Saturday, December 15th

We are all getting ready and are excited for our holiday vacation. It's hard to keep track of where everyone is going over vacation. We have 3 people going back to the states to be with their families for Christmas and New Year. Others are going other places in the world (Spain, Morocco, England, France, etc). The fun part is to hear about everyone's adventures when we all return.

There are still many activities taking place. Thursday, our soccer teams went to Cairo for the ISAC soccer tournament and will return Sunday. Other team's families house our students just the way we did here with the volley ball tournament.

Today we have our PTA Christmas Play day. The teachers and parents set up booths with games and the elementary children go around and play any games they like. After the Play day activity we are going to a jewelry party in the city with Debbie (the 4^th grade teacher). A lady makes her own jewelry and it is quite beautiful. After that we are heading to the Coffee Roastery for dinner.

Tomorrow night we have our Christmas Art and Music Production. Monday we have an Author's Tea that the 3rd Graders are putting on. Monday night is the resident’s Christmas Dinner – it will be very similar to our Thanksgiving Dinner with Turkey and all the trimmings – the kitchen crew takes great pride in preparing a wonderful feast for us. Tuesday is our last day of school for the year. Also on Tuesday, Santa will be making a surprise visit to the PreK 3, PreK 4 and Kindergarten students. Wonder who Santa will be?? (see picture). The children go home at 13:35 and the staff head to our headmaster's apartment for our Christmas Party. We exchange gifts and eat. Most people leave Tuesday night for vacation. We are going out for dinner with Tony and Dellaine (headmaster), they have visitors from Iowa staying with them. It will be good to hear about what's going back home in the Hawkeye state.

Wednesday we leave for Rome and will meet our son Aaron for 10 days of R & R in the eternal city, Naples and Sicily. We are really looking forward to the trip.

Today, I paid our cable television bill for the next three months. The charge is 560 LE (approximately $100). As with most services, everything is in cash and the company will send over a messenger to pick up the payment. No bills are sent through the mail, companies prefer to operate in person and in cash.

The Eid El Adha starts this coming week. We hear it might be Tuesday or Wednesday. We never know until the day or two before, and it is hard to tell you why because we don't understand it. We took the following off the Internet:

“Eid El-Adha or Feast of Sacrifice is the most important feast of the Muslim calendar. It concludes the Pilgrimage to Mecca. Eid El-Adha lasts for three days and commemorates Ibraham's (Abraham) willingness to obey God by sacrificing his son. Muslims believe the son to be Ishmael rather than Isaac as told in the Old Testament. Ishmael is considered the forefather of the Arabs. According to the Koran, Ibrahim was about to sacrifice his son when a voice from heaven stopped him and allowed him to sacrifice a ram instead. The feast re-enacts Ibrahim's obedience by sacrificing a cow or ram. The family eats about a third of the meal and donates the rest to the poor.”

We see sheep and cattle in pens along the streets. When we walked on Thursday night we did see men killing and skinning some sheep right on the street then they would hang the carcass above the sidewalk. We are not sure if we will be here when Eid El Adha starts. Last year we were in Jordan when this occurred and we did see the blood from the slaughter running down the streets. Sometimes you will see hand prints from the blood on the walls of buildings. They tell us this is not part of the religion ceremony but people who are superstitious.

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and if we see the Pope we will say Hi to him for you.

Sunday, December 09

There is a song about New York being a city that never sleeps – well the same thing can be said about Cairo. It is one of the most vibrant cities in the world with 24-hour activity. The “official” population is listed at approximately 16,000,000 people – but with the constant daily influx from the country side, it swells to nearly 19,000,000. Located on both sides of the Nile, the city is nearly 6,000 years old with a rich cultural and historical heritage. Cairo is the main business and financial center of Egypt with many varied neighborhoods. It offers the best of Egypt and also some of the worst as well with major problems due to overpopulation and poverty. We traveled to Cairo this weekend for the annual CAC Christmas Bazaar. This Bazaar is sponsored by Cairo American College – one of the most established international PK-12 schools in Egypt. The bazaar is host to vendors from many different countries offering their handicrafts to eager buyers looking for a bargain.

Following the bazaar, we registered at our hotel (The President), an older hotel located in the Zamalek area (along with 2 other couples). Zamalek was once home to many of the embassies. Several have moved to new locations, but the area is still very pleasant with tree lined streets and many villas – unlike many neighborhoods in Cairo and Alex with are almost void of vegetation and lined with high rise apartment buildings. Friday evening, we ate at a Lebanese restaurant near the American and British embassies. Food was very good and plentiful. Pat and I shared a main course of grilled chicken along with salads, mezas and bread.

Weather in Cairo is warmer than Alex and it is very dry. Alex is going through a rainy season, with rainfall frequent and plentiful. Cairo, on the other hand, rarely has rain – tree leaves almost always have a dust coating on. We noticed a distinct difference in air quality between the two cities. Alex has much cleaner air than Cairo. In spite of the climate differences, Cairo is the place to be for Egyptians on the move.

After supper Friday evening, we went to the famous Khan El-Khalili for a little shopping and tea. We explored the area around the Khan, walking down winding streets and exploring all the little shops. The pressure to buy is very low key in these shops as opposed to the constant barrage in the Khan. The shopkeepers are pleased that you come by and are proud to show their goods – many of which are unique handmade items. As we ventured around these streets we were again struck by the hospitably and friendliness of the Egyptian people. We were the only Westerners in the area and while we were often greeted by stares, that quickly changed to smiles. We stopped at a street side fruit stand and purchased a kilo of tangerines for 3 LE (about 51 cents).

Saturday morning, we walked around the Zamalek area looking at the various shops and stores. Many of the stores are in buildings that one would never know was a store unless they walked in. In some cases, there are apartments on the first floor and the store might be on the 2nd or 3rd floor. Many of the shops we visited were furniture stores in which most of the furnishings are hand made items of solid wood. Many staff in the past have purchased many items of furniture to ship back to the states because of the high quality of workmanship.
We traveled back to Alex Saturday afternoon on the “fast train” from Cairo. The trip took only 2 hours and 15 minutes and it was nice getting back to the city by the sea. Traffic between the train station and the school was brutal. What is normally a 10 to 15 minute trip took nearly an hour. While Cairo certainly has it shortcomings (pollution, garbage, traffic jams, noise), it has many areas that are very interesting and attractive. Just 50 years ago, it was a city of only 2,000,000 and now it is bursting at the seams and continues to grow. We enjoyed our weekend in Cairo and look forward to going back down and exploring this fascinating city.

