Tuesday, March 25

Last evening the High School Student Council sponsored an appreciation supper at the Greek Restaurant for High School staff. It was a very nice evening. The restaurant is located right on the Mediterranean near the Citadel. It is a prime fishing area and hundred of small fishing boats were stationed in the harbor below. Our students were very gracious hosts. Each of them greeted us at the door and made conversation with the staff before, during and after the meal. As we have said before, our students are very social. Since many of activities in their daily lives revolve around their families, the students are very comfortable with people of all ages. We had a wonderful time and hope this becomes a yearly tradition

Sunday, March 23

We just returned from visiting Sharm el-Sheikh for our 3 day weekend. Sharm is known as the “City of Peace” as it has been home to many of the major peace and economic conferences over the past twenty years. It’s location on the Sinai Peninsula along with a beautiful coastline and warm sunny climate has helped Sharm become a favorite for tourists from Europe. We arrived on Friday morning and relaxed by the one of the many pools and walked the beach throughout the day. Saturday we ventured into Sharm to visit Na’ama Bay to do a little sightseeing and shopping. The Old Market has many unique shops where bargaining on the cost of items is the norm. Having lived here now for nearly two years, we have a pretty good idea of what thing should cost. It was not unusual to find items starting out at outrageous prices. For instance, Pat looked at tops that ordinarily sell for 25 to 40 L.E. Shopkeepers would start out their pricing at 300 to 400 L.E. In some instances, they probably get that price from unsuspecting tourist.

We stayed at the Jaz Mirabel Beach, an all inclusive resort directly on the Red Sea. Rooms were spacious, food plentiful and the service was good. In the evening, the moon was almost in an ideal location rising up over the sea almost directly in the center of the resort. The area around Sharm has really grown over the past twenty years. Nearly every major hotel chain has some sort of resort and they just keep building. Like Hurghada and Marsa Matrouh, Sharm gives visitors an entirely different picture of Egypt. It seems much more Western than most of Egypt. Most all of the shops and resorts are staffed by men – it was unusual to see women even on the streets unless they were tourist.

Sunday, March 16

We have a little shop on the street behind our apartment that we often purchase water and snacks at. It is a multi-generational family business. They open early in the morning around 7:00 and stay open late into the evening. Many families in the neighborhood rely on stores such as these for the necessities of life. The economy in Egypt is really struggling now (as it seems to be in the US). Of course, those who are most affected by this are people who can least afford it. Prices for staple food items have risen three to four times what they once were. It really makes it difficult for these small business owners. They depend almost entirely on their regular neighborhood customers. Those that can easily afford the rise in prices shop at the malls such as San Steffano, Green Plaza or Carrefour where they can enjoy a Starbucks coffee after shopping. The neighborhood shop owner must keep his prices barely above cost in order to move his stock. In some cases, they will carry credit on their loyal customers until the customer can afford to pay them. It is ironic because our student council is proposing a Starbucks outlet at our school for lunch and breaks. Apparently Starbucks is willing to come into the school and provide this service for our students. Anyway we hope the economy turns around here soon – it is such a hardship for the majority of people here.

Friday, March 07

It has been very busy at school the past few weeks. The head of school and his wife returned to the campus after a very successful recruiting trip to the states. We had ten vacancies to fill and they were successful in filling all ten positions. Part of their presentation including a PowerPoint presentation that one of my students developed. Alaa is a “service” student who comes to me three periods a week (for an hour and fifteen minutes each). She works on the school website and takes on special projects such as the recruiting presentation. This was quite a task for her as she sorted through hundreds of photos, trying to select ones that would accurately reflect the school and the culture of Egypt. The presentation displayed an overview of the school, the elementary school, middle school and high school, student activities, staff life, the school facilities, school activities, life in Alex and Egypt and the Schutz family. All in all, it runs nearly 15 minutes in length and is bound to bring a smile and sometimes a tear to the eyes of anyone who watches it. I am a bit biased, but Alaa did a wonderful job. Not all of our students demonstrate the qualities that we would like to see – this no different than any other school. It is so refreshing to have students like Alaa who represent all the best that we strive for in education. She is a self-motivated, hard working, problem-solving student who thrives on accepting challenges She does have one character-flaw that our good friend Denny from last year and I have worked diligently on – and she is now beginning to understand the importance of Iowa and especially the Hawkeyes as the picture shows! She can even tell you who Nile Kinnick was!!