Too sad for my heart.

Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt

March 30th, 2008

We are leaving in two day.  But I am going to stay here while they go to Europe (or I wish I could).  Maya wants to stay with me.  I have had a really great time getting to know my family.  They have been so kind and generous.  We have spent enough time with Mahmoud, Noha, Habiba, Effat and Fatma that I am comfortable enough to open up a little more.  I hope some of them will come visit us, even though we will have a high standard hospitality to meet.  I will definitely come back here again.

It is going to be very hard to say good-bye (or rather farewell) on Tuesday.

Ghosts from the past

Nasser City, Cairo

March 27th, 2008

Good and sad:  A few days ago one of my cousins pulled out old pictures of my Mother and my two brothers.  My Mother looks so young, but not entirely innocent.  Little does she know the tragedy that is about to devastate her life.   Timour is about 6 months and Yusef 4+ so I know that Yusef died months, if not weeks, after the photo was taken.  Many of the relatives remember Yusef, and my mother, so fondly.  It is very touching, and heartbreaking.  I try not to cry too much in front of them.  I can tell is makes them uncomfortable.  

Bad:  Even at the wireless place I cannot send pictures.  I will try to catch up once we are in Budapest.

Surprising:  Okay, it wasn't surprising:  the Sound and Lights at the pyramid was SOOO cheesy. Glad we did it, but never have to do that again!  Afterwards (2nd) cousin Mahmoud took us out to an Italian restaurant.  He is 19 and drives like it's a video game.  Unfortunately we forgot to charge the battery on the video camera so we only filmed for 2 minutes.  Hopefully we will get to drive with him again.  As we drove I challenged him with theological questions which he enjoyed, but it meant we did not always take the most direct route.

Hilmi's portrait

Nasser City, Cairo, Egypt
March 26th, 2008

Good: Yesterday we went to my cousin Akram's house. His wife Fariyal made a delicious dinner. I hope to get some of the recipes. His two sons regaled us with tales about public schools that made Rinda's schools look normal. Fariyal is especially fond of my father so she was particularly delighted to see us. She likes my father so much that she has an 8x10 portrait of him up on the wall of her bedroom. His was the only portrait in the room. Too bad I can't attach the picture.

Bad: I am starting to get sad about leaving. Five full days after today.

Surprising: How well school work is going. We have managed to keep fights to a minimum and we seem to be keeping up a good pace. We divided the work in 5th and we are 2/5 through. Kalin and Maya are more self motivated that ever. In many ways they are doing independent study with some support. They have to pace themselves which I realize will be good preparation for the future.

Tonight the Sound and Light at the Pyramids-inshaallah. Though we have made that plan before...

Happy Easter from Aswan

We had hoped for a special Easter lunch or dinner at the Old Cataract Hotel, a classic hotel where Laila and her family stayed when she was last in Aswan. But apparently many visitors had the same idea. As we straggled u p to the gate in 40 degree (c) - 104 degrees (f) heat, the guard met us with a gold sign that said that all the "tickets" were sold out for the next two days. We begged, but the answer was no. So, our Easter lunch was shwarma sandwiches and coke at a street cafe. Lamb at Easter!

Our highlight yesterday was a 3 hour feluca ride on the Nile, from 3:00 until sunset. Our captian, Saied (AKA "Jack Sparrow"), was funny and knowledgable, having been a captain for 23 years. He told us about the sights, the many islands and tombs and old and new buildings, and also had lots of funny and interesting stories about his clients over the years. He offered a 5 hour trip to his Nubian village, lunch at his house with all of this relatives, and back again for today, but we didn't have enough time. We talked a bit about politics and the local economy until he said, let's talk about something happier. Here in Aswan we can really see the economic struggle. The people seem sadder and on the edge of anger. It's difficult, because they can't imagine why we won't spend all of our riches on their goods. Though most are very gracious, some have really expressed their frustration. Those times are very sad.

We leave Aswan in a couple of hours. We're taking the "sleep train" overnight and should arrive in Cairo early in the morning. We've enjoyed Luxor and Aswan, and will be glad to return to Cairo and the relatives, which now feels like our local home.

Laila just looked up temps, and looks like it will be 32 degrees (f) in Budapest when we arrive! My goodness. Send the down jackets!!!

Love from all of us,
Rinda

Luxor and lice

Luxor Egypt

Bad:  We are still fighting off the lice.  I found a 'momma' on Kalin yesterday.  I never thought I would pine for North American lice, but these Thai lice make me long for the critters from home.  These lice are much smaller with much smaller nits.  'Our' lice concentrate behind the ears and nape of the neck.  These ones dwell happily anywhere.  So we cannot just do a quick check in  few target spots.  We have to look everywhere.  Last time we had lice, when Kalin was in 1st grade, I just chopped off her hair.  It was so cute!  But she won't go for it this time.  What a surprise-not!

Good:  The full moon over Karnak during the Sound and Light Show.  The show is as cheesy as anything you have ever experienced.  Big, booming voices of various gods and pharaohs.   It is light on history and heavy on pageantry.  But it is the kind of experience that lodges in your memory forever.