Wednesday, November 28

On Sunday November 25, we took all the elementary (144 children) in 3 large buses to the Syed Darwish Theatre here in Alexandria. It is the Russian Ballet Season and the Karkov Children's Ballet Company was performing Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio. They were beautiful musicals. Several other schools were there also for the performances. Of course, on the way home we were caught in a traffic jam and we had to get all the children out of the buses and we walked them up Schutz Street to our campus. Even then we were an hour late getting the children back to school. But everyone made it safe and sound and the parents understand about the traffic.

On Monday, November 26 we decorated our Christmas tree in the dining room at Roy Hall where we eat dinner. We started at 7 pm and had pop corn to eat and warm chocolate milk to drink. We decorated several dozen sugar cookies that the cooks had made for us. We each get 3 dozen cookies to take back to our apartments for Christmas. We had a fun evening.

Yesterday and today Pat was called to sub for the 4^th Grade teacher. David (ESL teacher) and Pat pair up and we do the subbing together. The kids help and we had a good 2 days.

This Thursday, we have our monthly assembly. We are celebrating Walter's birthday. Our elementary is named Walter's Hall after the founder. Each class is preparing food in their classrooms and we will have our assembly at 11am then we'll eat the food the children prepared. Just hope no one gets ill!

Thursday night we are going out with the Grill Club to the Sea Gull Restaurant. The restaurant is located on the water and has many unique items on display – things you would find in old time amusement parks. We'll take a bus because around 20 of us are going. Another great night of fish!

Friday night we have International Night here at Schutz. Pat will be working at the Japanese Booth with another teacher from Japan. We will have crafts, etc. There will be several countries represented and each will have a booth and activities.

We start our Secret Santa the first of December. We'll each draw a name and throughout the month give your Secret Santa gifts and we will end it on December 18 with our Christmas Party for the staff. It was fun last year and we are sure it will be fun this year again to give and receive secret gifts.

Sunday, November 25

Over the 3 day Thanksgiving holiday, we ventured to Ain Soukhna – Stella Di Mare located on the Red Sea about 90 minutes from Cairo. Unlike Sharm el-Shiekh and Hurghada, which seem to cater more to the European crowd, Stella Di Mare is a favorite for Egyptians because of it’s proximity to Cairo. English and Arabic are the main languages spoken here. As you can tell from the pictures, the weather was nearly ideal for late November. Temperatures were in the mid 70’s during the day with bright sunshine. Three other couples joined us on the trip although not all stayed in the same hotels. We were able to book our reservations early and enjoyed the accommodations of the Grand Hotel located on the beach. We had a short 5 minute walk to the Red Sea.

One of the main features of the Grand Hotel is the Thalasso Spa. This spa features a wide range of services such as massages of various types, beauty and other health treatments. On Thursday, Pat enjoyed a “ant-stress” massage and on Friday, we both spent nearly 5 hours in the heated indoor/outdoor seawater hydrotherapy pool. The facilities here are first-class from the rooms, beaches, pools, and the restaurants.

Our stay was “Half-board” which included full breakfast and evening meals. As with most resorts of this type in Egypt, there are two scales for costs – a “resident” cost and a “foreign” cost. Since we have work visas, we qualify for local Egyptian resident charges. For instance, our room (including half board) cost approximately $110 per night while the non-resident charges were $240 for the room and $35 for the meals. It is easy to see why tourism has become big business here. The cost to stay here for non-residents (while higher than for locals) is still quite a bargain compared to similar resorts on the European side of the Mediterranean. And while the local resident rate is very reasonable, it is out of reach for the typical Egyptian. Most of the local hire staff at our school could not afford to go there more than once in their lifetime. It again highlights the distinct social and economic class differences that exist here among the Egyptian people.

Tuesday, November 13

Friday evening was our annual Galabaya Party up on the rooftop of Roy Hall (the main apartment building for resident staff). It rained a little in the afternoon (the first rain since we arrived in August) and we were fearful that the party might have to move indoors. This would take away from all of the colorful decorations that the workers put up for the party but fortunately it cleared up and dried off. Most of the resident staff attended as well as a few local hire staff. All were dressed very colorfully in their Galabayas – a traditional garb in
Egypt. We had good food, drink and entertainment. We brought over “Catchphrase” and that has been a big hit at our get togethers.

Earlier in the week, we had a bit of a scare as on Monday Pat discovered that she was missing the main diamond from her wedding ring. We looked all over the apartment and tried to “retrace” her steps and check wherever she had been. By Thursday, we had given up hope of finding it. Then after school she was moving the coffee table near the davenport and saw something bright on the cushion of the davenport and there it was! During the week we probably look over that area several times and even sat on those cushions a few times We were very happy to find it.

On the weekend we went out to Carrfour to a movie. In the parking lot, there are mobile car washing carts where the operator will wash cars for 10 LE (about $1.70). We saw several cars being washed. After the movie we stopped at a unique fish restaurant and had shrimp (probably 8” in length) as well as grilled sea bass. The place is not much to look at but the fish was delicious. The restaurant shares it’s kitchen area with a couple other places. There are numerous cats around the tables finishing off what the customers don’t eat.

We finished up interviewing for a new head of schools. The Board brought 3 candidates in over the past three weeks. It is a very intensive process for the candidates. They meet with the staff, the students and the PTA as well as several meetings with the Board. Each evening that they are here, there is an elaborate dinner somewhere that they attend. We may know by next week if they pick one or re-open the process.

Letters of intent for the teaching staff were due as the school tries to get a feel for how many teachers they will need to replace. This year we brought in 11 new teachers and it looks like a few might not stay for the second year. Right now we have 5 vacancies with the possibility of an additional 5 more. It is getting very competitive in the overseas teaching market as there are more schools and the demand is greater than a few years ago. Since Egypt is viewed as a Middle Eastern county, some are a bit hesitant to come here. As a school, we need to do a better job of retaining good staff.

