A Day of Pink and White

    
    As usual I am not sure where to start. A few weeks ago Rebecca mentioned that there was going to be a “Walk for the Cure” at the Pyramids. We all decided that we could handle a 1.5 kilometer walk, especially if the Pyramids were involved. It is only the 2nd year for the Breast Cancer walk. Last year about 6,000 people showed. This year at least double that showed. As you know I saw the pyramids at night, but I had only seen them in daylight when we came in for our initial landing. I have wanted to see these mammoth monoliths for as long as I can remember.

     Today I got to stand on them and stare open mouthed and agog.  We caught our bus at the Grand Mall this morning. It was the usual chaos of pushing and shoving, but we didn’t care. We got on a bus and headed out. These were chartered buses; I can only imagine what it would have been like on a normal everyday bus –whew. The kids that joined or bus were singing and generally pretty loud and funny. A lot of the foreign schools are trying to implement Social Justice/Social Community themes into their curriculums. So, many of the students are fulfilling their requirements with events like this. It is a really good idea.

     Our school was no exception. We had about 15 of us total. Not bad for one week notification and a virtually unknown issue in Egypt. As you can imagine Breast Cancer is not on the list of items talked about freely, but this is changing as the death rate from ‘female’ cancers is growing from lack of knowledge and not being detected in time. USAID and the Susan G. Koman organization targeted Egypt this year for an awareness campaign. From the turnout I would say that they are making headway.

     Anyway back to the awe inspiring show. We took the same route as before, but it was too smoggy to see the pyramids from the flyover. We were almost on top of the pyramids before we could see them. I spotted one peeking out from behind a building first; then two and finally three. At that point my mouth dropped and it was probably a good hour or two before I closed it. We pulled into the parking circle and were summarily dropped off, hundreds of people and no directions.

     We decided to head through the gate and find our way. By the way, you can see the main pyramid from here and it is huge, but looks strangely delicate. It is on one hand difficult to believe that people put their lives into building this monument, and on the other leaves little doubt that it was made by man. The jagged edges of the layers as they climb up to the sky are strangely bereft looking without a cover.

     The Great Pyramid is the one without any covering left, but you still get the impression that something is missing. Being the rockhound that I am and the fact that this environment was so much to take in at once, I began looking at the ground. You could see where the mother rock had been chiseled flat and prepared for the building of the structure. There are post holes and walls all over the ground. When you walk up to the actual pyramid you quickly get an idea of the size of the blocks moved. On the ground there are chucks of chert and flint. There are little fossils in the rocks of the base.

     We still hadn’t found any signs, but knew vaguely that we needed to head towards the main plateau. So off down the road we went. The minute you reach the end of the first pyramid you suddenly spot the second pyramid, and remnants of walls and structures. The second pyramid has pieces of the original capping stones. 

     When you see the second pyramid up close it suddenly dawned on me that this was all real and that I was there. My brain just sort of went pop. I was there and walking through history. Bill Millar would be proud of me though, I was compulsively looking at rocks and walls for fossils and tool marks. I found loads. Yes I did take pictures, and there are even a couple with me in them.

     A funny little fact is that many of the tourist police ride camels there. I took pictures of them. They don’t charge for pictures. I suppose it is a good idea. They are up off the ground with radios to the men at the different stations along the road to stop unwanted activity. A friend here pointed out to me that in Egypt the laws are designed to aid the many, not like the State where the laws are enacted to protect the few (the idiots who don’t know better), interesting insight.

     By this time we realized that the plateau where we were going to start was a 2 kilometer walk alone. But who could argue with great weather and a breeze – and a view to die for. It was in the 80’s and a crisp breeze. I still have my windows open now at home. It was the nicest day in Cairo so far this year. The meeting sight was total mayhem, but the mood was fun and joyous. When you get up to the plateau you can see everything, except the sphinx.