Surprising:  Not really surprising, but it is sobering to realize how much the Egyptian people feel under attack from America.  We have heard over and over again that they 'love America;  please tell people there we want peace, no war.'    They go on to tell us how the whole Arab world has been affected by the invasion of Iraq.  My cousin's wife told me that Egypt alone has integrated 2 million Iraqi refugees.  With only 70 million people that is a huge percentage increase in their population.  Their unemployment has always been high and the tourist industry was devastated after 9/11.  Our tour guide in Luxor told us the city went from 6,000 tourists a day in to 800 a day .  It is now back to 2,000 a day, but it is still hard.  There are very few American tourists too.  It may just be that we are not on the US package tour, but we have met no other American's here.   Many Egyptians try to guess where we are from and America is rarely on the list.  

We met several Egyptian men who used to come to the States regularly and they now find it too 'humiliating to come to America as an Arab man.'  They are thrilled when they realize that we too hate George Bush and cannot wait for the new president.  And like us, everyone we have talked to here is 'hoping for Clinton or Obama' followed by quick appeals to god, 'Inshallah',  which all of us repeat emphatically:  inshallah, inshallah, inshallah.

A cut cable

Luxor, Egypt

March 19th, 2008

Bad:  I just learned that two major cables that connect Egypt to Europe through the internet were severed by a boat a few weeks ago.  This is why we are having internet trouble.  It is affecting all of Africa, but Egypt the most. 

Good:  Watching the sunset over the Nile.  It is so iconic and here we are.  Wow!  

Surprising:  Kalin and Maya like Cairo much more than the Red Sea or Luxor.  Guess they like crowds and family!

We arrived in Luxor on March 17th after a 10 hour train ride.  It was a lovely trip along the Nile through fertile fields.  We passed many donkeys along the way.

Luxor is a lot smaller than Cairo, but still pretty crowded.  We had a bad moment when a 'crazy' man hit Kalin with a baseball cap.  I got furious;  Kalin cried.  The people around us responded well, but it was intense.

Our hotel has a rooftop restaurant with a great view of the Nile and Valleys on the other side.  The Luxor Temple lit up at night was a lovely way to visit this site.  Today we go to the Valley of Kings, Valley of the Queens, and Hatchesput's Temple.  It will be our biggest tour day here- six plus hours.

Pictures:  Two from the Red Sea-overlooking the bay from our hotel and loveduck on the glass bottom boat.  The third is with my family.  These are my cousin Effat's family:  Fatma (his wife), Noha (daughter),  Habiba (Gradndaughter) and Mahmoud (son).  They have been soooo great to us.

Pictures!

Egypt

Here are a few more from the Pyramids.  I did a better job than the tour guide on the trick photos.  

Thoughts on Travel from Rinda

Hello all - 

My poor technology luck is continuing and I can't get onto my own account, so I'll use Laila's.  We're at a gigantic mall quite close to our borrowed flat and the wireless is fluctuating wildly.  We'll see how far I get with this.

I am having an amazing time, and constantly have to pinch myself when I look out the window of the flat, a bus, train, taxi or boat and see an everyday scene that is beautiful and exotic because of where it is.  A dusty, unbelievably chaotic Cairo traffic scene, the desert stretching out from the road as far as the eye can see, the blue-green of the Red Sea, the ancient stones of the pyramids still perfectly in place after 4,000 years.  The sights and feelings of awe were similar in Thailand, but the addition of the family connection here in Egypt makes the experience that much richer.  

It surprises me, though I guess it shouldn't, about the amount of energy and work it takes to be a good traveler.  There is so much involved in keeping one's self and one's family healthy, happy, fed, clothed, oriented, informed and prepared to access the riches to be had.  We're getting pretty good at it, I must say, but the few times that we've let ourselves run out of energy, food, good humor.... those times are not pleasant.  One aspect that has sometimes been challenging is keeping up with the girls' studies.  Both are so conscientious, but especially in Egypt it's been difficult to find the time between trips and outings.  We tell them not to worry, that the trip itself is an education.  And let's face it, Holden Caufield does not seem to relevant when one is gazing at the pyramids from the back of a camel!

We are off to Luxor and Aswan Monday morning early by train.  We hope to find good internet on this leg.  We miss posting when we can't!

Lots of love to all!

Rinda

NO INTERNET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hey, i'd like to apoligize 4 not posting! we've done alot since our last post. today we went to this place called the citadel that was cool. and we went bowling, we alsotried a new food called kusher it was good. and we went to this place called sharm el sheikh for 4 days (love the fish and want to go back). on monday we go to luxor and aswan for a week (cross your fingers that theres internet there). k is thats all thats happened bye!

Sharm is full of Charm

Sharm el Sheik

Egypt

March 8-12

Good:  Figured out the internet here.  Though we are leaving in a few hours.

Bad:  A little too much flirting for some of our tastes-well all of us really, in turns.