Saturday, November 3

Wednesday, the 3rd grade had their Assembly. The stage was set up like a “Jeopardy” show. David (our ESL teacher) was Pat Sajack and Pat was Vanna White. The 3rd grade was split up into 3 teams and we had a team of teachers. They had to answer questions about 7 countries in the world. The audience (the rest of the elementary) asked pre-written questions and the contestants then had to answer. It was a wonderful assembly and the 3rd grade was did learn interesting things about these countries.

Thursday evening was our annual "Fall Festival". We started setting up at 4 PM and the Festival started at 6 PM. We had games and food. People from the outside came in and sold items such as jewelry, wall hangings, glassware, scarves, etc. Pat had a Ring Toss booth with the Kindergarten teacher. They made a big sign and had prizes to give away. It was fun because everyone dressed up in Halloween costumes. Pat said she went as a “Pretend Cow”, whatever that means. I am a sponsor of the Seniors and we had three activities: “Dunk a Punk”, a Haunted House and “Pie in the Face”. The Seniors also sponsor a dance at the end of the evening.

The quarter has ended and it is a very busy time for the teaching staff as they work on finalizing grades. Remember when report cards were just grades? Now we have skills to assess for each class and of course, comments for each student. I am fortunate with only one class (along with two other individual independent study classes). Many of our staff will be assessing many more students in a variety of classes.

Tuesday, October 30

We hosted the EMAC Volleyball Tournament for both Girls and Boys last weekend (Thursday through Saturday). 5 other teams visited (Doha, Amman, BISC-Cairo and Beruit). The players stayed with families of our students while the coaches stayed on campus. We hosted a coach from BISC. Our boys team finished 3^rd while our girls team finished 5^th. The boys have a lot of talent but when they get behind in a match, they have a tendency to lose their focus and start bickering with each other. The Schutz crowd was very vocal and supportive of both teams. It is interesting because the cheers they use are ones we used in the States in the dark ages when we were both in school!

Our boys’ team played off campus the first two days of the tournament. Four of us went over on Friday to watch the games. On our way back, while driving on the Corniche, we had a little accident. A man tried crossing the street and paused when he saw us, then as we got closer, he started up again and we just nipped him. He fell to the street and fortunately no other cars were coming and he was ok. It is surprising that more are not hit as the traffic just zooms by and many of the pedestrians cross anywhere on the street.

On Monday, Pat subbed as the 1^st grade teacher. The regular teacher was ill and Pat was asked to fill in. She was a little nervous the night before but did an excellent job. Who knows, maybe she has found her next career! This is the end of the quarter and everyone is busy getting assignments graded and their grades finalized. We have a work day on Thursday and hopefully everyone will get done before the weekend.

Monday, October 22

We have tried to make a concerted effort to get off campus each day. There always seems like there is more to do but it is important to take break and get out into the “real world” of Alexandria. We took a nice long walk Saturday morning before breakfast. The crowd that is out early in the morning is very different than what we see later in the day. It is much more “working” class. Saturday is a school day for many of the schools in our area and we see many students walking or being dropped off at the neighborhood schools. You could easily walk by a school and not recognize it as many look just like apartment buildings. Many of the schools require students to wear uniforms and the children look so nice. There is something to be said about uniformity of dress in an educational setting. Along the Corniche we saw several fishermen who had set up their “stands.” For many this is not a business, rather it is a way for them to catch their dinner. As we walked back we noticed some “car washers.” These are men who are hired to wash off someone’s car in the morning before the person uses it. Cars are usually parked on the streets and with all the dust, their owners’ want them cleaned up before they drive them so they will hire someone to wipe it down before they use it. Saturday evening we drove out to Green Plaza with a couple of other teachers and went to “The Brave One” starring Jodie Foster. Tickets for the 4:00 show are only 15 LE each (around $2.75).

October 16

We left for Hurghada after school on Thursday. When we arrived at the Cairo airport the departure hall for our flight had changed. The person at the information desk told us to go hall 4 (we were in hall 1). He said it was a 2 to 3 minute walk from hall 1 or we could take a taxi (which we thought was kind of unusual). It turns out that hall 4 was a good 10 to 15 minute ride by shuttle bus. Because of the Eid, many people were flying to either Hurghada or Sharm and they set up a special departure hall for that. The hall was crowded and typically chaotic. There were no signs or announcements telling when the buses were loading up to take passengers to the planes – people milling all around and then the doors open and everyone rushing through.

The flight lasted a little less than an hour. When we arrived, there were many taxi drivers lined up to take people to there hotels. Our hotel is located in Makadi Bay (about 30 km from the airport). I told a couple of drivers where we wanted to go and they both said they would take us there for 150 LE because they told us the hotel was 65 km away. We walked away and one came back and we settled on 100 LE (still a little high but it was late and we wanted to get to the hotel). As we got in, he told us we had to pay 30 LE for the airport parking. We told him it was his responsibility as he had agreed on 100. We argued back and forth on the trip to the hotel and then he told us, he wanted and additional 20 LE for his trouble. We reminded him again that he agreed to 100 and also that his 65 km wasn’t correct. Finally as we got out, we paid the 100 LE and he drove away. The ride by the way was an experience as he was all over the road.

The resort is part of a large complex with several resorts and shops sharing the same beach on the Red Sea. There are numerous pools and all sorts of recreational activities for children and adults (billiards, theatre, table tennis, fitness areas, volleyball, golf, tennis, shopping areas, soccer, etc). Our resort really caters to families and there were numerous activities for kids (playgrounds, arts, and of course water activities.) Since it is all-inclusive, the meals, drinks and snacks are included in the cost of staying there. The grounds are very well kept and it seems like you are in a garden as you walk the grounds. No matter where you were at, it was just a short walk to another pool or refreshment area. Meals were good and the staff was very friendly. The beach was a 5 to 10 minute walk from our area of the resort. The water was clear and fish were within plain view no matter where you were at.

