Been Away for a While....
Has it really been over a month since I last wrote a blog entry??
Well, I don’t have a lot of excuses… My home phone was disconnected, but that was only for 10 days (there was a short in the wire on the roof of the building). The other 20 or so odd days I didn’t write… well… no excuse really. Just been busy. I can’t really keep up writing those “deep thought” entries that I was in the groove of writing so I’ll just try for now to write a little bit of everyday goings-on around here.
First, Aliaa is sick today. She came home from school yesterday feverish and slept in my bed most of the afternoon. She was still feverish this morning so she stayed home from school and around noon today, I called Dr Nabil, a family doctor who makes house calls. Dr Nabil says that Aliaa has a very severe throat/ tonsil infection and he gave her an injection of antibiotics to get her started off back to health. She’s actually sitting up next to me now, complaining again, which is a good sign. At least she’s talking now. She looks pretty miserable, so please keep her in your prayers. The doctor said she should be out of school a few more days, but I’m hoping that she’ll feel well enough to go on Thursday, because we have a long weekend coming up and it would be nice for her to get her homework assignments before an additional 4 days off. Third grade is a really important one here in Egypt.
Tariq had a field trip with school today. Guess where he went? A mall. Yah. I think that’s a sign of the times or the culture. When I was a kid, we actually went to museums, zoos, the theatre, etc. I even went on a memorable field trip to the sewage treatment facility. Maybe it’s because I only went to public school… My kids have both gone on field trips to malls now. And why, you ask? Because the malls they have been to with school have amusement parks built in (for those of you here in Cairo- Aliaa went to City Stars and Tariq went to Arkadia Mall). So, it’s basically like just a fun day for the kids, they get to do something for free (it’s included in the school tuition) and mom and/or dad doesn’t have to chaperone them. Actually, it’s kind of a nice innovation. Except that then they ask you incessantly to take them back there again once they know it exists. Sigh.
There is a nice little local bakery behind my house that sells really cheap bread that is always hot and fresh. Last night Tariq and I walked over to buy Le2 worth of bread and saw something amazing in their display case… donuts! Yes! Really. (It’s a very “local” kind of bakery so I was really surprised since I think I’m the only Western foreigner living in the vicinity and I didn’t think most Egyptians are really familiar with donuts.) I asked how much they are and was pleased to find out those big donuts are only Le1 each. So we bought three and I think I managed to eat them all. (Aliaa was too sick and Tariq didn’t like his.) They weren’t as fluffy as the ones I make and not as sweet, but they were really nice for breakfast. And being a little dense, that just made them more filling. So that was a nice surprise. I learn something new here everyday really.
Actually I have to say I realized today how lucky I am. Doctors who make house calls… the doorman who comes up with the house-call doctor and runs off with the prescription to the pharmacy while I just sit in my living room and wait… the little store downstairs that knows me when I call and doesn’t have to ask for my address when I want milk and sugar and Sprite delivered… the maid that comes and cleans the whole house for the equivalent of $5 while I sleep in bed next to my sick child. Sounds pretty luxurious, but actually these things are pretty standard here in Egypt.
My husband’s two uncles, and two brothers are all working on finding us the best deal on our airline tickets for this summer. Wait a minute-- do that many people really want to get rid of us? Wahhhhhhhhhh. Anyway, I swore that under NO circumstances will I go on a 8 hour layover in Madrid with both kids again, but it’s looking like Iberia Airlines are cheaper than anything else- by far. I want to cry just thinking about it. But Mahmoud insists, it’s only one day of your life, it’ll pass and it’ll save us at least $1000. I still just want to cry. Entertaining and/ or trying to ignore two cranky sleep deprived children in the Madrid airport for 8 hours really sucks. If anyone has any creative, unique tricks that they think I didn’t try yet please fill me in on what to do (and no, I’m not open to “pack sedatives”). I’m looking forward to your comments. And dad, yah, I’m already counting my blessings that I only have two. Ha ha. (An 8 hour layover with SIX kids? Makes suicide sound somewhat reasonable.)
