A note to my friend

A note to you.......................
I so enjoyed talking on the phone today!! I miss you and love you like crazy. I hope you found the shirt you were looking for. I wish I could have gone with ya'll. I am so glad ya'll are enjoying the pictures. I love you girl! Send me some pictures so I can see ya'll too. :)

So happy to see my same old stuff!

Finally got everything unpacked and put away. I told James yesterday (it's Tues morning here) that my first dilemma of what to wear so there was am upside to having 5 outfits! The only thing we have left to do is have Kief's computer set up on the network and that should be done today. I was so tired yesterday from staying up late Sun night after our shipment came we were all so excited to see our stuff.

Nothing too exciting to talk about except that Shannon is coming soon to visit and I can not wait!!! I don't think it will come fast enough.

Christopher will be moving into the dorm this week and he is so excited about it.

New hair color

Walking through town....

Got our shipment from home!

We finally got our our shipment from home and so far nothing is broke and nothing is missing! We have someone to help set up the computer (although I think we can do it) we want to make sure it is secure. Kief is very happy because he can finally get online to his favorite games and you thought I was going to say so he can do his school work! Just kidding he has his software for his math and that's all he lacks to be done. I still don't know when we will get signed up for Arabic soon I hope. We all need it.

If ever someone tells you to expect your shipment 7-10 days after you arrive in Egypt DO NOT believe them. It will never happen. If you are told that your shipment has been released and will be delivered add another week to that date. Expect to get a different answer as to why your shipment is not released for example.. the wood that the pallets are made out of is the wrong kind of wood, or your printer has to been held because they want to make sure you can not make money with it (WHAT) or the music CD's are the problem-believe me none of them are that special! They don't take the wood out of customs-keep or return the printer-and have all the CD's- just give me my stuff. Because we were expecting our stuff I shipped stuff (make-up) (flat irons) that I needed so don't ship anything you are going to need the first 30 days or so. The food items we shipped (we were told so many different things about food) not even opened. I have bottles of wine that I did not ship because we were told NO wine, liquor guess what you can ship any of that!

The jelly here is different, its good but I now have a jar from home. Peanut butter extra crunchy yum, and a bag of pinto beans. Christopher has also sent a few food items to us we should be getting them anytime. It was gift time at Dillard so I have a Estee Lauder gift coming. I needed new perfume and some place wont ship over here.

I think we are doing better on the grocery shopping over here-like I have said it's harder than I thought it would be. Learning the money (pounds) is the easy part, buying fresh fruits and veggies that's hard. Yes we all have gotten sick at least once-I seem to get sick every time I eat tomatoes (we never get them from the same place twice) maybe we should.

I went out yesterday by myself and walked around and never had a problem. That was nice. It was a great day!

As I am typing this the electricity has gone out again. It goes out A LOT here and you never know when its going to happen. When its out we have emergency lights that come on and that's it. No computer, no phone, no a/c, nothing! Well its back on-thank the lord for surge protectors.

Yesterday I had my hair done and I must say that I am thrilled!!! I was so nervous about it because everyone knows how slow my hair grows and well I had bad dreams about it not turning out good. All is well it looks great and she did it just like I would get it done at home. The lady that did my hair is a certified diver and she was showing me pictures! They were absolutely beautiful. There were pictures of hammer head sharks and clown fish and other fish it was great. I am so excited to start lessons! We wont start until November. I can't wait.

We have friends coming over so I am so looking forward to that, I can not wait to share this with them.

I know this is a lot of random stuff, I was stressed out about the shipment that I couldn't blog about anything positive so I just didn't blog. Maybe now we can settle in and feel like we live here. We really like it here, a lot more good days than bad. The weather is great no rain at all since we got here, hot sunny its great not as hot as it is at home though. The locals are telling me its going to get cold here-December and January in the 40's at night. Oh I almost forgot Ramadan starts next month. Everyone is saying that our street will change I can not wait its all very exciting. They also observe the time change and we fall back next month as well. So I will have lots of info on Ramadan and pictures to share!