Our stay at the resort was very relaxing – because of the size of the area, it never seemed very crowded although there were many people there. This resort really caters to the German crowd. Not once did we run across anyone who was from the US. Very few spoke any English. The grounds were beautiful. Trees, cacti and flowers everywhere along with green grass (something we do not see a lot of in Egypt). Perhaps due to all of the flowers, we saw butterflies for the first time since we have been here. In addition, there were numerous mourning doves on the grounds. The weather was perfect, not a cloud in the sky and temperatures in the 80’s during the day and cooling down at night. If anyone is looking for a great family place to visit – this is it. However if travelers come to Egypt and only stay here, they do not get a true picture of what Egypt is like. I guess that is why we enjoy living in Alex right in the heart of a typical neighborhood and experience what the culture is really all about.

We arrived back at Schutz Monday afternoon around 5:00. Since there is still one more day of holiday, the kitchen staff was off yesterday so Pat and I ventured out to San Steffano to grab a bite to eat. The crowds were awful – probably because of the Eid. Few festivals in the Muslim world are anticipated with greater delight than Eid el-Fitr. It is this festival that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. The food court in the mall had about three times the number of the capacity of the area with people (primarily kids) pushing and shoving to get to the counters to order their food. We ordered and took our food home as there was no place to sit and the noise level was deafening.

October 9

Last week we concluded our annual Ramadan Food Drive. The Senior Class (which I help sponsor) was in charge of the food drive this year. Everything has gone pretty well with it. We collected 9,400 items of non-perishable food, exceeding last year’s total by over 4,000 items. The Seniors are sponsoring a pool party when we come back from break for the winning class (the 4^th Grade). Competition got pretty heated the last couple days. We have ran into a little hitch, the Food Bank of Egypt (located in Cairo) was going to pick everything up and backed out so we were scrambling a little before we found an organization to collect and distribute it.

Friday evening we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving at the home of Debbie (4^th grade teacher from Canada) and her husband, Mahmoud. We had a feast – turkey with all the trimmings, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, sweet potatoes, cranberries, salads and of course many different types of desserts. Around 20 staff attended. The photo is of some of the staff preparing drinks before the meal. One of our drivers was ill so I had my first taste of driving here this year – we have a new vehicle (a Hyundai) which rides very well. Traffic was heavy as it was around the time people are rushing home for Iftars. I had my first experience driving on the Corniche, the main avenue that runs adjacent to the Mediterranean. As we turned onto Horreya (another very busy street) it was bumper to bumper with cars, bikes, donkey carts, wheelchairs and of course pedestrians. Fortunately we managed to survive and arrive safely. The trip home was nearly as congested as many people were out on the streets. One has to really be on their toes as traffic can come from any direction at any time.

We took a long two hour walk on Saturday throughout the neighborhoods to the Corniche and back to Schutz. It is like a huge farmers market every day in Alexandria. Carts and stands with fish, fresh fruits and vegetables as well as people selling all types of items. It is so lively and there is so much energy that when you get back you really feel refreshed and exhausted. It seems at nearly every block there is a ‘Kodak” moment. One of these days we will take our camera and try to take as many photos as we can but you do have to be careful and always as some do not want their pictures taken.

Pat and Debbie are planning a shopping excursion for curtains for our apartment. Unlike the states, very few (if any) stores sell ready made curtains. They will need to find a “material or fabric” store and purchase the material and then have someone make them.

We received a water dispenser for our apartment today (this was one of the requests made by the residents at the end of last year). We will have hot and cold water now on tap that we can drink and use for tea, coffee, etc. Guess we won’t need to visit the local store that we had used for bottled water as much. We will have to find some other items we can get at the local shops as they have been so friendly and accommodating.

On Thursday we take off right after school to catch a flight in Cairo for Hurghada. Hurghada is a resort city on the Red Sea. We will be staying at the Iberotel Makadi Oasis, an all inclusive resort, owned by the same corporation of the one we stayed at near Marsa Matrouh. We are looking forward to 4 days of R and R.

Saturday, September 29

On Thursday evening nearly 30 staff members went to the Tikkia Grill for an Iftar. There was a nice mixture of foreign hire staff and local staff attending. It is so nice when we can get together for a non-school activity and enjoy each other’s company. The Tikkia Grill is located on the Mediterranean Sea near the main downtown area of Alex. We arrived around 5:30 and the restaurant was nearly full. The people sat very patiently at the tables until 5:51 when it was time to eat (sunset). Each day during Ramadan, the time to eat the evening meal moves ahead 1 minute. When Ramadan began just over two weeks ago, the starting time for the evening meal was 6:05. We were served grilled chicken, potatoes, salads, bread, pastries, juice, and tea or coffee. The food was very good and the conversations were lively. One of our local staff persons, Nadia, has been organizing “Grill Club” events such as this for years. It gives the foreign hire staff an opportunity to taste the local foods in a variety of restaurants and all the staff who can attend enjoys an evening of fun. Ramadan is very important time of the year for Muslims to share their faith and fellowship.

Last evening Pat and I walked around the neighborhood and to San Steffano for supper. We left campus around 5:30. The streets were very quiet as most are gathering for Iftars. We walked past Fathalla (a large grocery store) where cars park on the street. They have parking attendants who help customers park their cars (usually double park). Since there were not many cars there at this time we noticed all of the rocks and chunks of cement that the attendants use to place behind the tires of the cars. People will leave their cars in neutral and then the attendants can push them as needed to let people in and out of parking spaces. It is very rare to see parking lots unless it is at one of the three major malls. Guess that is why so many people use public transportation (taxis, buses and the tram).

Saturday, September 22

We have had a full week of Ramadan with our students. This can be a very trying time for them. Here is what a typical day is like for the older students during Ramadan. They fast from sun up to sun down. They arrive at school around 8:00 am and are in classes until 3:00. During this time, there are usually two breaks for snacks plus a 45 minute lunch. Almost all of the Muslim students fast so they try to find places to go on campus where the non-Muslims aren’t likely to be so they won’t see people eating or drinking any fluids. Then they go home after school and wait until after dark before they can eat – usually they have a large “iftar” meal with many courses of food. This may last late into the evening or early morning. If they have homework to do, they work it in before the large meal or after. The students who play sports come back around 8:00 for practice. After going back home, they may spend some time in prayer before going to sleep for a couple of hours. Usually around 3:00 am or 4:00 am they get back up to eat and pray before trying to catch a couple more hours of sleep before they get ready for school. With the way traffic is here, it often takes up to an hour to get to school. It can be a very wearing time for them. Many of the younger students fast as well. It can be very hard on these students as they are fasting for the first time.

