Laughing at street signs

“Can you tell me what letter THIS is?” A question often posed to pre-school children as they are beginning to learn to read. They diligently say the name of each letter. They link the sounds of each letter to the next. They begin to sound out words. This particular process of learning is usually concluded… Continue reading Laughing at street signs

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Recently…

This is just a “stream-of-consciousness” update. I’ve been horribly remiss in my postings, mostly due to being extremely busy. So – The Bank fiasco. This is still in full swing. Jack and I still have no ATM cards, the e-banking that I’d applied for 2 weeks ago still doesn’t work, and the people at the… Continue reading Recently…

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Stuff I miss…

Lots of people ask, “So what do you miss most, now that you are in Cairo?” That is a very difficult question to answer. There are silly things that I was used to in the States that I can’t find here. For example: Half and half for my coffee – we’ve resorted to buying milk… Continue reading Stuff I miss…

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Taxi woes and funnies

This morning, one block from the Hostel, my taxi ran out of gas. Truly. Ran out of gas. We quietly coasted to a stop, just barely out of the lane of travel. My driver turns to me and babbles a whole lot of Arabic that I can’t understand and ends with a word that resembled,… Continue reading Taxi woes and funnies

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Goin’ on a Bus Tour

Yup – it is true. The Faculty Services Committee has planned a bus tour of greater Cairo and the “New Campus” of AUC. It is an optional trip, and I’m not a HUGE fan of lots of people crammed on a bus, looking OUT of the fishbowl, yet I would like a better idea of… Continue reading Goin’ on a Bus Tour

Our Shipment

After saying goodbye to our stuff on August 11th, we welcomed it to our new home on September 12th. Nine containers – only moderately beaten up – with ALL OUR BELONGINGS, except one box of anti-diarrheal tablets, delivered to our apartment! When I got home from school, Jack had already unpacked almost everything. He had… Continue reading Our Shipment

Getting lost in the Khan

This is our first weekend, since arriving, when there were not “scheduled” things to be done. My first (partial) week of school is over, and Life in Cairo begins for real. We slept late, read some information about Islamic Cairo and decided to “look around” in some of the shopping areas and the Khan al… Continue reading Getting lost in the Khan

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The ToDo List

We were “warned” by a former faculty member that To Do lists were different in Cairo. One makes the list, just the same as in the States, however, in Cairo, one designates a time to stop for the day, does as much of the list as possible up to that time, and then stops. The… Continue reading The ToDo List