I have renewed faith that all people are honest

So yesterday morning instead of taking a driver to the M house we take a taxi. We let the guards tell the taxi driver where we want to go so that we get where we want to go. So we negotiate a price and we are off to the M house and very shortly we realize in the wrong direction. That language thing again. So here we are 2 people from Texas trying to tell and older Arabic man where we are wanting to go (yes it really is that funny because why do we talk louder when we are trying to communicate?) Finally we stop and he asked another taxi driver who speaks very good English thank the lord and we are off to the M house for real this time. Now its time we are on our way home and decide not to call for a driver and very shortly we hail a cab (they are everywhere really) and we again tell the driver we want to go home and give him the address. Thinking I would make it easier I offer a price to him and he says "no no too much I will take " and the amount was less than half of what we paid to get to the M house, We were home in less than 7 minutes. I was so amazed that I offered a lot and he was honest enough unlike the others to say that's too much. God bless him and his family. See just when you think that its all about the almighty dollar (or pound) someone comes along and restores your faith that sometimes it's just the right thing to do.
Since we have been here do you know how many time's we been riped off? Now do keep in mind that one of our dollar converts to 5.33 of pounds so we are not talking about a lot of money its just the principle of it.

Our weekend

Our weekend is Thurs & Fri so today we are back to the grind so to speak. We were and are always busy when James is off because we try to go do everything. We stayed pretty close to home this weekend just doing the boring stuff like grocery shop, cleaning, laundry etc. We are still looking for someone to cook and grocery shop for us, so hopefully that will be taken care of soon. Good news got my nails done. They only do acrylic or gel not solar but hey I just happy I still can get them done. I paid more than I would have at home but I am pleased with it. I went back the next day and got a pedicure and paid less than what I would have paid at home so there you go. I will be going back every 3 weeks or so. We went to dinner at the Maadi house it was bar be Que night and it was pretty good. Then the next morning we went to brunch at the Maadi house. It was so good. Real bacon!!!! The chef there is great. Then we just hung out at the pool. We had the best time!!!
I had to buy new shoes to workout in they are Nike's and lets just say I paid way too much for them!! I have been trying to order things from home because it still cheaper to pay shipping than to pay the inflated prices on American/world brands.
Yesterday we went to the mall and I bought a new outfit (cause I am so tired of the same ole clothes) and the store does the alterations on anything you buy for free. So of course the linen pants were way too long so I don't get them until Tues. I am not really liking the size conversion. The size 6 converts to a 40.
Oh I got baskets too!! I have been wanting them since I got here but have not been able to negotiate a price we felt is fair. So guess what James gets 2 basket for 70 pounds and they are great!!!!
I will try and get a good picture of the laundry basket so y'all can see. If you would like one just email me and I get one to you.

Anyway so our week has started and we are off to the pool. One of the ladies that I have met has gone to the states for a couple of months so I will be learning on my own so to speak again.

Oh yea we still have to go to the bazaar. The lady who enjoys going is back from vacation so maybe some gold in my future......

Life here in Egypt & Missing my son

One of the 4 people that received their shipment told us yesterday that they were missing some of the stuff that they packed. Another one that got their shipment a chair was broken. Now I am really concerned. All of Kief's gaming systems and games, and his computer is in our shipment. We contacted the shipping company but did not get any answers. There is more than enough insurance on it but its the principle of it. I should have taken pic tires of everything that was in our shipment. I have worried so much about this I am making myself sick!

One of the guys on our team is really sick. We have all had stomache issue's at some point but he is gone to the doctor 2 times still very ill sick. They call it Pharaohs Curse.

Brett Farve is going to be a Jet! Bring Back Farve.com Y'all know we love Brett Farve.

I am hoping to get my nails and hair done today. We have an American here that does one or the other so we will see how that goes.