Last evening, another couple (Tony and Dellaine) and us went out to eat at the Delta (a French restaurant in the downtown area). The Delta is well known for their beef steaks, one of the few places we have found where one can find a good steak. We left the school around 5:00 and the closer it got to 6:00 pm the quieter the city became as people were settling in for Iftars. In this city of 6 million people, it became very calm. After our dinner we drove over to the fort area along the Mediterranean coast. We stopped at a drive-up ice cream place. The shop is right along the street and when customers pull up to the curb, someone comes out and takes your order (kind of like the old drive ins that were plentiful in the states in the 50’s and 60’s). When we got back to the school we played a couple of games of 500 where the men continued their dominance.

Pat hasn’t felt the best for the last couple of weeks. She has had a bad cough and has felt run down. We decided that maybe we should see a doctor. We called the school nurse to find out her recommendation of who to see and she arranged for one to come to the school to take a look. I guess this is not all that unusual for doctors here to still make house calls. Later on, we walked down to San Steffano with the intent on attending a movie. The mall closed down from 4 to 8 because of Iftars – only the food court and Metro (the large grocery store) was open. We decided to eat at Café Noir (a nice little place we have been to several times). We were the only customers and there were very few in food court area. We left around 6:00 pm and walked back to the school. Twice on the way home we were invited to gatherings of people on the street who were set up for Iftars. One man was walking along offering people fresh dates (his way of giving during this holy month). Exactly at 6:00 the prayers began and they began serving the food. It is so unique to see and experience this sharing.

Sunday, September 16

We just returned from a 3 day weekend at Almaza (a beach resort on the north coast of Egypt). 9 of us journeyed to the resort which is situated right on the Mediterranean approximately 250 km from Alex. It is located in a remote desert area and caters to European visitors (primarily from Italy and Germany). We left Thursday after school and after we got out of Alex, there was virtually no traffic. It is so odd to travel outside the city on a major highway such as this and rarely see another car.

During the weekend, we enjoyed some nice walks along the beach and around the resort. On Friday evening, we ventured into Marsa Matrouh (a clean coastal resort city) located approximately 40 km from Almaza. One of the members in our group remembered eating at a fish restaurant in Marsa Matrouh a couple of years ago and we tried to locate it but without any luck so we spotted what we thought was an authentic little open air place along the sea. The man who greeted us told us that they could serve us within 10 to 15 minutes. It was a neat little place with wicker couches set up around tables. We ordered our food and thought it was strange when 3 men near the waiter took off in a red car – later we found out, they did not prepare food there and the men went off somewhere else to possibly get the food. We are not sure if they ever brought the food back or not – we waited nearly an hour and decided that we had waited long enough and left. We ended up at McDonalds located with an open air eating section right on the sea. The streets in Marsa Matrouh had unique speed bumps with flashing lights built right into the pavement to warn drivers to slow down.

All in all, we had a nice time: playing cards with the others, walking, reading and enjoying the sea and hospitality of the resort.

Wednesday, September 12

One more day and we will enjoy a 3 day holiday on the North Coast of Egypt with 7 other resident staff. We are going to a resort near Marsa Matrouh (Iberotel Almaza). We stayed there last November and had a wonderful time. The beach is pristine and the water so clear you can see the bottom. We will leave after school tomorrow and return Sunday afternoon.

The past two evenings we have had open house for the parents with students in grades 7-12 (Monday) and PreK-6 (Tuesday). This gives parents a chance to meet the teachers, visit the classrooms, sign up for Edline (my main responsibility during the event) and mingle with other parents. As is typical in Egypt, nothing starts on time. The events were to start at 7:00 – but didn’t get going until 7:10 or so and many did not arrive until 7:30. It lasts until 9 but then since several didn’t come on time, the evening drags on for another 30 minutes or so. We are getting a large number of parents signed up on Edline (this is an interactive web site where teachers can post information and progress reports for their classes and communicate with parents).

We have booked our flights for our winter holiday this week. As is the custom here, we call our travel agent who works closely with the school and then she will send a messenger over to pick up the money for the tickets (almost always in cash). It is really a cash society, credit cards are rarely used here and I don’t know if they would ever accept a check from a US bank. Payment is never sent by mail – even for services that we purchase for the school. A messenger will be sent to pick up the cash. You would think there would be robberies with such large amounts of cash floating around but it there are, it is not publicized.

Saturday, September 8

After having a couple of days off with the weekend, second week of school went by much faster. Students and staff alike are settling into a routine. Thursday evening several of us went out to Carrefour, the major shopping center in Alex west (an area on the west side of Alexandria that is growing rapidly). Carrefour is called a “hypermarket” and is based out of France and is the 2^nd largest retailer in the world behind WalMart. We made the mistake of going after supper and the crowds were very heavy. It is like the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas combined. We basically went to the Carrefour anchor store (like a Super WalMart) and could barely navigate our cart throughout the store. The crowds are especially heavy as people are preparing for Ramadan.

Ramadan begins next week so people are stocking up on food supplies, getting ready to prepare the daily feasts. During Ramadan, Muslims fast from sun up to sun down (including no beverages) and then will feast in the evening. This is hard on our Muslim students and staff because, not only are they fasting, but they stay up very late as well to take part in the feasting and prayer activities. The month of Ramadan varies from year to year with this year being much earlier than last year. This also affects the time as Daylight Savings Time ended Friday morning. It is a bit of a hassle with our computers as there is no set time from year to year like the States, so we have to go around manually and change the times.

Grocery stores are packed not only with people stocking up, but with food supplies as well. Several of the larger supermarkets have “Ramadan” bags prepared for their customers who will be donating food to those who are less fortunate. This is one of the major tenets of the Muslim faith to aid those who are less fortunate. Soon alleys along the streets will be set up with tables so that wealthy Egyptians will have meals catered for the poorer people in the neighborhoods and since our school is located in a lower working class neighborhood, there will be a large “banquet” almost nightly just down the street from the school.

