Fayoum Thanksgiving

We got back from our two day trip to the Fayoum Governate last night. We left early Thursday morning. REALLY early. We caught the bus at 6:45, drove downtown to pick up the rest of the group and then we were off. The Fayoum is an area southwest of Cairo, the main reason people travel to this area is the lake, but there are also dozens of historic sites both Egyptian and Greco-Roman. Once we were outside the city, we had to hook up with our police escort. Before entering the Fayoum, tourists have to have a police escort. So, a truck full of officers accompanied us the rest of the way. Our first stop was at the ruins of an ancient city. We were able to see a temple and a few remaining structures in addition to some etchings. We then made our way to the Harawa Pyramid. I guess now would be a good time to tell you about the whole pyramid thing. So, how many people thought there were 3 pyramids in Egypt? The ones we see in all the pictures and all the movies? I don't know about you, but I'm raising my hand right now! It turns out there are about 180 pyramids in Egypt. And those are just the ones that have survived! So, back to the Harawa pyramid, it's not pointy like the Giza pyramids, it kind of looks more like a mound. There were also the remnants of a labyrinth and a Greco-Roman cemetery. From there we went to Lahun pyramid. This one was more impressive to me, it sat up high on a hill and could be seen for miles around. After excavating the tombs around the pyramid, there were jewels discovered which are now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and known as the "Princess Collection". We also literally drove over a vast 13th century wall that was part of an artificial reservoir that fed water into the Fayoum. We were totally exhausted after all of this and most of us fell asleep on the bus on the way to the hotel. The Panorama Hotel was right on the lake. It had amazing views of the lake and had basil growing all over the grounds which gave off a beautiful scent. The accommodations were less than thrilling, but we were luckier than most of our traveling companions. We heard stories of not so clean room and linens as well as LOTS of mosquitoes. I thought we were in the clear, but last night I discovered about a dozen bites on my leg. In the morning, we went for a short walk and had some breakfast. We boarded the buses and made our way to Wadi El-Hitan. We stopped right outside entrance to the Wadi and we waited for the police to tell us that we could proceed. We waited. And waited. Finally, Louise (one of our trip organizers) gave us the bad news that we weren't going to be able to see the Wadi, which included whale fossils (with feet!!), because the bus drivers were refusing to drive the 34 kilometers to get there. The good news is we got to get off the bus and play in the dessert a little bit. Which actually ended up being one of the best parts of the trip. After that, we went to Wadi El-Rayan which is a lake with 3 small waterfalls. It was very pretty and I went wading with Belle and Amy! From there we went to the Temple of Sobek. Very cool, lots of little rooms and crypts to explore. We also climbed to the top of the temple, the views were beautiful. We then made our way back to Cairo, tired and a little sunburned, but that's ok!

Obama in Cairo

I know that most of you are reading Ira's blog too, but just in case you're not I'm going to re-tell a story he has on there about our trip back from Dahab...we were at the airport trying to get through security to get on our return flight, when a guard (with a big gun, they all have guns and supposedly they're not loaded but it still scares me) asks for our passports. This also still scares me a little because I've seen too many bad movies where innocent people are accused of crimes they did not commit in forigen countries. So, he looks at our passports and then back at us and says "America?" and we both nod "yes", and then as he's handing back the passports he smiles a little bit and asks hopefully "Obama?" And we both say yes with huge smiles on our faces. And then he says "Not Bush" and we just laugh and say "not Bush" back at him. So we walked away thinking that was one of the coolest interactions we've had with any Egyptian person since we've been here. Until, we had to hand over the passports again, and the same exact thing happened! Almost as if they are reading from a script! I swear, there are people here that get by with very little English, please, thank you, yes, no, but they can say "Obama"! Now, I guess he is on the news and all of that, but I just think that it's probably been a long time since someone just running for president has made it into the daily vernacular of the average Egyptian citizen. And I'm sure it's not just Egypt!
So, as many of you know, I've been pretty psyched about Obama since he came on the scene. I remember hearing his name when he won his first senate race and thinking "Well, that's a weird name to have in politics!" And I also remember the late Tim Russert saying at that time "this guy is going to be one to watch". And I did! And then when he stole the show at the 2004 convention, I was hooked. I wanted him to run so much, but in the back of my mind I thought it was too good to be true, but on the other side of the back of my mind (there's a lot of room back there) I also thought that it was exactly the time for him. So, cut to this convention, last thursday. I was frantic. I was watching CNN and BBC and Al Jezeera all day trying to figure out when they were going to broadcast his speech. I was also trying to figure out what the hell GMT is and what it had to do with me. Poor Ira was sick in bed all day but that didn't stop me from running back there every hour or so and loudly wispering things like "Psst! Hey! Do you think they're going to show his speech live here, or should I try and watch it online?!" So what I finally figured out was that it was going to be on here at 4:00am. So the plan was to set the alarm and watch it then. And it didn't help that we were setting the clocks back an hour that night so I was worried that we were going to miss it. So, I set the alarm, woke up instantly, and bounced down the hall to the TV. I turned it on just as he was coming onstage and I got goosebumps! I know this is all very corny, but it was like this crazy dream I had years ago had come true. And the speech was perfect. I loved all of it. I didn't want it to end. I wanted to stay up all night watching commentaries and replays but I figured I could do that tomorrow. Little did I know that Insane McCain was going to trot out his little gun toting PTA mom and ruin it for me...grr... Oh well. When you have nothing but an iffy war record to run on, strategically placed manuvers are all you have I guess.