     We gathered our group and waited for the walk to begin. One of my students even showed up with his brothers and sisters. But I’m guessing he got little choice. His mother is a teacher at the school also. He was really shy with me. I don’t think he knew what to say to me out of school. I started asking him about Disneyland, which he went to this summer, that loosened up the tongue.

     When the walk started it went with a bang. Think of a Wildebeest migration and it would be about right. It was a blast. It went very quickly. We walked a 1.5 kilo trip, and then another .5 to the festival grounds. There we could see the sphinx up close. You can’t walk right up to it, but you still get really close. Then we went to the festival grounds.

     By this time it was getting really warm and there was no shade. We all mutually decided that it was time to vacate, too many people and not enough shade, water or bathrooms. I got the coolest pictures, and will do this again next year with Bill…inshallallah. Thank you for listening to my ramblings.

Cheers Jonina

Sunset Falluca Ride

Here is another one of those adventures that are unique to Egypt, and I am glad to be living here. I will write again soon.

Cheers to all,
Jonina

Aida and the Pyramids 10/7/2010

So last night’s adventure: I got a chance to see the opera Aida at the Giza Pyramids. One of our teachers is also a famous opera singer. She and her brother both work for the school. They were able to get us tickets for this event. Aida used to be given every year until 9/11. After that, not for five years, and then, only if politically safe. This year they the Cultural Commission scheduled 4 performances. They are hoping to resume giving this opera every year. Part of me felt guilty for going without Bill, but I just had to go. Verdi wrote this opera to take place in Egypt. Mostly it was written to take place on Luxor (I hope to see that opera there as well), but you can’t sneeze at having the Sphinx and the Pyramids as background. Look at the photos.

We had a full day at school and then loaded back onto the van. The mood was palatable. Almost did not seem real that we were getting to go to see this. Our van driver was watching us closely. Usually we are tired and worn out from school; fairly quiet on our way to and from school. Last night we were laughing and giggling. We blasted down the highway looking for landmarks and getting excited. Our first view was a set of spot lights and a huge black outline. Then it was gone. Did we see what we thought we saw? Then we got off the highway and onto city streets. We saw horses and donkeys; little carts and people walking everywhere. The buildings are old looking and the ironwork is ornate. Felt different from other parts of Cairo. Somehow we got side tracked looking for a camel. We kept finding horses, beautiful horses, and donkeys. Including one very cute little baby burro following its mother, but no camels.



All of a sudden we turned a corner and we were at the gates for the pyramids. But we still could not see a thing. Rebecca suddenly yelled that she saw a camel, but we all missed it. We were out of the van and at the entrance gate. It is still dark and there was still nothing to see. I am starting to wonder about now what was happening. We gave our tickets and wondered into the grounds. All of a sudden there was a stone wall lit by spot lights. Just beyond it were four hulking dark shadows. Amazingly the pyramids were suddenly there. I tried to take a picture of them, but couldn’t get them to show up. I started to fiddle with my camera, the whole time with my mouth wide open not believing what I was seeing. I kept messing with the camera and went to sit down.



We were in the first section right in the middle. You couldn’t see the stage, and everything was dark, so I began to people watch. The group in front of us was German. I think they were a tour group. The group behind us was Egyptian and also taught school. We also talked to a group of Canadian teachers. Everyone was excited and anxiously awaiting the opening act. The first chime rang and amazingly, for Egypt, people began sitting down. The second chime rang and everyone got quiet and started turning off phones. And finally, the third chime rang. The conductor came out, on time, and the lights came up. The first scene all you could see beyond the stage was a dark outline. The opera was bright and colorful, without being overly flashy,.a brilliant balance of light and color.



Radames is hoping to be chosen for battle so that he can free Aida who is a slave to Amneris. Amneris is in love with Radames. Radames is in love with Aida. And slowly the story builds. All of a sudden the background lights up and it is the Sphinx and the Pyramid behind it, full living color. By this time I had figure out how to get a picture of it so that it shows. From here I took pictures and became entranced by the opera. I have seen Aida before a few times, but never like this, and never again. When it was over the lights went down and we filed out quietly. And I do mean quietly. Everyone was deep in thought and you almost felt guilty talking. It was awe inspiring and almost indescribable. I hope that it is again next year, because I want Bill to see this.