Friday evening Pat and I ordered out for supper for the first time from the famous “Chicken Man” who operates an outdoor grill at the corner of Schutz Street on the tram line. If you mention the “Chicken Man” anywhere in the neighborhood, everyone would know where it is at. They are especially busy during Ramadan preparing hundreds of meals a day. Each meal comes with a half of a grilled chicken, vegetables, salad and bread all for 10 LE ($1.75). They also grill kofta and other meats as well but chicken is their specialty. After supper many of the resident staff got together for an evening of games and cards. Eight of us played Poker while the others played Catch Phrase. My poker skills are lacking so I didn’t fare too well, I didn’t know there were so many varieties of the game! Next time I think I will stick to Catch Phrase!

Saturday, September 1

We finished the first week of school – boy did it seem like a long week. Of course many of the staff have been working since the 19^th without a break getting ready for school. The students came back very enthusiastic. We have the largest enrollment in school history – from what we were told – 253 students. It varies greatly from class to class. One class may have 12 students while another has 25. We feel much more comfortable at the start of this year knowing the routine and of course knowing the staff and many of the students.

I am teaching one class this year, a high school technology class with 9 students. It is a mixture with 9^th through 12^th grade students. In addition I have one school service student, a young lady, who took my class last year and will be working a lot on the school web site. Pat is working mainly with the 3^rd through 6^th grade students. Her schedule is a little different than last year in that she is in the classroom a little more.

The teachers hosted a “Back to School” night on Thursday evening for the students. We had soccer, volleyball, table tennis, board games, swimming and basketball along with a dance. Tony (the headmaster) and I took on two of the high school basketball players in a game of two on two. Our minds were sharp and we knew what we wanted to do, but unfortunately our bodies didn’t cooperate. We ended up on the short end in a couple of games. Everyone had a fun time with all of the activities.

On Friday evening 3 of us couples and a single teacher went down to San Stefano to “The Bourne Ultimatum” and supper at a little restaurant “Café Noir”. We really enjoyed the movie; it had us on the edge of our seats throughout. Café Noir is an interesting little restaurant. The food is good but sometimes it is a little inconsistent with the delivery of the meals. They will bring it out in shifts so no one is ever eating at the same time. One couple was served than a little while later another was and finally when they were done eating, the 3^rd couple got their dinner.

Here are a couple of pictures—one is of the canteen (where students and staff can purchase food items during the school day) and the other is of our front porch.

Saturday, August 25

It is 9:30 pm – school starts now in eleven hours and our workers are still at it. The student canteen is right next to our apartment and they began a major renovation project on that when we came 10 days ago. Of course it needs to be open tomorrow so the workers have been working 15 to 18 hour days trying to get it done and cleaned up before school begins. Finishing touches are being applied all over the campus – when we arrive it seems like there is no possible way they will be able to get everything done yet somehow they manage. In a couple of days when all the work is done, they will be able take a little break.

For the staff it is much the same – we do have 5 days of in-service but that is kind of misleading. Because we are an international school – we do a major staff development project during that time. Two whole days are set aside for that. As a result, teachers are now scrambling to get everything ready for their classes. Since turnover is high in overseas schools (many change after two years) there is a constant learning curve that takes place as new staff must get acquainted with the daily routines within a school. There are not many “veteran” staff that can come and be ready in 1 or 2 days. I’m sure I had the same frazzled look last year at this time.

We ventured out to Green Plaza today. Pat wanted to get her hair cut before school began. However her stylist (Ahmed) was busy doing a tattoo and would not have been able to work her in for three hours. So she will have to go back next Saturday. As we have said before, he is truly an artist. We decided not to drive out and took a taxi instead. The ride out was pretty peaceful – not a lot of traffic. But on the way home it was a different story. Cars, pedestrians, buses, donkey carts were everywhere. We are thankful that we did not drive. It was very hot today, the hottest since we have been here, nearly 100 degrees. There were not many at the shopping center, but I bet the beaches were packed. It is such a contrast on the streets compared to our compound. It is like riding in a car 100 miles in hour out there and then taking a peaceful stroll inside the gates. You have to see it to believe it!

Friday, August 24

We spend much of the day dealing with a recurring problem with our network switches – we have several obsolete switches that are beginning to fail. We are in the process of replacing them, but it is very difficult to get the equipment we need. Hopefully it will be resolved this fall (inshalallah). We have become so dependent on our network and of course the Internet. We can’t imagine what it was like to teach overseas twenty years ago without e-mail, blogs, Skype, etc. One would, no doubt, feel very isolated from family and friends.

This evening several of the resident staff went out to one of our favorite restaurants, Zypherion, which specializes in fresh fish. The restaurant is located in Abu Kir, once the site of a famous battle between the French, led by Napoleon, and the British. It is right on the sea – the beaches are still full as it is the holidays for most Egyptians. It is hard to describe the meal – you begin with salads and pita style bread, then fish (which you have selected) begins to arrive: calamari, clams, shrimp (6 to 8” long) and sea bass – along with rice and fries. We had a group of 10 and we ordered 2 and ½ kilo of shrimp, 2 kilo of sea bass and 1 kilo of clams. The fish is the finest that we have ever had and of course the service was very good. Once you have eaten here – it is hard to want to order fish anywhere else!

After our meal we returned to the home of one of our local “foreign” hire teachers who’s husband teaches at the University in Alex and in Cairo. We have all heard the expression, “You can’t judge a book by it’s cover, “ this is certainly the case with many Egyptian homes. Debbie and Mahmoud live on the 2^nd floor of a 10 floor apartment building. Because of the salty air near the Mediterranean, many of the buildings look a little worse for wear on the outside. Their apartment was very nice – over 1,200 square feet and nicely finished. When many move into apartments such as theirs, they are little more than walls and exposed wiring. It is up to the tenant to make the apartment livable to their needs. They virtually redid the entire apartment from replastering to putting in beautiful wood floors. It is indeed a showcase.

A very unique feature of their apartment house and many in the city is that they have a doorman (bellnap as it is pronounced) who actually lives with his family in a little room just inside the entry to the building. The room is not much larger than large closet and there are two adults and three children living there. They have one room and a bathroom. The residents all pay a little to the man to watch over things – it is not enough to live on so the family also must sell items or food on the street.

We had a wonderful time with everyone sharing stories and getting to know the new staff a little better. Some have overseas experience and it is so interesting hearing about life in other cultures. One couple taught in Saudi Arabia where public executions (beheading) were held in the market square two to three times a month!