Day 10...

We've been in Cairo for 10 days and so much has happened that it feels like at least 100. For those who know me, you know the last 3 have been the hardest. We found out the pregnancy wasn't viable any longer so I have to have an operation yesterday. No one likes to have surgery, and surgery in a foriegn country is even scarier. Nurses who don't speak English wanting you to strip down in front of them (at least that's what I think they wanted), everything is stored in glass bottles and rubber tubing like it's 1953, and there are people smoking. In the damn hospital. In the damn maternity wing. Which, by the way, is where they put me, quite literally adding insult to injury. Now the good news, I feel ok and I can already tell that I am going to have more energy and feel more like myself in no time. The even better news? Ira and I leave for a resort on the Red Sea in 3 days!

So what else goes on here in this city BESIDES half assed medical care, you might be asking??? Here are my initial impressions in "blunt" format...
1. It's freaking hot. If you're on the east coast (as I know many of you are) you are well versed in the god-awful humidity that we experience there. That's oppressive and all, but feeling like the sun might just make your skin bubble up and fall off of your body is a whole different experience.
2. Our immediate area called Maadi, or more specifically "Maadi Digla" is a little like a cross between a posh suburb and a third world city. And it's a little confusing to get around...some of my favorite quotes about Maadi...from our upstairs neighbor the doctor "...and just because you've found road 15, it doesn't mean that road 16 is anywhere near it!" and in very sweet broken English from an AUC driver "...someone was I think drinking wine when they made the plan" Someone was drinking something! In spite of all of that, we have great places to eat, markets that will deliver our groceries, nice shops and even nicer owners, and there are a lot of trees.
3. We have found the best taxi driver in Egypt. His name is Mema, he speaks great English, and he is really funny. He calls everything "crazy". "Crazy driver!" "Crazy traffic!" "Crazy house!" and my favorite, when we were driving past a movie set "Crazy cinema!" Now he does point out the same tourist attractions to us every time, but that's ok. We love him!
4. This is actually an observation of a friend of ours...but I'm going to steal it because he really put in to words what I had been feeling. There's a lot of down time in Egypt. First of all, I wasn't on a good sleep schedule until about yesterday and I'm still waking up after only 5 or 6 hours of sleep. So that meant that for the first week or so I was sleeping and eating at weird times and the rest of the time kind of just hanging around. I thought I was just being lazy, but I think it's like that for a lot of ex-pats. It's either too hot to go out, or it's sabbath, I can't even imagine what Ramadan is going to be like! Now having said that...my husband is of course the exception to this rule. He will go out at the hottest part of the afternoon and stay out for hours and love very minute of it. But we all know that he's like the poster child for living in a foriegn country. But it's nice to be getting settled into our new place and making it feel like home.
5. Everything is truly inexpensive. Now, I have travelled quite a bit. Mostly in the U.S. but I 've been to Europe and Mexico, etc. You think you know what "cheap" is, right? It's those pants at the Gap that used to be $58 and they are now on sale for $19.99. That's cheap! Or paying $5 for 2 pints of blueberries at Giant. Cheap! Ira and I have been here for 10 days and I don't think we've spent more than $150 on food including meals out and all of our groceries (and including me accidentially over tipping the delivery guy). That's cheap.
6. Pardon the schmultz, but I have fallen deeper in love with Ira on this adventure. I adore that man with every bone in my body. He is caring, attentive, loving, the truest, most honest human being I know. He loves it here, and even though I'm still on the fence, he doesn't push me or try and make me see the city the way he does. He's giving me the space and time to figure it all out for myself. That's some love right there. That's why I (over)use the "best husband in the world" phrase. And I know that's why he's going to be the best dad in world too...
7. Everyone does their own thing here. It feels like everyone has a purpose, or at least they do things purposefully. I need to find my thing and I'll be right there along with them.