Well, I don’t have a lot of excuses… My home phone was disconnected, but that was only for 10 days (there was a short in the wire on the roof of the building). The other 20 or so odd days I didn’t write… well… no excuse really. Just been busy. I can’t really keep up writing those “deep thought” entries that I was in the groove of writing so I’ll just try for now to write a little bit of everyday goings-on around here.
First, Aliaa is sick today. She came home from school yesterday feverish and slept in my bed most of the afternoon. She was still feverish this morning so she stayed home from school and around noon today, I called Dr Nabil, a family doctor who makes house calls. Dr Nabil says that Aliaa has a very severe throat/ tonsil infection and he gave her an injection of antibiotics to get her started off back to health. She’s actually sitting up next to me now, complaining again, which is a good sign. At least she’s talking now. She looks pretty miserable, so please keep her in your prayers. The doctor said she should be out of school a few more days, but I’m hoping that she’ll feel well enough to go on Thursday, because we have a long weekend coming up and it would be nice for her to get her homework assignments before an additional 4 days off. Third grade is a really important one here in Egypt.
Tariq had a field trip with school today. Guess where he went? A mall. Yah. I think that’s a sign of the times or the culture. When I was a kid, we actually went to museums, zoos, the theatre, etc. I even went on a memorable field trip to the sewage treatment facility. Maybe it’s because I only went to public school… My kids have both gone on field trips to malls now. And why, you ask? Because the malls they have been to with school have amusement parks built in (for those of you here in Cairo- Aliaa went to City Stars and Tariq went to Arkadia Mall). So, it’s basically like just a fun day for the kids, they get to do something for free (it’s included in the school tuition) and mom and/or dad doesn’t have to chaperone them. Actually, it’s kind of a nice innovation. Except that then they ask you incessantly to take them back there again once they know it exists. Sigh.
There is a nice little local bakery behind my house that sells really cheap bread that is always hot and fresh. Last night Tariq and I walked over to buy Le2 worth of bread and saw something amazing in their display case… donuts! Yes! Really. (It’s a very “local” kind of bakery so I was really surprised since I think I’m the only Western foreigner living in the vicinity and I didn’t think most Egyptians are really familiar with donuts.) I asked how much they are and was pleased to find out those big donuts are only Le1 each. So we bought three and I think I managed to eat them all. (Aliaa was too sick and Tariq didn’t like his.) They weren’t as fluffy as the ones I make and not as sweet, but they were really nice for breakfast. And being a little dense, that just made them more filling. So that was a nice surprise. I learn something new here everyday really.
Actually I have to say I realized today how lucky I am. Doctors who make house calls… the doorman who comes up with the house-call doctor and runs off with the prescription to the pharmacy while I just sit in my living room and wait… the little store downstairs that knows me when I call and doesn’t have to ask for my address when I want milk and sugar and Sprite delivered… the maid that comes and cleans the whole house for the equivalent of $5 while I sleep in bed next to my sick child. Sounds pretty luxurious, but actually these things are pretty standard here in Egypt.
My husband’s two uncles, and two brothers are all working on finding us the best deal on our airline tickets for this summer. Wait a minute-- do that many people really want to get rid of us? Wahhhhhhhhhh. Anyway, I swore that under NO circumstances will I go on a 8 hour layover in Madrid with both kids again, but it’s looking like Iberia Airlines are cheaper than anything else- by far. I want to cry just thinking about it. But Mahmoud insists, it’s only one day of your life, it’ll pass and it’ll save us at least $1000. I still just want to cry. Entertaining and/ or trying to ignore two cranky sleep deprived children in the Madrid airport for 8 hours really sucks. If anyone has any creative, unique tricks that they think I didn’t try yet please fill me in on what to do (and no, I’m not open to “pack sedatives”). I’m looking forward to your comments. And dad, yah, I’m already counting my blessings that I only have two. Ha ha. (An 8 hour layover with SIX kids? Makes suicide sound somewhat reasonable.)
posted by Just Ruthie at 4:37 AM
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