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 4th 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 (4th 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.
