Traffic was light today and there were few cars on the road as we went to Arabic class. This picture was taken on our way to class outside a school-turned-polling station. It seems things have been calm and many have turned out to vote. It was interesting watching the different women walking into the polling station, both covered and non-covered.
The BBC had a good article if you want to read more.
We are on the move again! Last night Josh went to sign a new contract with the new owner of our flat for one month. We have officially been given just over a month to find a new place and move out.
This has been quite the roller-coaster ride. A month ago our landlady said she was selling the place and we had one month to move out. We started looking. A couple days later the deal was off. Then it was back on the table and we were going to have to move again. Then it was off. Our landlady said she wasn't going to sell the place anymore. She said she would honor our agreement until January.
Four days later she was selling the flat and we needed to sign a new contract.
So last night Josh went with Randy, the office director and the one who lived here before us, to go sign this new contract. We also got an Egyptian lawyer to go with them to make sure they were not taken advantage of. (We don't really trust the new owner of this flat. He seems to be always looking for his advantage and willing to twist things around.)
Josh said it was pretty interesting. The lawyer really went to bat for us and was pushing for all kinds of reimbursements and financial considerations since they were the ones breaking the contract and kicking us out. We should be getting our deposit back and maybe help with some of the realtor fees we will incur looking for a new place. Egyptians are expressive people, so the discussion got heated and there was much back and forth. Finally everything was settled and they relaxed and talked about the elections over cigarettes and tea (the Egyptians, not Josh & Randy).
We have a new contract now for the time we are here. The new owner thinks he's being really generous giving us until the end of June.
We have a couple places to look at and we've started asking around and getting realtors on the search.
I'll make sure I get some more pictures of this place up before we leave.
Many of you have been asking, or maybe wanting to ask, how our kids are doing in Egypt. The short answer is great!
And now for a longer answer.
K is loving her nursery school. She goes everyday, Sunday through Thursday from about 9 am to 1:30 or 2pm. We were picking her up at that time so that she could take a nap in the afternoon but she has now starting giving those up. She is learning Arabic words, phrases, and songs from her nursery school. Sometimes she can say things but doesn't know what it means. She understands a lot in Arabic. She can count to ten in Arabic, as well. The other day she came home from school and started saying "meshey" ("okay") to whatever I asked her to do. It was pretty funny to hear her saying that.
K's play has been reflecting her adjustment to life here too. She plays "Taxi" often in the living room. This involves her pretending something like the couch is the taxi, which she hails and then gives directions (in real and pretend Arabic) to wherever she is going. Then she gets out and pays the fare. Riding in taxis is quite normal to her now. As I'm typing right now she is play cooking something. She was telling J she has to light the oven. The oven in our flat is gas and we have to light it with a match to turn it on. That has become part of K's reality, too.
K is having a harder time adjusting to all the walking and frequently wants to be carried. But we are getting there. Another thing she is not liking is strangers getting in her face. Her blonde hair attracts a lot of attention and women like to come up and try to kiss her. She usually pulls away from this, which is fine with us, and we often have to explain that she's shy. K does like the attention when she gets things, like candy or treats.
J is doing really well, too. He has started blowing kisses, much to the enjoyment of those we meet on the street. He usually has a smile and a wave for new people and does not really know the difference in cultural personal space.
He is learning some Arabic, too. When Camelia watches him she talks to him in Arabic the whole time. I can say things to him, too, and I can tell he understands. Sometimes he comes to Arabic class with us when we don't have someone to watch him. He probably learns a lot there too. =) Our teacher loves kids and likes getting to play with J while Josh and I stumble through our sentences and try to make our mouths say Arabic words.
He is getting more expressive and able to tell/show us what he wants. And one thing he always wants to food, especially the fresh fruit we have. He eats a whole cantelope by himself. He is also becoming quite the ham. He knows when he is being funny and loves to play it up.
J likes riding in taxis and loves not being in a carseat. He tries to stand up and look out the window whenever he can. Strapping him into a carseat, the few times we have done that here, is a major change and he is not happy about it.
Life here is different but the kids have taken it in stride. K sometimes asks questions about the covered women we see but overall they seem to just accept the new surroundings.
When we were preparing to move to Egypt we were selling our furniture and household goods, donating items, and basically clearing house. K had a kitchen set that she loved playing with. We had explained to her that we couldn't take it with us and she had thought with us of someone who might want it. We sold it to that friend's parents. When they came to pick it up, though, it dawned on K that she would no longer have a kitchen.
"But I need a kitchen to play with," she said.
