Day 3: Apartment Hunting continued (Wednesday)

Our group was formed of 5 married couples with no children or no children traveling with them (adult children). One couple had a place lined up before arriving and had moved in yesterday. Another couple signed on a place that we had seen yesterday. A third couple decided to go more on a private touring of possible rentals with a real estate agent. That left one other couple and us.

We had discussed last night how we felt most of the places shown to us were overpriced and too big for our budgets. Going into the apartment hunting today, our realtor and school volunteer were quite aware of the budget we wanted to aim for and the approximate size. We were shown many more possible contendors today. I would have to say we viewed about 20 apartments today. That was tiring in the 95 degree heat with humidity. Eventually, the very last place we were shown before meeting back at the hotel had 2 units available. We toured both of them. The location is perfect because it’s in a nicer looking street, near shops and other pertinent places, close to a school bus pick up & drop off point, and the landlord completely reminded us of “The Godfather” minus the suit. The price was set too high and with the help of our school volunteer (who knew the landlord already) and the realtor, they got the price dropped a little bit if both couples moved into the building and take the 2 units available. After leaving we felt like the price was still a little too high and weren’t too sure because the look inside the apartments were okay. Not too bad but not the best we’ve seen. Later this evening, we called the landlord and were able to sweet talk him into lowering the price a little more and he would have both units rented immediately. Lucky for us, he agreed and we’ll be moving in on Friday.

The major things we get: live in the same building as this other couple who works at our school and are quickly becoming great friends, good price, great location, balcony that overlooks a small grassy area (nearly impossible to get in the city), nice looking bathrooms, 2 bedrooms, and decent furniture that’s provided.

The major things we don’t love: the kitchen leaves a lot to be desired but that’s 95% of the kitchens we’ve seen in apartments. On the plus side, we at least have a dishwasher which 50% of them didn't.

Tomorrow, we sign our lease, pay our deposit and first month’s rent.

Prior to moving in, this is what the place looks like:

Living Room (sorry for the dark lighting)

1/2 Bath

Kitchen leaves a bit more to be desired - Oh well, can't get everything here in Egypt

Dining Room

Master Bedroom with Balcony

View from Living & Dining Room Balcony

Main Bathroom - looks good compared to many apartments we had seen

Living Room

No photos of the 2nd bedroom.

Then this evening the school director and his wife hosted a dinner party on their rooftop. It was fabulous to mingle with many of the people in the attendance. I would say there were about 50 staff members in attendance.

I'm LOVING this experience so far. I have not even had a moment to have the "culture shock" hit me. There's one man who's been part of our apartment hunting group who has the same name as my dad, talks like my dad, and looks very similar to my dad's oldest brother, Uncle Bob. I teared up a little this evening listening to him and feeling like I was listening to dad. Even 6 years after my dad's sudden passing, I miss him terribly. That's the only moment I've even shed a tear since I've arrived here in Cairo.

I cannot say enough good things about this adventure.  I'm incredibly grateful I've jumped on board this opportunity as it seems like an almost perfect fit for Dereck and me (after all, most things aren't exactly perfect). The people are so warm and friendly, both the Egyptians and staff members. We're excited for each day's new adventures.

Day 2: Apartment Hunting (Tuesday)

First of all, the school has been amazing with making this big move and change as smooth as possible. I’m truly amazed and grateful for how they’ve treated us and guided us through this process.

We awoke early, 3am early and couldn’t go back to sleep. Jet lag…oh well it could have been worse as a few people literally arrived at the hotel in time for breakfast before boarding the school staff bus to start the apartment search.

There are about 40 of us at the hotel part of this new teacher group. We’ve been split up into about 4 groups to go in search of an apartment. Each group has a school volunteer that’s going with us as well as a local realtor.

Oh man, these drivers are CRAZY! Blinkers don’t matter, it’s all about the horn. If there are even lines on the road, they’re not observed at all. Plus, there is NOT ONE single traffic light in the whole city that I've seen so far. The following photos doesn’t even do it justice but you kind of get the idea.

Going down a 2 way street will often find you in a predicament like this (Our bus drivers are AMAZING. This driver had to back the bus up in such a tight space to make way for other cars).

If the freeway isn't moving, it looks like this, a parking lot. In the upper left hand corner, you can see one of our white and blue school staff buses.

Apparently, this is a normal sight to see in Cairo. Yes, that is a car. Or should I say "was?"

Forget the lanes, people drive wherever they want.

I better get used to seeing a donkey pulling a cart because that apparently is a mode of transportation here.