This event and others I have seen and witnessed are unique to Egypt, and I am glad to be living here. I will write again soon.
Cheers to all,
Jonina

My New School -Global Paradigm School

School is great. We are literally building it as we occupy it. There are two wings almost finished and the classrooms are brand new. Technology is still an issue, but is coming along day by day. It has been worth the long hours of meetings and moments of frustration. It is going to be beautiful when it is finished. The outside is brilliant white and the inside is a combination of pale yellow, granite, and marble. I have been looking for scraps of some of the marble for Earth Sciences. There is one beautiful one that I can’t find scraps for, but am lusting after.



I have a 2nd grade class with 7 students. They are wonderful and dynamic. They chatter constantly and are very active, but they are also extremely smart and want to know more. We are working on getting them to chatter less and listen to instructions. Then they can chatter and work. I am trying to find activities that allow for this behavior and incentives to allow for correct behavior. This brings me back to the concepts of lining up and not talking over each other constantly. In Egypt, there is no concept of lines. People simply do not line up for anything. It is a foreign concept. As I have not traveled to other Arab countries, I have no idea if it applies elsewhere.




There are no lines to get a ticket for a movie, buses, etc. So, we are literally teaching a foreign concept to these kids when it comes to lining up for morning assembly, or to travel through the halls. One of our teachers commented that we are creating students that will be very frustrated in the future, and will then teach others. This is a big issue here. Many Egyptians see teaching this concept as a fresh step into the future of Egypt. It has been a battle of wills with the students, and the staff, to teach waiting for your turn, lining up and being polite. My kids are slowly getting it, but it is going to be a constant lesson to be reinforced. There is that balance where I have to be able to give instruction, before they can begin working, and they have to be quiet during parts of that instruction, so they know what to do.




This brings me to the second half of the problem. People talk over others, to others and to themselves constantly. A few of the teachers, who have taught overseas have comments that they miss being able to have a moment of silence. We live in a city of constant noise. Only about 2am to 3am is it relatively quiet. I have learned to use the sound of traffic to sleep. This has been my biggest challenge. I am trying to reinforce proper behavior, and reward it whenever possible. I have stickers and rewards. The class wants to take trips and I have begun investigating this option. As you can see form the pictures these kids are happy and gregarious, so sometimes I have a hard time being tough on them and I truly appreciate their appetite to learn.




Cheers to all,
Jonina

My New Apartment and Life

My first sight of Egypt was taxi drivers and tour guides encircling us to try and get business. Then Mahmoud and Dalia rescued us and took us to our van. I felt like I did the first night I arrived in Thailand all those years ago, the realization that life was different, and would stay different and that I didn’t understand a word around me. You find yourself clinging to the familiar – English in this case. My jaw dropped and I just took in the sights around me. Traffic is like a cross between Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride and a game of Frogger. You constantly dodge cars, bumps and people standing or crossing the road. It does not matter if it is a freeway or a roundabout. Immediately, my survival rules for being a passenger in a car kicked in. Always look out the side windows, but never look forward – unless you are suicidal. There are few seatbelts. You quickly learn to look for them. Believe it or not I usually ride in the front seat, because this one of the few spots with a shoulder belt. Apply the never look forward rule and its not too bad. My group thinks I am brave, but really its survival mode. We have seen many tragic accidents here. Note also that there are few car seats, and kids are seldom belted in to the seats.




My apartment is nice and very basic. I like it and like the style. It is more of the standard old style, with separate rooms for everything. I have a kitchen (that took 3 weeks of scrubbing to clean) with a gas oven and stove. I have actually fired up the stove, but am unwilling to stick my arm in the back and light the oven. I also have a medium-sized fridge and a washer. I also have a fairly big sink, but have to go into the main bathroom and flip the hot water switch to have hot water. I have a nice living room with a couch, tables and chairs. The chairs are so large that I have to get Mike to help me move them. They are sturdy. The couch is a covered bench, but reasonable. I have double doors out onto a small balcony.