One more day before the start of school on Sunday – the workers will be putting the finishing touches on all the building and the staff will be busy tomorrow getting their rooms ready.

Wednesday, August 22

We took our first long walk tonight down to the Mediterranean along the Cornish. Traffic was pretty heavy so we stayed on the land side. Didn’t want to risk life and limb yet – although we are planning a little drive out to Green Plaza on Friday so Pat can visit her hair stylist (Ahmed). The walk was very nice with a strong breeze off the sea. So many people are out and about. We ran into two of out incoming seniors near Starbucks. We have just a few days now before school starts. Most of the regular schools don’t start till mid-September – our kids will have to cut their “holiday” a little short. We saw our first big traffic jam on Schutz Street coming home. A car tried to pass bus on the right side (the bus was in the middle of the street stopped to let someone off as oncoming traffic was coming head on to the bus. Everyone stopped and honked on one of the drives got out to shake his fist at the bus driver. But after a little while everyone calmed down and they worked it out. The week is winding down – well be nice to have a couple of days off to recharge before school begins on Sunday.

Tuesday, August 21

We arrived safely in Alex last Wednesday (August 15^th). Our flights did not seem as long as last year. We met up with another teacher and her husband at the airport in Frankfurt – they live in Alex and had been vacationing and visiting relatives in Canada. We arrived at the school around 3:00 AM and took a little while to unpack a few items before going to bed in our new apartment.

Walking around campus the first few days is like a big homecoming. All the workers are so happy to see returning staff. They will stop whatever they are doing and welcome us with open arms and big smiles. Monday evening we walked the neighborhood and said hello to the local shopkeepers that we came to know last year.

It has taken us a little while to overcome “jetlag”. Unless we take something, we stay awake until 3 or 4 in the morning and then get back up at 7. You would think at some point soon our bodies would adjust. We are going to try to sleep tonight without anything.

We have a large number of new staff (11). Many are young and beginning their first overseas teaching assignment. The new staff is very enthusiastic and we look forward to getting to know each one better. All of the returning staff has arrived back as well. It is fun to listen to the experiences that each had over the summer. We do miss those staff members who did not return this year – they were a special group and we feel fortunate to have spent the year with them sharing many special memories. Guess that is the nature of International Education – one of attractions is the opportunity to experience teaching in many different cultures.

We have settled into our new apartment – no more 74 steps up and down!! We are in a separate little building just a stone’s throw from the main apartments. It is larger and more open than our previous apartment. We even have an extra bedroom for those of you who want to travel over to visit us! When it cools down a little we will really enjoy our little enclosed porch! We will post pictures as soon as we get everything in order.

Again this year, the campus is a buzz with various projects prior to the start of school. The cafeteria was redecorated and now it looks like a fine restaurant. Most all of the classrooms, along with the exteriors of the buildings were given a fresh coat of paint. The workers are busily finishing up a major renovation of the student canteen. When everything is finished, the school will be a sparkling showcase in the heart of Alexandria.

We began our staff orientation on Sunday. The first two days have been devoted to “Standards and Benchmarks”. Those of you in education probably remember the days of developing these fondly!! Fortunately, I was able to “duck” out a few times to deal with some technology issues while Pat has been able to get to work setting up some elementary classrooms. One teacher is not returning until September 2^nd so Pat has been getting her room ready for the start of school.

Tuesday, June 26

Following our journey to Krakow, we boarded the rails and headed to Munich. We arrived late on Thursday evening but the city was still very much awake and buzz with activity. Munich is a popular spot for travelers and in particular students. Our hotel was located a couple of blocks from the train station among the many youth hostels. Munich has been extensively rebuilt since WW II but still retains the charm that it had as the capital of Bavaria in the Middle Ages. On Friday, we joined a small tour and visited Salzburg just across the border in Austria. Salzburg's "Old Town" with its world famous baroque architecture is one of the best-preserved city centers in the German-speaking world, and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The city is noted for its Alpine setting. It is the birthplace of Mozart and the setting for parts of the musical and film, "The Sound of Music."

On Saturday, we spent most of the time in the Marketplaza of Munich. Here we visited several cathedrals and enjoyed the street merchants, musicians and stands. No visit to Munich would be complete without a visit to the beer halls and we visited one of the most famous ones, Hofbräuhaus, and while we didn’t sample the local brew, we did enjoy a traditional sausage and sauerkraut dinner.

Munich served as the birthplace for the Nazi party and Dachau, located just 10 miles away was the first Nazi Concentration Camp. Munich was also the home to an anti-Nazi movement in 1942-43. As a result of it’s role and importance, it was one of the most heavily bombed cities in Germany during WW II with over 70 raids on the city. A great deal of damage was done to the city and it has been extensively rebuilt since the end of the war. Munich is also home to some of the most beautiful churches in Europe. Pope Benedict was ordained as a priest in the Archdiocese of Munich. In 1972, Munich was home to the tragic summer Olympics which Israeli athletes were assassinated by Palestinian terrorists, when terrorist gunmen from the Palestinian "Black September" group took hostage members of the Israeli Olympic team

Sunday morning, we left Munich and began our flight home to Waterloo. We encountered a few little snags along the way, and I thought I might have to stay behind but everything worked out and we got home on time. It was sure nice to touch down and see family, green grass, trees, and our home. While we have thoroughly enjoyed our experience this past year and do look forward to returning – there is nothing quite like the great state of Iowa along with all of the freedom and opportunities that we have in the US. Living abroad has taught us many things about other cultures and people, but it also has renewed our appreciation for our country that sometimes we take for granted in our everyday lives.

Tuesday, June 26

Krakow is a charming city. For the most part, it was left untouched by World War II and has become one of the tourist hotspots in Eastern Europe. There is very unique Market Square with street musicians, mimes, carriage rides and numerous parks and green areas. The Market Square dates back to the 1200’s and can accommodate a few thousand people. Two sites, the Cloth Hall and St. Mary’s Basilica dominate the landscape on the Square.