There’s always people standing along the sides of the “freeway/highway.” There’s tons of trash along the roads. Construction seems to just move the piles of dirt and rocks to the edge of the roads. As I’m learning my way around a new way of living, I’m readjusting my level of what’s considered “clean.” Trying my very best to have an open mind.

We saw about 12 different apartments throughout the day. Many of them were at the top/above the school’s allotted housing allowance. Most of the apartments are 3 bedrooms (way more bedrooms than we need) with large common spaces with a small kitchen. It seems to be normal for the washer to be either in the kitchen or bathroom. Apparently 1 bedrooms are not normal here in Cairo so we are trying to find a 2 bedroom apartment.

In America, the staircase areas are generally clean and nice looking. Here in Cairo, it’s not what you see leading up to the apartment you focus on, it’s what’s in the apartment. I’ve come to learn it’s normal to see broken windows, floor or something else while climbing the stairs to the apartment.

We found 2 possible contenders so far but don’t feel like they’re us yet. Each apartment seems to have some “compromise” for it to suit us. Yet that goes along with having an open mind with a different culture. I’m loving this process and don’t feel stressed. Just TIRED with the jet lag.

We made it back to the hotel for dinner and have realized these teachers are like an international teacher community. Dereck and I seem to be one of only a few teachers who are teaching abroad for our first time. Most of these teachers have been abroad for years and to many different countries. They say they have come to love the experiences they’ve had especially with the opportunities to travel. I LOVE learning about them and their experiences. Everyone has been so easy to get along with and welcoming. I can only imagine what the school year will be like with the students.

Day 1 – The Journey Across (Sunday - Monday)

Our day started early by walking our dogs over to the in-laws house for their new home away from home. It was hard but easier than dropping off our cat as our doggies are used to this home away from home. They’ll be well loved.

We were met back at the house with great friends and some family who helped to see us off. Dereck’s brother and niece saw us off at the airport.

Checking in was a challenge as there were some complications with how the airlines made our reservations. We were afraid we wouldn’t make it onto the plane. After 30 minutes with a great problem solver agent, she got the ticket issue resolved and discounted the price of our extra bag in consideration of our patience with the issue. (Yeah!)

Flight 1 of 3: Phoenix to Chicago (~4 hours)

We were coming in for landing into Chicago when the plane did a sudden lift back up scaring most of us passengers. Apparently, an airplane was moving too slow to get off the runway. We literally flew right over the airport as we increased our altitude, turned around, and tried again. Safely landed.

Flight 2 of 3: Chicago to Amman, Jordan (~11 ½ hours)

We got ourselves to the international terminal and went to the ticket agent to see if there was any way to change our seats so that we’re seated next to each other. Good thing we went to the desk because they had to redo our tickets anyways. Got in the massive live for international flights' security. The most fascinating part was observing all the people from many different countries, different languages, dress codes, and passports. With about 40 minutes of waiting to get through security, it was great people watching.

Luckily, for such a long flight it went pretty smoothly. It had about 70 children on the flight. WOW! So many children flying internationally.

Flight 3 of 3: Amman, Jordan to Cairo, Egypt (~1 ½ hours)

The airport literally feels like it’s in the middle of a desert.

At the Amman airport, we walked towards our gate and met up with one of our future coworkers. She recognized my face from the school’s new teacher orientation Facebook group. It was great to wait for our next flight getting to know her.

We landed in Cairo about 7:15pm their time. Waited for about 1 hour to get through customs and was met by a helper, hired by the school, to help us get through customs smoothly. After getting through security and baggage pickup we were met by our school’s director, his wife (also a teacher), and one of the Elementary Assistant Principal’s. We were guided to the school’s staff bus, taken over to the hotel with the Elementary AP and given our welcome packet with all the necessary basics to get through the first few days.

Look at this beautiful view from the hotel.

By the time we arrived in the hotel room, it was about 9:30pm and we crashed.

New Adventure

Most of you know already the exciting news...Dereck and I will be teaching in Cairo, Egypt next year. We are ecstatic.

I'm already impressed with how the staff have been so involved in addressing our questions, concerns, and all the knitty gritty details about this transition. They perform like pros in the process. My favorite thing is they created a Facebook group for us to post any question.

The most common questions asked by our family and friends:

What is the school like?
It is a private international school for K-12 grades.

What will you be teaching?
Dereck - high school math; me - 5th grade math

What will your housing situation be like?
Housing is paid for by the school (Seriously? That is incredible.) and they help us find a furnished apartment within the first few days.

