To Suez and Back!

Today I went with a large group to a resort on the Suez Canal and boy was it fun. The group consisted of myself, the Millers who are the full time Missionary family, the conference president Samir and his wife Tanya, another SM named Bethany who has been staying at Samir's house, and about 60 friends and family's who signed up to go on the trip through the conference (apparently it had been planned for some time). Our trip began with a 2 hour bus ride out to the resort, a trip that I honestly don't remember as I was sleeping the whole time. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the accommodation at the resort was top notch, and I spent a leisurely day swimming in the bathtub like water , soaking up the sun, and lounging by the two pools present there. Even our food was catered at the on site restaurant! Not a bad way to spend a Tuesday.
While on this trip I had the opportunity to meet a host of new and interesting people and I discovered why Egyptians are known for their friendliness. Perhaps one of the more interesting acquaintances I made was a boy three years older than I named Michael. He spoke very good english and we spent a majority of the day hanging out together. He assured me that whenever I wanted to go to a place of interest in Cairo that he would be happy to act as my guide. And I was finally able to take some good quality photos. A lot of photos. I will be posting all of my photos online hopefully by tomorrow for you all to peruse.
Well, I seem to be exhausted from my little trip today, so I'm going to call it a day. Thanks for reading.

Shaken, not stirred.

I need to finish my story about the trip over to Egypt. I guess the only notable part would be the person I met on the plane ride from Portland to Frankfurt. We rode on an Airbus with 8 seats per row, two on each end and then four in the middle. Well, as luck would have it, I ended up in the very middle of the row, not a place I would have chosen for myself. But just as I was cursing my misfortune, a young woman, in her early 20s sat down beside me. So, for the next 10 hours we had the opportunity to talk. I discovered that her name was Nadia and that she was on her way to Ukraine. As we talked, I learned that she was originally from Belarus but had been living in the United States for 8 years. Currently she was working as an accountant at Intel in Hillsboro, and was taking a vacation to visit her family.

At one point during the flight, as drinks were being passed out, Nadia announced to me that she was going to be consuming alcohol. I told her that it was fine with me, and then I proceeded to get a Sprite while she chose wine. She asked me why I hadn’t ordered something alcoholic, and quickly followed that with an assurance that if I was underage she would gladly get something for me. Also she informed me that the drinking age in Germany, (our flight was on Lufthansa Air) was 18 so I would be fine. So sporadically for the remainder of the flight she decided to try to get me to drink. At one point she returned to her seat with a glass of Bailey’s in hand. She offered it to me, but since it smelled like paint thinner, I thought better of ingesting it.

Despite her penchant for liquor I was very glad to have someone friendly to talk to and joke with on the otherwise long and dreary flight. Even after disembarking at Frankfurt International Airport Nadia and I stuck together for the hour until my next flight. She even took me to the Duty Free store pointing out which bourbon and whiskey was the best (She was purchasing it for her father since it was cheaper at the Airport then in Belarus). When we finally parted company I was sad to see her go. She was the last American I spoke to before arriving here in Egypt, and I suspect I won’t forget her for a long time.

So now I find myself sitting in my darkened room at 5 till 7 listening to the sound of car horns outside and waiting for my alarm to go off. Today we’re going to church across town in Heliopolis, a suburb of Cairo. I hear the journey is quite epic, and I am excited about my first chance to ride the metro. But for now, I wait…

What seems to be the problem, officer?

I learned something important today: Egyptians can’t drive. Or maybe they’re very good at driving. Or they’re very lucky. I’m not sure which. Driving here is a combination of guts, skill, and a healthy amount of luck. I have never been as exhilarated or terrified as I am when riding in a vehicle here in Cairo.

One of the first things I noticed about the roads and cars here is that the cars have steering wheels on the same side as we do in the US, and that they drive on the right side of the road as well (when they’re not passing at breakneck speed on the other side, which is frequently). In the rich downtown communities BMWs, Toyotas, Mercedes, and Hondas are easily spotted, but in the poorer neighborhoods such as the one I am living in, old Datsuns, Peugots, Diahatsus, and Suzukis are the norm. I don’t believe that I have yet seen a car that does not have some form of body damage on it. This fact is attested to by the alarming frequency of body shops along each road. In the half mile stretch of road I traveled today I encountered no less than 7 automotive shops, each with at least one car partially disassembled on the street in front of it.

Cairenes honk their horns continually. I quickly learned that this was not out of anger or frustration, but simply a way of letting everyone else know that they were about to step into the fray and pass, so watch out. I honestly don’t know why the cars here have blinkers, because I have yet to see one person use them. There is never a dull moment in a vehicle. Today Ron, Methat and I went down the road about ½ mile to buy paint and other supplies. We hailed a minibus (a minibus is actually a Suzuki or Toyota van that has been retrofitted with more seats than it ought to have, and holds even more people than there are seats for) and held on. The only rule for driving is get there first. And somehow this works. In a city of 20 million people, I am amazed that accidents aren’t more frequent.

Basically, if you are stuck behind a bus, you pull out and accelerate until you have either successfully passed them or you are about to hit an oncoming vehicle in which case you slam on the brakes and honk your horn copiously. This is all happening while sharing the road with donkeys, motorcycles, and oblivious pedestrians who nonchalantly cross at their own whim, despite traffic conditions. All in all, driving here is a delightful experience that I hope all of you can one day enjoy.

The Journey

My battery is getting low, so this is going to have to be brief for now. Basically I have arrived in Egypt safely, and already I have had some unique experiences. Currently I am sitting in a lone chair in the computer lab of Nile Union Academy. Upon my arrival here on campus I was introduced to the staff, including Samir Berbawy, the president of the union here in Egypt, and his wife Tanya. I have settled into my apartment and things are looking up. Tomorrow I will be painting and doing maintenance with Ron, another American who moved here with his family for the year. So tonight I sleep, and tomorrow I work.

My battery is at critical now, so I'm signing off. I can here evening prayers taking place at the mosques surrounding us. Their wales and chants are strangely beautiful...

This is just a test

So here I am packing and preparing to fly out on Wednesday. I have lots of questions and lots of energy and I don't have anything to do with either right now. Oh well. Only two more days...