Martin and I got to leave the hotel earlier than others because our apartment was already organized. We chose it back in March from a website that the school put together of available flats. The school has been so helpful in the coordination of all of our arrival details. It has been quite amazing. On the bus headed to Street 9 in Maadi, were Martin and I, Tyler, and Adrienne. I quickly find out that Adrienne lives in the same building as us, and has taught in Egypt previously, along with her husband, left for two years to teach in Turkey, and is back to Egypt. She has been a wealth of information and help to us, and has become a great friend. She is from Chicago and has connections to some small towns in Wisconsin where some of my family members live. It’s so interesting- the further out into the world you go, the smaller it feels and more connected you become. There is also a teacher here who is from Green Bay, WI. Tyler’s story is interesting too. He is from Oregon, but has taught overseas for many years (I can’t recall all the locations), most recently in China. He is still awaiting the arrival of his wife, who will come in November or so after she wraps up some of her business affairs in China.

Maadi is a neighborhood in Cairo. We chose to live in Maadi because there are many expats who live there, there are lots of restaurants and shops to walk to, it is close to the Metro train station, and is fairly safe. Another bonus is that it’s right by the Nile! Our flat is about 8 blocks from the Nile. We can step out our front door and within a 5-minute walk, buy nearly anything- batteries, lamps, rugs, clothing, fruit, fresh fish, EVERYTHING! It is really hard to believe until you are here and see it. I will describe it more another time.

On our way to Maadi we stop at a Hypermarket to pick up anything we need for our apartment. This is much like a super-Walmart or Target- they have home goods and food. We have no idea what we need yet! We know that our place is furnished, and assume that we will need to buy paper-goods, cleaning supplies, linens, dishes… but we really have no idea. We filled up a cart with some odds and ends and were made fun of when we arrived back at the bus for all the goods we bought. It turned out we were so thankful for everything we bought.

We arrived at our apartment and were greeted by a couple bowabs who rushed over to help us with our luggage and bags. The bowabs are pretty great. They help us carry things, take out garbage, keep the entryway clean, and help people park their vehicles on the street. It seems like they are always here and always awake. They don’t speak much English but they are happy to meet us and excited to help. Everything was very confusing when we arrived. We were supposed to meet the landlord on-site, and he didn’t show. This meant we didn’t have a key to our place. Our landlord doesn’t speak English, so we have to have someone be a go-between for us which doesn’t make anything easy. Thankfully, after lots of struggle again with language barriers, we learned that our bowab had a key for us and we were finally let in to our new home.

We were nervous about our apartment, but it truly ended up being fabulous! We are on the fourth floor and have a corner flat; we have views down Street 9 and can see some desert dunes in the distance on a non-hazy day. It’s honestly way more space than we need, but we are lucky to be right on Street 9. We have 3 bedrooms- one is set as an office for Martin to work at during the day. We have room for plenty of guests! We have a cute kitchen, a dining space with chairs for 8, two living areas, and two bathrooms. We have air-conditioning to help keep us cool in this hot hot weather, and heat for when we need it in the winter. We have a great balcony for sitting and watching the world go-by. From it, you can hear Egyptian music from a restaurant across the street, watch football (soccer!) on the big-screen tvs at the coffee shop across the street, watch kids play at the day-care across the street, watch beggars on the street below with their children at their side, watch police who stand guard at the bank below, see the tops of palm trees and sandy streets filled with trash and cars that honk incessantly. There is a cart that is over-flowing with hand-woven baskets of all different sizes at the end of the block. We can watch the sun set over the top of an empty, unfinished building across the street that some homeless have commandeered as their own. We have another balcony to hang clothes out to dry, as we don’t have a clothes dryer. This is our new home.

Our home is tidy… but dirty. The flat has been empty for at least a month and there is a layer of dust on everything. Not the dust I’m used to though; it is a gross film that covers everything! It’s from the sand and blows in through all the cracks in the doors and windows. We even had to wipe down the kitchen walls. I was pretty amazed! Thank goodness for hardwood floors in a place like this!

We were disappointed that our internet wasn’t working- the school had said that it would be all set for us when we arrived, and still we don’t have internet (I am writing this over a week after having moved-in). We are learning some things about Egypt- anything phone or internet related will take a very long time to handle. In this last week, we have also learned some other things that most tourists don’t get to experience. When someone comes to do work on something, expect them to arrive up-to 2 hours earlier or later than they indicated. Also, expect that they will arrive, assess the situation, leave to get supplies, return, work on it, and sometimes leave to return again. It will take hours to fix something. Oh, and sometimes they bring their kids with them. We got our locks changed, and then almost got locked-out because the new lock-mechanism wasn’t working. Thankfully Martin assessed it and fixed it himself. Another added frustration to having the repairmen over is that none of them thus far speak much English. At one point I had to call someone from the school to translate for us. It’s so frustrating to not be able to communicate with people.

Most of our repairs have been completed (we are having screens repaired this weekend, wish us luck!), and we are settling in pretty well. We do love our space that we now call home, though it takes some time to move into a furnished space and call it your own. We finally got enough groceries so that we don’t have to eat out all the time.

We have to remind ourselves that we aren’t on a vacation. This is our real life! We live in Cairo, Egypt! This city is really great. It has such a vibrant energy about it. The people are SO nice. They are all so eager to talk to us and learn about us; a few kids have asked to take pictures with Martin. We stand out everywhere we go, even though we dress modestly and have set-aside our jeans, shorts, and tanks for our time here. It’s the color of our hair and personal style mostly- our glasses, Martin’s beard, my short pixie haircut, well definitely our English-speaking voices too.

But we are here. We are settled (mostly).

(I apologize I’m trying to get caught up with this blog! Not having internet has made it super challenging. Next story will tell all about our adventures we have had checking out some touristy-type attractions.)

Check out Martin’s blog too! He is a great writer, and is up-to-date!

http://www.martintheblog.blogspot.com