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.
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
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