Surprising:  That thong bikini's are so popular in some European communities.

We have been at the Red Sea since the 8th (Saturday night).  We were supposed to leave in the morning, but I (Laila) was sick all night with "Gypy Tummy"- as my mother used to call it.  I had a fever and everything.    Hamda'allah (Thanks to God) for the antibiotic from Kaiser.  To top it off we found lice on Kalin so we treated and combed the out again before getting on a public bus for the 6 hour trip through the Sanai.  We had quite a few check points to pass through and we believe we went in a tunnel under the Suez Canal.

This is a five star hotel filled with Europeans-mostly Russians.  Though there are a few Arabs and Western Europeans.  Many folks carry a bottle of vodka with them around at night.  I see why some Europeans think Americans are prudes.  I have never been around such skimpy suits-on men and women.  I think this is the best abstinence education my children could have.  Nothing like a large, hairy, flabby, pale person to reduce the libido!

The Red Sea is stunning!  We snorkeled (including Kalin) and saw the most amazing fish.  Just like being in an aquarium-such amazing colors.  I swam through some jelly fish that were lit up from the inside.  Cool and scary.  I do not know if they sting.

The flirting is intense.  Today Rinda was met with a "I am sad."  When she inquired why, she was met with a "Because I like you and you do not like me."  Single women are a rarity here. We think we will change our story in Luxor and Aswan.  We will have left our husbands at home. 

We are off to ride a glass bottom boat before we head back to Cairo.  Kalin in particular is happy to be going back, although we all look forward to it. 

Egypt Rocks

HI- I know that the rest of my family has already said all there is to say about egypt so far but I wanted to post. I love Egypt and so far am having a great time! Our family has been so nice to us and I'm very thankful. I hope that some/all of the family will someday come to visit us and so some of you guys might be able to meet them! Make sure to watch our videos on youtube. I made a new charactor Alice! It will be up in a couple of days (hopefully) and it's called Alice-the new girl if you want to watch it!

BYE,
Maya

Going to the Pyramids

We went to the pyramids today. Really the pyramids are better from far away and it is not much fun to go in them. And there is nothing to see in there. I like the camel rides. It was basically like riding a horse, but a little more bumpy. Much thanks to the boys who had to pull the camels. It seemed like a lot of work. But they did a good job. I liked the tour guide, even though he didn't take very good pictures. He was nice, and he called me princess. He was kinda cute too.

Yes, this really is Kalin making a post.

p.s. Pictures will come later.

For you a Ferrari

Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt

March 5th (?)-the days sure blurr!

Picture of my family and Khan el Khalili

Good:  Yesterday was Khan el Kalili.  An outdoor market that has been in continuous operation since the 14th century.  I had fun bargaining.  Kalin (and to a lesser extent Maya) garnished a lot of attention with many joking inquiries about how many camels for her dowry.  One man yelled, "For you, no camels.  For you Ferraris.  A thousand Ferraris."  I was definitely more amused than Kalin.  

Bad:  Still no high speed internet.  We are scouring the neighborhood, but no luck.  So no pictures yet.

Surprising:  How much Kalin is enjoying Egypt ad Cairo in particular.  She is sorry we are not just here for 5 months.  Go figure!

The day before yesterday was the Egyptian Museum filled with Ancient Egyptian antiquities. Only some of which were behind glass.  Tonight the sound and light show at the pyramids with a day visit in the morning.  Saturday we are off to the Red Sea.  My cousins nephew has made a good deal for us at a 5 star hotel.  We are warning the kids not to get too used to it.  It will be a 6 hour bus ride each way to Sharm el-Sheik.  A week later we go to Luxor and Aswan.

I miss everyone!

egypt

Cairo!

Nasr City, Cairo

Egypt

March 2nd

We have arrived in Egypt.  It was a very uneventful 12 hours of travel through Doha, Qatar.  The only bad part was waking up at 3:00 in the morning.  But we all managed to stay awake until 8:00 at night. 

Unfortunately my internet connection is limited so no last pictures of Thailand or new ones from here.  I will scope out a dsl.

Good:  The relatives are so happy to see us and so warm.  We all feel comfortable in the spacious apartment.  My cousin-in-law, her daughter and granddaughter will stay with us some of the time in the three bedroom flat.  It feels a little strange, but also nice.  Habiba is 2 years old and is quickly warming up to us.  Noha, my cousins 2nd daughter, speaks excellent English, as do her two bothers (23? and 19)  and my cousin and his wife (in their late 50's I think).

Bad:  Walking around the streets of this neighborhood I feel sad that I do not speak Arabic.  I wish I knew so much more-reading the signs, the numbers, etc.  It is also strange to be a 'radical' by wearing pants and showing my hair.  I definitely draw attention.  In other places it is obvious I am a 'foreigner';  here I am somewhere between.  

Surprising:  You can call McDonald's for delivery.  Not that we will too often. But when the family gave us numbers they included McDonalds as well Pizza Hut.  Not that we are interested.  They have the best feta! Yum.  I am ready for meditaranean food.