"We will find a new kitchen in Egypt," I had assured her.
A month and a half later, we arrived in Egypt and walked into our new apartment. In the room where K was sleeping that first night was a little pink toy kitchen. It was nothing like her big wooden Pottery-barn-ish kitchen in Texas, but it was a kitchen. And this one has sound effects and can be moved from room to room, depending on where you need to set up home (or get away from your little brother).
The Lord provides even in the little things.
I had not thought about this in a while. I was sitting in the kids' room the other day when I saw that kitchen toy and the Lord brought to my mind again about K giving up her kitchen and another being provided for her upon her arrival.
And I was reminded that the Lord knows the details, knows the little things that matter to us.
I have yet to find what my place is here, where my niche is. I have some friendships growing and I'm building relationships with my neighbors. But I don't know what my place is yet.
I gave up my big, beautiful, Pottery-barn kitchen, with baskets full of wooden food items.
Will I trust that the Lord will bring me my little pink plastic kitchen?
Will I wait, placing my hope in the One who knows the desires of my heart, even when I can't express them clearly?
When we went to our grocery store the other day a couple ladies were waiting outside the entrance. They asked if they could paint K's face. I wasn't sure if she'd go for it but she did. They painted a butterfly to match her outfit colors.
Just as I was wondering why they were painting faces, one of them explained that the paints were made from the yogurt they were promoting. Cool.
We even bought some of the yogurt to try it out. Why not?
...helps the medicine go down.
We have had our rounds of runny noses, sore throats, extra whining, coughing, and even Roseola. It all started with colds. First J and K. Then me. Then J got a high fever and a fever rash. Then Josh had a few achey days. Then K got a fever and a rash and vomiting and headache and a trip to the doctor to determine it was Roseola.
We seem to be on the up and up now.
But to add insult to injury, on the day K was beat down by Roseola, she also learned that her friend at school had moved. This was the one other American girl at her school. We had known they were moving and tried to prepare K. But can you really prepare a 3 year-old for something she doesn't really understand anyway?
I got a call from the school director on Wednesday to tell me that K was crying and they could not console her. We rushed as quickly as possible, throwing shoes on J and running out for a taxi. (Josh and J had to come with me because a lady was helping clean the house and Josh couldn't stay there alone with her.) By the time we made it there through all the traffic, K had fallen asleep in her teacher's arms. She woke up when they passed her to me. I asked her if she didn't feel good. She said she was sad about her friend.
And as we found out later, she was sick, which only makes a sad day worse.
If only a spoonful of sugar could make sad days, loss, and changes easier.
For the first time last night I left our laundry out on the line overnight. It was still a little damp last night and I thought about bringing it in anyways. But then I thought "everyone else leaves theirs up at night".
This morning when we woke up we saw it had rained last night. Figures. Today it has been raining off and on most of morning. The weather is cooler, which is really nice. And the laundry didn't get too wet, so that's a plus.Our friend said it's not normal to have rain during May. Maybe I should leave laundry out more often...
Egypt celebrated Mother's Day back in March but I got to celebrate again yesterday along with Stateside moms. Josh brought me some beautiful flowers and the kids each made me a card. I got to spend a chunk of the morning with my sewing machine working on projects that have been waiting for me for some time.
However, we also got to spend Mother's Day evening taking J to the doctor again. (What is with trips to the doctor falling on American holidays? The first trip was on Valentine's Day). He had had a fever and was sporting red spots on his face. The doctor asked us to bring him in.
Here you don't make appointments with the doctor, you just show up during office hours. It's basically first come, first serve. Pretty annoying if you ask me. The doctor had office hours from 6-9pm so we tried to get there right after six.
Our taxi driver was able to give us another first experience. Our first traffic accident. Really just a fender-bender, he sideswiped a parked car while trying to sqeeze past oncoming traffic. Everyone was going at very slow speeds and no one was remotely injured. Our driver proceeded to yell at the other cars so we put the fare on the seat and left the cab to walk the rest of the way.
The doctor said J's rash is just from the fever. If he's not better tomorrow morning I'll probably take him to another pedi for a second opinion.
That's the story of Mother's Day.
I have a favorite Arabic word: mumkin. It means: probably or could do that. You can use it as a question "mumkin do this for me?" or as an answer "mumkin!" (I can do that!) or as a "maybe I can do that". It can also be used if you are suggesting something and don't want it to sound like you are telling someone what to do. It's a very useful and versatile word.
Plus, I just like the way it sounds.
And if you say "mish mumkin!" that means "that can't be!" I like to say it dramatically with good expression.
Language is so fun!