What about your pets? You LOVE your pets!
I made the most difficult decision ever yet. I'm leaving them in the care of trustworthy people as they do NOT travel well. After all, our cat is considered a Senior and it is ideal to keep her and the dogs in Phoenix. I'll miss them like crazy but this is my only drawback to teaching abroad.

Are you crazy?? You're going to Egypt?? It's in the news with all the bad stuff.
Well, no place in the world truly is "safe" and I don't think the level of safety will be any different then the "hood" I live in. As long as I'm careful of the parts of town/country I travel to, we should be just fine. Life is worth living and exploring the world. I don't need to live my life in fear.

Wait a minute...didn't you just finish remodeling a whole house?
Yes we did, and yes we have renter(s). Read the next paragraph.

For the last few years, Dereck and I have been talking about teaching abroad and how much we want to do it. There just never seemed to be the right "time." Then we realized there never will be a "right" time...just do it.

Rewind 11 years ago, I planned on doing a study abroad in college. I was saving up for it. The plans changed when I met Dereck. Instead of doing a study abroad, we got married (the best decision I made). Now I get to teach abroad with my husband, even better.

My love of travel began as a teenager. Traveling to Australia with my parents, Mexico with my Grandma, Mexico for my honeymoon. In High School, I even was an exchange student in Germany. LOVED IT!

Now it's time for our new adventure...the countdown is on: 16 days left.

Almost one year later

Some highlights of the past year (since I've been a slacker in updating this blog):

October - January

Tool & Storage shed was built and stuccoed

January

Superbowl came to town, so did the Seattle Seahawks (my hometown) and their weather

February

 A car side swiped me and took off, requiring me to remove the mirror. You can see the new gash above the door handle.

I eventually got the mirror fixed: purchased a used car part from a car part wholesaler $40, spray paint to match the car $8 and installed by me.

March

My mom and oldest sister came into town. We went to the Renaissance Festival, Japanese Friendship Garden, Fractured Prune Donuts, and explored downtown.

April

Participated in my first Bubble Run ever - I would totally do this again

June
Spent time in Utah visiting family

My sister's girls (except for her oldest)

Taught my grandparents what a selfie is

Spent time with Dereck's brother and cousins playing card games

July

Spent time out in the pool

Attended the Meldrum Reunion in Lincoln City, OR

Ate S'mores on the beach

Jogging on the beach

Life Goes On

Although the house renovation projects came to a stumbling halt once summer hit and our income became severely limited to only covering the bills, we have been hard at work in other ways.

Summer School was a blast!

My two TFA (Teach For America) teachers that I observed and mentored.

She may not quite be on task but putting the tape on her bun....funny.

Worked on Dereck's mom's bathroom after their plumbing had flooding issues. Too bad I didn't take an after picture. New shower pan installed, new sink installed, new plumbing in the bathroom. Bathroom is now functional!

Earlier in the summer, Dereck installed the mailbox. The old one literally had fallen off its post.

Willy and Janie love their yard space. This is how we find them when we get home. 

We also returned to work for a new school year. Coaching is back in session.

I'm incredibly proud of these students. They all tested above grade level on the beginning of the year STAR Math test (a product our school uses on the computers that tells us what grade level that student's abilities are at). Only 4 of these students are current 4th graders. All the rest of the students in this picture are current 5th graders. Last year, most of those kiddos were barely on grade level. Also pictured is our school Principal and Assistant Principal.

On my birthday, I walked into our staff meeting to find my grade level had worked with the students on putting theses together. It made my heart melt. I got to leave the meeting early to head to a bowling alley downtown with Dereck and attended a Stand Up Comedy Show next door to the bowling alley.  I had a splendid birthday!

Plus I had a double white headed zit on my chin for my 30th birthday. See it?

Then the next day, Dereck broke two of his toes. One toe has 4 total breaks in it while the other toe has 2 breaks. He has to wear a medical boot for the next few weeks.

Today, I was extremely amazed with this class for working so hard. I literally saw EVERY student on task or helping their neighbor. This class usually has a hard time staying on task. Plus, I had 3 eighth grade helpers during this time. I had them assisting students one-on-one.

Look at the above "ST Math" wall (I need to change it to say STAR Math). Each colored section represents the 4 fourth grade homerooms. The cards represent each student. The names below the red line are all the students in that class that are behind grade level in Math. The names between the green and red line are on grade level. The names above the green line are above grade level. This is what I'm working with this year. Here is to hard work to get these kiddos on grade level!!!