Christopher is a couple of weeks away from starting college. He is so excited and ready for it to start. Every time I talk to him I ask him if he is ready to come stay with us and every time he says not yet mom. This is all so sad for me because I am going to miss his first day at college, his first time to live away from home, HIS BIRTHDAY, the first holiday we wont be together is Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving. My heart hurts every time I think about it. I know that he will be fine but for me its huge. I miss hugging my son. I know that this worked out great for him. I think for me I needed to be this far so I can't just drive to see him. I have struggled with flying home to see him for all those first, he keeps telling me he doesn't need me-just ripping my heart right out.

How its been since we got here

What a month it has been! Overwhelmed has been an understatement in a good way. Right before we landed the flight crew were standing by our seats pointing out landmarks for me to take pictures. They were very helpful and so nice. I would only fly first class on a flight that long. It was much better than I expected but I do love to fly. Once we landed other passengers were telling us welcome and hoped our stay was good. I was thinking this is going to be great.
The person meeting us at the airport was there, took us to identify our luggage, through customs, and into a van in about half a second. Not really but it wasn't long. Didn't have time to stand around and get bored.
Once we were in the van our driver was off and running. I took pictures from the airport to Ma'adi thinking this is cool. The drive lets just say the speed limit, red lights, stop signs, and the lines on the roads are JUST a suggestion. Imagine getting home on a race track-yep it was like that!! I wish I had a dash cam because words can not do that ride justice!! I loved it. There is a method to the madness and they have it down to an art.
Okay we finally (about 20-30 min) turn into a community of multi-story buildings and turn on onto a street and honest to God my first thought was We can drop James off and I can get right back on the next plane, but I didn't say a word, until we pulled up to a building. My exact word was "James" and he says I know its going to be fine really. Our building was really nice-it was the other buildings that were not finished oh and the road was not paved and there was trash everywhere!! Yes trash every where. Cats running around and dogs too. I swear I was thinking just breath because this is not what I signed up for. Okay we get out of the cab and go into the building and its beautiful. We go up to our apartment and its the whole floor and its perfect. Wood and tiled floors, lots and lots of room and ready for us. Right after we got here we had a meeting and they took us to a restaurant to eat. The food (had a hamburger) had a different taste as I have since discovered that all the food has a different taste-not bad-just different.
I have to say that I was stunned at how much trash was around. The street not being paved was explained that they had re done a pipe and had not fixed the road yet. Remember that NO ONE gets into a hurry-except the drivers of course. The buildings not being done and there are a lot of them is that they are redoing this whole street and all at the same time. Not one building one at a time but all of them at the same time. Remember one one gets into a hurry. If they finish them completely they have to pay taxes so there you go.
Since we arrived they have cleaned up the street as far as some of the trash, it is for sure better than it was the people for the most part are very curious and stare but are nice enough. i do have to say that the ones that I have had issue's with have been the women. Go figure. Not a lot but some, for instance at the grocery store they intentionally stand in front of my cart (no I am not making this up) or try to put their stuff with my stuff and have me pay for it! Yep I know what your thinking and yes I said something. I had the manager over to the checkout 2 times and I still paid for 2 Pepsi's. Language barrier-women attitude-being from another country-we get people trying to rip us off a lot. We can buy American products but they are very very expensive, and if you go to a store where the prices are not on a product-guess what happens there-keep in mind the receipt is in Arabic! So it is very important that if you are going to go shopping take someone with you until you learn enough Arabic to keep from getting cheated.
We have gone to a couple of sightseeing places and both places were not completely what I expected. For instances the pyramids are not in the middle of nowhere. The town is right there. The canal that runs along the road to the pyramids is (and I am putting this politely) is NASTY. Dead horses and donkeys, people fishing in it, people throwing their trash in it, needless to say I was shocked. On the road to the pyramids! I had not read that or seen it in any pictures. The Sail Boat ride on the Nile was very nice. Did you notice the pollution? It is horrible-on a good day. The Nile was not all trashed up but the water was very murky. Okay now about the train ride to Alexandria. The train-keep in mind I was so excited because I had not been on a train ride ever. Okay from Fort Worth to Dallas to see the Mavericks play-but that's it.