It is finally cool enough to sit with the doors open and let the breeze in. It is so much better than constant air conditioning. I also get to listen to the prayers from the mosque, the kids playing, and the traffic. At night I get all of the above and the addition of the dog packs howling. Sounds like the Ranch when the coyotes start howling. We have packs of dogs everywhere. Dogs are a gray area with Muslims, so they leave them alone and ignore them. More and more people are starting to have them for pets, but usually have cats. There are cats everywhere. They are easy to adopt, just grab one off the street and take it to the vet. There are four vets in the two buildings around me. People offer you kittens all of the time. Especially, since I am a foreigner. The thought being that I can afford to take proper care of it. I have seen Mao kitties here on the street. They are a native breed. They are becoming scarcer, because so many mixes have been introduced and allowed to go prowling unchecked. The local Mao cat rescue is always looking for foster parents. Most of the kids in my school have cats. There are a few dogs, but usually they are guard dogs, and one of my kids has a turtle.



Anyway back to the apartment. I have an older bathroom, and I am cleaning it in increments. It takes awhile to tackle areas of the bathroom. Mind you it is only 6x8, but …. My bedrooms are basic and utilitarian. I have one additional quirk here as well. There is only one plug in each room, and they all shock me. I have surge protectors, and I still get shocked. So nothing stays plugged in when not in use. I also have no Wifi, because the previous tenant ripped it out…hmmm. The hot water needs to be turned on and off after each use or the batteries powering the igniter wear out in a day. My big worries are that Bill will not like the kitchen or the bedroom. I have an eggshell pad on half of the bed, but The mattress is shot. It has to go, or we do. I have a six month lease and a really nice landlady, but I will probably have to move. BTW the previous tenant was a German teacher – apparently he ripped ot the Wifi because he did not want to pay for it and it is very expensive to replace. The landlady had told him that she could turn it off, but he got impatient. He also was a horrible housekeeper. Hence, my weeks long cleanup program. He did leave me the eggshell padding, 2 tee shirts, a jacket, and a pair of jeans. They all fit and have come in handy.

Cheers to all,
Jonina

Getting to Egypt

I saw something that I never imagined I would see. Not that my first two months here have not been incredible. I got on a plane on July 30th for Cairo, Egypt. My first thought was that I was leaving a lot behind – Bill and friends and family. Byron had just died and I wasn’t sure what was going to happen with that event. But we close one door and open another. The plane ride and accompanying airport transitions were the first clue that I was going far from home.

I flew from San Diego to LA. There I met up with two of the other teachers – Amy and Mike. It was at this point that I really started to notice the changes in people’s attire and blending of ethnicities. We then flew to JFK in New York. The transition from the domestic terminal to the overseas terminal was exciting and a little mind boggling. I would later realize that this was my first encounter with the concept that lines for anything do not exist. There is no concept for queuing up for anything. I saw my first group of women in full in burkas. There were all forms of cloths – full on robes to mini-skirts. It was interesting to note our already heightened sense of propriety of dress. All three of us were shocked to see more scantily dressed passengers. As we passed through the gate areas and headed for our flight we also realized that take off times were flexible. We thought we were going to be late for our flight – after going to three different ticket counters to get the appropriate ticket (no e-tickets here) to get through the gate and security areas to actually get to our gate and the pseudo line to board. We got on board the plane and realized it was more like entering a club.

Everybody that was on board were talking and socializing and manically stuffing luggage into every available bin. You definitely do not put anything that can be remotely broken into these bins. When the plane was supposed to take off, more than half the plane was still empty. People were walking around and socializing. We were in our seats watching all of this. Did I mention that Mike and I were one row apart, but Amy was in the nether regions of the plane. We were looking for 3 other teachers, and still had not spotted them. Finally, after 30 to 45 minutes people started to sit down and the seats began to fill up. Unlike the States seats are suggestions. There was a group of young people coming back from a soccer camp. They had been swapping with people so that they might all sit together. I finally swapped with one of them. Since I was alone and Mike had already moved, it seemed okay. I ended up in a bulkhead seat in the middle. Not my best swap. The man by the window was not talking, looking or awake for most of the flight. The woman on the aisle also did not speak and said prayers the whole way. I was locked in to my seat.

