a very conservative country....they are very open and accepting of the outside world.
• Egypt has been colonized by so many different countries (Greece, Rome, Turkey, British) that the cultural diffusion has become obvious. There are Arab people with red hair and blue eyes; many mixed races.
• The colors of the flag are red, white, and black. Red = the struggle for independence White = peace and black = centuries of oppression. Under the crest it says, "Arabic Republic of Egypt" 
• They gained their independence in 1952.
• Egypt has become the home of many Sudanese refuges...see www.savedarfur.org for more information about this terrible crisis.
• The dog in the movie "I Love you, Man" really DOES look like Anwar Sadat; former president of Egypt

• Religion is central to EVERYTHING.
•  Nasser, Sadat, and Mubarak are the three presidents that Egypt has had. Mubarak is in his 80s and has been president since 1981. They are all of military background. Nasser was the one that is said to have wanted to have Egypt become a socialist nation. He dies in office of a heart attack. (Also "created" the Aswan High Dam. Hence the reason why the lake behind it is called "Lake Nasser"). When he died, his VP took office, Anwar...who tried to pull things back to the right which made some people mad. He was assassinated. Mubarak became president after him. Not a whole lot has changed apparently since he took office.
• Egyptian joke: Nasser was in a car with his driver and the driver came to a fork in the road. The driver asked, "Would you like to go left or go right?" Nasser replied, "Blink left, turn left." Anwar Sudat was in the car some time later with the same driver and they came to the same fork in the road. The driver asked, "Would you like to go left or go right?" Anwar replied, "Blink right and go right." Few years later, Mubarak is in the same car with the same driver and they come to a fork in the road. The driver asks, "Would you like to go left or go right?" Mubarak replies, "Blink left, blink right. Don't move."
• Children in Egypt stay at home until they are married. Both the men and the women do this. It is not uncommon for adults to still live with their parents. 
• Divorce is uncommon. You got married, either fix the issues or be miserable. 
• Most children speak at least three languages...the most common being Arabic, English and French. Foreign language starts when school starts in the primary schools
• Most students (at least in private schools) are told that their options are to become a doctor, lawyer, Engineer, or pharmacist.

Lilly Endowment Grant

Some have inquired about my grant. Below is the weblink for the Teacher Creativity Grant.

Grant info for 2010