I have never seen so many people packed into a train car in my life. The car that we rode in was not first class but business class. It was not clean but not unbearable. They served food that some people ate but I couldn't get past the cart that it was on-yes it was that bad. The ride to Alexandria was nice-lots of farms in between towns along the way-it was a nice enough ride. The stay at the Sea was great. Our hotel was beautiful-I will be staying there again. The staff went out of their way to be helpful and were so nice. I love the beach-the sand is not as pretty as Florida but I loved it. Okay the train ride back-well lets just say that the non-stop train stopped 4 times-only once for sheep crossing the tracks-the other times for vendors to get on and sell bread or whatever-remember they serve food in business class-not against anyone making a living just paid extra for non-stop.
It was so nasty that I thought I would have a heart attack before I could get off that train. The only thing I will say is that I will not be riding the train again. The next time we go anywhere away from Cairo I will be in our vehicle, our driver will take us and come pick us up. I am not that snobby, it was that bad.
We had a driver pick us up from the train station and take us home and I was never so glad to see him in all my life. Keep in mind that on the trip there we had security around us the whole time. Once there we had a guide and security with us to site see and take us to lunch-but because I wanted to spend the night instead of return the same day we did not have security with us on the return trip. We did not need them we enjoyed getting to the train station and visiting with a family who it turned out that lived close to us and were on their way home from Alexandria as well. They were 2 brothers and one of them had his wife and 2 daughters and the other had his daughter. They were the best. Then there was a stand owner-selling drinks and snacks on the platform who visited with us ans he was so nice.
Now keep in mind that about dark is when this country comes alive. So when we were picked up from the train station and on our way home after 10:00 pm on a Friday night the traffic was horrible. The people were out with their families just walking in the streets and the cars its like worse than the rush our traffic during construction at home.
We miss a lot of the festivities because we go to bed around 10:00 our time here so its just getting started. I love seeing all the people out in about. We don't hear anything inside our building except for the single guys on the team having parties and inviting locals in. Then it gets loud but not often enough to be a problem.
We still have not received our shipment so yes in the pictures I am wearing the same outfits over and over-we were told that we would have our stuff in a week once we arrived-never happens!! 4 people on out team got their stuff yesterday. We dont know when we will get ours-I will never wear this cloths again!! Just kidding-but it will be awhile.
We have finally in the last few days gotten into the "country club" I guess they finally got our paperwork to go through. Yesterday we finally got our passes to go to the BX- its like shopping at a big connivance store. Except the prices are better-and hey we are not getting ripped off!! Cherry Garcia (Ben and Jerry's) it was so good. I bought a crock pot!! I have been looking for one since we got here.
Its fun to go to a store and ask if they have something specific and see what they take you to-by the way its never what you have asked for-and if the say they understand English-well that does not mean they understand English!
Because I don't want to sound like its a negative experience I am going to say again. I like it here, 98% of the people are wonderful-just like home-once you know which stores to avoid-you don't get ripped off-just like home. I like going to the pharmacy and buying just about any prescription over the counter for nothing near what you would pay your co-pay at home. I love that no matter-and I mean no matter what you want they will deliver it to your home no matter what time of the night it is. I love the fact that you can go into a store-if you choose to go get it-and they have tons of people there to help you.
So here is a little about what its really like here. I would love to stay another year if we are offered. My first choice would be to go somewhere new, but I would rather stay here than go home. I just wish my friends and family would come here. It would be perfect if y'all were here.
So I will try to blog every day about life here, so more to come.

I have so much to share....

There is so much I want to share. More about the day to day life here will be coming soon. The good the bad and the UGLY! There are over 100 more pictures from our trip to Alexandria and my first trip to the Mediterranean Sea that I will be posting soon. I need a day to catch up on the chores and so more to come!!

P.s. I miss everyone from home SO much!

This is the biggest jelly fish I have ever seen!

Pictures from Cairo to Alexandria I

Asfour Crystal

Hard Rock Cafe-Grand Hyatt Cairo on the Nile