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