Thursday evening we had a staff “Galabaya” party up on the rooftop of our apartment building. The custodial staff strung lights, laid Middle Eastern rugs and put up temporary walls to decorate the area for us. Many of the resident staff attended and a few of the local staff attended as well. The galabaya is the traditional garment worn by people in the Middle East. We enjoyed good food, good conversation and good fun. We played several games that are played on the Nile Cruise Ships when they hold their Galabaya parties.
Friday evening Mike and Helen and Pat and I were invited over to one of our local teacher’s home for dessert and the opportunity to meet her family. Eman is one of our Arabic teachers and her husband (Ashfaf) is a doctor who works most of the year in Libya for an oil company. They have a 17 year old son (Rogit). Doctors in Egypt find it much different than doctors in the states. The hours are very long and the pay is no way near what doctors make in the states. Ashfaf began working for an oil company in Saudi Arabia a few years ago. This was not a very good situation for him even though the pay was better. Egyptians are often viewed with less status in Saudi and he was able to come home only once or twice a year. He was offered a position with another company that works primarily in the Libyan Desert. With this job, he is able to come home on a monthly basis and is treated with more respect. The company is very profitable and even though they are deep in the Libyan Desert, conditions are very comfortable. He shared many interesting stories about Libya. They are a very caring and generous family and showed us a wonderful time. We wish all our family and friends could experience the friendliness that people have shown us here.