We finally took off. I seriously doubt anyone was in their correct seat, and the minute after we took off, everyone was again in the aisles talking and socializing, except my row. I saw, not heard three movies and programs. I ate some food and waited. I unfortunately am not adept at sleeping upright, so spent a lot of time sewing and reading. BTW scissors are not a problem on this flight. Just before landing the man next to me said his prayers, and suddenly began talking to me. Turns out he was returning to Egypt for Ramadan with his family. He had been in the States for a few weeks visiting family. He said he suddenly realized that I must be an American. He pointed out the Nile and the Pyramids. Both are truly impressive from the plane. He told me that he was happy that I was going to teach, and give some students the chance to improve Egypt. This is a theme I have heard often since I arrived. We talked for a few minutes, the plane landed, and my new life began.

Luckily, Raymond (another teacher & High School Principal) had told us to get our tourist visas before we went through customs. I got my Visa and exchanged some money, found Mike and finally Amy. We went to baggage claim and found a man with a sign for us. Yeah! We also gradually found Kassie and her son Nicholas, and PK. We were still missing two teachers. I appeared that Rebecca would be coming in on a 4 am flight and Jennifer on a flight from Barcelona.

Cheers to all,
Jonina

Jonina is now Online - 08/30/10

Jonina was able to get an Internet card for her laptop last weekend. She is very busy getting school ready in time for the students. Global Paradigm School is brand new and just received its accreditation from the Egyptian government. Over the next year they will complete the process to get their other accreditations.

Jonina is teaching second grade and currently has 6 students, five boys and 1 girl. The finishing touches are being put on the school as it is being completed around her. The computer system is being installed and they have some external ports to the Internet. Eventually it will all be wired and there will be wireless access and smart boards. The teachers and staff are brand new and they sat down with the California Standards and are writing the curriculum, pacing guides, activities and all the other work flows usually already defined by your school district. The teachers can then start work on their lesson plans.

Because of the heat wave, Ramadan coming early and other factors, classes will not begin until September 12, so she has a little breathing room to get ready. Some of the books are in and they need to decide how to structure the rooms and what will go on the walls. She tells me that it is a lot of work, but the administrators have built a very professional team that are all pitching in to help each other with makes things go easier.

We rented a two bedroom, one and a half bath apartment that is Spartan but functional. When she arrived the air conditioning and on-demand hot water heater weren't working. The TV shocked her when she tried to turn it on and the previous tenant was a German bachelor who wasn't big on cleaning. This gave her a crash course in Cairo time and to remember the things get done just at a more relaxed pace than people in the US are used to. Ramadan creates it's own chaos and makes things take a little longer.

You'll be glad to know that she now had hot water (hot showers aren't a pressing issue when the days are over 100 degrees, the air conditioning is working, she can turn on the TV without getting shocked, she learned to use the washer without getting shocked (unplug at end of cycle, open door, clean up water, empty machine, close door, and plug back in). The kitchen is nice and clean as high as she could reach on the chair. There is a little strip around the top I will need to get to when I get there.

We have been working with everyone to get their Skype working. Egypt is currently 9 hours ahead of California during Ramadan and will go back to 10 hours after September 12. The best time to try and call her is in the evenings after school, 7-9 pm her time. Several folks tell me they set calls with her via email so they know she will be in.

I will have my credential by Christmas will be heading to Cairo as well. I doing my Clinical Practice at Glen View Elementary in Escondido CA. I have a first grade class with 25 students that I will meet this Thursday.

If you need to contact us by email please use wfpogue@gmail.com or jonina3@gmail.com.

Bill Pogue