Speaking of drivers licenses, we are now official licensed drivers in the Arab Republic of Egypt. Our license is good for the next ten years, our head master joked (at least we thought he was joking) that our contracts have now been extended for ten years. The whole experience was quite unique. The tests consist of a sign test (some are ones we have yet to see on any streets) and a driving test through cones both forward and backwards. Six of us decided to take the challenge of driving. We studied our signs for quite a while (at least a day or two). We left Saturday morning around 9:30 and arrived at one of the driving testing stations only to discover that we couldn’t take them there as there was some kind of mix-up with our paperwork. Our government liaison official (Fifi) had been working on this for about 6 weeks completing all the paperwork and making sure that the suitable background checks had been preformed. So we took off to another station to try there. Fifi led us into one high ranking official’s office who greeted us with “God Bless America” and after some negotiation with Fifi told us that we could get out licenses without having to take any tests (sign or driving) if we could show our license from the states and have it translated into Arabic. Se 4 of us had to hop back into the van with the driver and come back to school to get our licenses. When we got back, Fifi translated the licenses on school stationary and we were able to get them. All of this took about 5 hours. Nothing in Egypt ever goes quickly. Lines are not orderly, people budge and push but somehow it all gets done. It will be a real hoot when we get back to the states and someone asks to see some identification and we whip out our Arab Republic of Egypt Driver’s License. It will be awhile before either of us ventures out into traffic.
Friday evening Pat and I joined another couple for a night on the town. We rode the tram downtown, shopped for gems, ate at a nice restaurant and than walked in a busy shopping area of Alex. The tram is always an experience. Obviously we look different than the locals so we still attract some stares and the customary “Welcome to Egypt.” The gem store was interesting. It is a local shop where all of the jewelry is handmade. The owners have an extensive collection of a variety of gems and then will custom make whatever you want. Prices for these items vary considerably. That is why it is good to develop a relationship with the local stores as they will give you some good prices if they feel you will come back. Pat found a pretty “Alexandrite” which is local to the area (it is man-made) and is having it made into a necklace. From the gem store we headed to the Delta Hotel to eat in their French restaurant. They specialize in beef and some of best deserts you can imagine. From there we went exploring, visiting all kinds of shops. Alex is very “alive” during the evenings with people of all ages.
Saturday evening we had a little Christmas get-together “Gift Grab” for the residents. We played a guessing game, ate and then had the “Gift Grab”. Pat came away with chocolates and I got an alabaster dish. It was a fun time for all.
In about 2 weeks, the Muslims here in Alex will be celebrating Eid – a time of feasting. To prepare for this, sheep are brought in (we have some just down the street), fattened up and then sold in the neighborhood to be butchered. We will be out of country when this takes place but we have been told that several of the neighborhood streets will be red with the blood of the sheep.
We have 4 more days of school and then winter break begins. Our son Aaron will be visiting for a week then it is off to Jordan to see Amman, Wadi Rum, the Dead Sea and Petra. We are looking forward to a fun time.
