Hello from Egypt:

A quick note to let everyone know that we are okay. We arrived here in Cairo early yesterday morning and so far, things are going really well.

It started off a bit rough though. We arrived in Asmara Monday afternoon after a very sad week of goodbyes with teachers , students and friends. The last few days we stayed close to Saba and Adem and their families. Saba fed us for two days and both Adem and Saba helped us to pack up and clean up the house. When we finally had to say goodbye it was very, very difficult. Driving out of Keren and knowing that we may never be in this beautiful city again was hard too.

We then had a day and a half in Asmara, but it was so rushed that I didn’t have time to think about the fact that we would be leaving. We had a nice visit with some family friends who live in a small village just outside of Asmara, which included our last taita meal and coffee ceremony. Then we rushed back to Asmara, and spent our last hours battling with the email and a faulty computer trying to get the last of the homeschooling sent off, getting things tied up with VSO. Finally we had a few hours in the evening to spend with our best friends from VSO. We had a nice meal together using our extra leftover Nakfa, and hung out together in our hotel until our taxi came and we had to say goodbye. These were all good friends who well see either in England on our way home or in Canada in the next few years.

We spent the early hours of Thursday morning in the Asmara airport, most of which were spent going through all the bureaucratic paperwork that has to be done to get out of the country. I was surviving on a caffeine high from a full coffee ceremony worth of coffee, several Asmara cappuccinos and a few cokes, splurged on with our leftover Nakfa, so I stayed up the whole night, except for a few minute snooze on the plane. We arrived, exhausted but excited, in Cairo at 8 am.

Luckily, our Egyptian teacher friends were on the same flight, and got us headed off in the right direction by phoning another teacher friend and getting directions for a taxi to meet him as he'd promised to let us store our big bags in his house. But the events that followed were a little more challenging. First, getting a taxi outside the airport was no easy feat. Inside the airport, there had been lots of men trying to offer us a taxi, but outside, no one would stop for us. I finally hailed a cab and we all piled inside even though I couldn’t bargain down his fare, which was three times what it should have been. As we headed off, I realized I'd made a poor choice. The driver was about 90 years old and half blind. Within a minute, we'd already hit a car and badly dented its door. He apologized to the driver and kept going. Every few minutes, he'd check the directions a friend had written in Arabic, taking his eyes off the busy road for many precious seconds. He changed lanes without looking and drove with his horn more than his head. Surprisingly, we made it to our meeting place in one piece. Our friend joined us in the cab, and directed us through narrow, winding streets to his home.

We would have had an incredible day with our friend Asama if we hadn’t been totally exhausted by then and overcome by the heat of Cairo. I was wearing a few layers of fleece as it had been cold in Asmara at night, and I was stuck in at least one fleece sweatshirt because my tshirt underneath revealed my upper arms, a no-no in Muslim families. So I sat on their couch and sweated away and thought I was going to pass out or be sick. Luckily, I had a snooze for an hour or so, but it wasn’t enough. We sat around and chatted and kept trying to say goodbye and get into a cab for the hotel, but they kept insisting we stay. Finally we realized that they were preparing a huge meal for us. Late in the afternoon, we were invited to sit at the table and offered a feast of roast chicken, lamb, vegetable stuffed eggplant, and home-made pita bread. It was really good. I haven’t seen Simon eat so much in a longtime. He said later that it was the best food he'd eaten in two years. I think he went through our time in Eritrea half starved, but hell make up for it in a few days here. Finally after a dessert of fresh cherries, grapes, and chocolate and some Egyptian tea (very sweet and with cinnamon), we went downstairs to get our taxi. They must have thought we were a very strange family as we were like drugged zombies during most of our time there. We'll see them again at the end of our visit, so hopefully we'll be better guests.

Our second cabdriver was younger and seemed to have good vision. He got us into town and took us to a few overpriced hotels until we finally found a nice, cheap place in the center of town. We immediately crashed out and slept until this morning.

We spent this morning exploring downtown Cairo, which is full of cars and people, but a lot less frightening than I thought (except that crossing the street is a major event). So far, its been great. We had a delicious mango and chocolate ice cream, bought some things from the many street vendors, and went for a good cheap lunch of pita bread with either meat, chicken, or a mixture of beans, felafel, and baba ganoush. Now, were relaxing in our hotel, waiting for it to cool down a bit before we head off to the market.

Guess that’s all for now.

Take care,

Barb

from Kimbalito and/or Barbarita
Ma esalama