One of our primary reasons for visiting Krakow was the close proximity to Auschwitz – perhaps the most famous of the Nazi Concentration Camps. It was at Auschwitz that Hitler instituted his “Final Solution” for the extermination of the Jewish people. Auschwitz is located approximately 50 km from Krakow in an area that was isolated from major population centers. It has become a symbol of terror, genocide, and the Holocaust. It was established by the Nazis in the suburbs of the city of Oswiecim. Over the following years, the camp was expanded and consisted of three main parts: Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II-Birkenau, and Auschwitz III-Monowitz. It also had over 40 sub-camps. At first, Poles were imprisoned and died in the camp. Afterwards, Soviet prisoners of war, Gypsies, and prisoners of other nationalities were also incarcerated there. Beginning in 1942, the camp became the site of the greatest mass murder in the history of humanity, which was committed against the European Jews as part of Hitler's plan for the complete destruction of that people. An estimated 2.5 million people met their death here. It is so hard to picture the brutally that took place here (senseless beatings, medical experiments, random executions, torture). Cells were constructed where prisoners could neither stand nor sit for hours at a time. If one person caused any problems, a dozen or more would be openly beaten or shot. Imagine being under control of sadistic guards who were not held accountable for any of their actions. Families were broken up and in some cases family members were executed in front of other family members. In my earlier teaching career, I taught a unit on the Holocaust. Of all the units that I taught, I really felt this was by far the most important activity that I ever did – it is so hard to believe that such actions could have taken place and yet even today there are those who claim that it did not happen. They obviously have not visited sites such as Auschwitz or Dachau and seen the evidence first hand. Even today, feelings run very deep in Auschwitz and Birkenau in Poland.

Tuesday, June 26

Saturday evening most of the overseas staff began heading home – we flew out of Alex early Sunday morning at 3:30 with 5 other staff members – as we parted ways in Frankfurt we all hugged knowing that in all likelihood we might not see each other again. After arriving in Frankfurt, we had a two hour layover before heading to Nuremburg for the first leg of our holiday before returning to the states.

Nuremburg is located in the Bavarian section of Germany. It is a city of over 500,000 but seemingly far fewer people. I think this is due in part to the abundance of mass transportation so there are far fewer autos on the streets. We stayed in the “Old Center” of the city which contains many of the oldest churches in the city including the St. Lorenz church which was built between 1270 and 1350. While many of these were damaged during WW II, they have been rebuilt and look very “original”. The Old Center is very pedestrian friendly, with many streets closed to autos and an abundance of sidewalk cafes and street musicians. During our second day in Nuremburg, we visited the site of the Nazi Party Parade Grounds where the major Nazi Party rallies were held in the 1930’s and 40’s. This was where Hitler introduced his Aryan race and famous Nuremburg Laws depriving Jewish people basic human rights. The grounds are host to a very descriptive museum with a very comprehensive history of the rise and fall of the Nazi Party. Nuremburg is a beautiful city with several green areas and parks. There is quite a bit more diversity in the appearance of young people than we saw in Egypt the past year – tattoos, body piercing and unique hair coloring and styles.

Leaving Nuremburg, we traveled by train to Krakow, Poland through the Czech Republic. When we left, we were told in Nuremburg that traveling by train is very easy, everything is well marked and if we needed any assistance to ask the conductors – this reminded us of what we had been told in Cyprus regarding how easy it was to travel there because everything was so well marked – needless to say, as in Cyprus, this was not the case. Conductors were few and far between and most did not speak English and the train stations in Prague and Krakow were very confusing but somehow we managed. One of the major obstacles to overcome was the variation in currency we encounter. Both Poland and the Czech Republic do not use the Euro and so you have to find currency conversion stations to get money if you want to eat. On the trains we met several interesting people (a couple from Helsinki on the way to Prague and law student from Poland when we were returning through Prague on our way back to Germany. It was interesting to get an insider’s view of life in their country. The law student shared with us of how conditions previously in Poland greatly affected their family. Her father and brother moved to Canada for work and educational opportunities while her mother and her stayed behind. She would never had been able to study law 10 to 15 years ago but things are changing now).

We did notice quite a bit of difference between the countryside in Germany with that of the Czech Republic and Poland. Much of the area in Germany looks very similar to Northeastern Iowa with more forest areas while Eastern Europe looked more economically “depressed”. The 70’s and 80’s were quite difficult times for those two countries and they are now just beginning to recover. The train stations are real “hotspots” of activity. Rail travel is quite a bit cheaper than air travel and for many it is much more convenient. Young people seem to travel extensively by rail. Munich seems to be a gathering place for the young with many youth “hostels” catering to them located near the train stations. Needless to say after traveling through Europe dragging two large suitcases up and down railway stations have taught us to be better trip planners next year!

Monday, June 25

Two couples are going on African Safaris when they leave school on the 17th. Before going on the safaris they need to get a variety of shots. The system here is a little different. We have an excellent government liaison officer who helps us in many different ways (from arranging transportation, getting visas and driver’s licenses to virtually any dealings with the government). It truly is not what you know (although that helps tremendously here) much of it is who you know and she has many contacts in high places. Typically to get these shots, you have to fill out mountains of paperwork, go to a government office for a day to file the papers and then return the following day and you might get lucky and get your shots. But in the case of our people, arrangements were made where they were taken by car to a location and a nurse came out of a building, got into the car with them and administered the shots. All this took probably 15 minutes as our liaison officer had arranged everything in advance. She has proven to be a very valuable resource for all of us. It seems that everyone knows her and shows her great respect.

We celebrated Senior Graduation on Friday, June 15th at the famous Alexandria Bibliotheca. Ceremonies were held in one of the large stadium seating auditoriums. Graduation was unlike any that we have ever attended in the states. First of all, it was to start at 8:00 pm but as is typical with everything here, it did not begin until around 8:20. Prominent family members make their entrances and families greet each other prior to the opening procession. Members of the junior class march in carrying flags representing the countries that the seniors come from as their respective national anthems are played. This marked the first time in nearly a year that we heard the Star Spangled Banner -- it was so good to hear it again! Each senior spoke so even though it is a small class (17 seniors), the entire ceremony lasted for over two hours. There were two large video screens flanking the stage so when senior spoke, a camera would show the reaction of their family – kinda like being at an Academy Awards ceremony! Following the graduation a reception was held for the seniors sponsored by the school, individual receptions are not held unless they are for only family members. The school year is now officially over and we were given two workdays to wrap the year before heading home.