Yesterday we were invited to the home of a couple who live in our neighborhood. I had met the man several weeks ago at the barber shop in our neighborhood where I go and we struck up a conversation. He asked me at that time to assist him with a computer problem that he was having. Last weekend Pat and I met him on a walk and he asked us to come to his home to meet his family for tea. This was one of the most enjoyable experiences we have had in our two years here.
The family lives about two blocks from the school. As we have said before, our school is located in a lower working class neighborhood. Most of the buildings are several stories high with a business located on the ground floor and apartments in the upper stories. The family (Hosney and Eman and their three children, Ahmed (3rd grade), Mohamed (1st grade) and Sara (4 years old) live in a 6 room apartment along with Eman’s mother on the 2nd floor of the building where the barber shop is. The two boys attend a government school (like our public school). They are learning English in this school although their primary instruction is in Arabic. The parents are also studying English because they want to come to the United States later this year. Hosney has several brothers and sisters who have immigrated to the States and are encouraging him to bring his family as they feel there are more opportunities for them in America.
Our visit with them was probably the first time any “Westerners” had been in their building to visit. We were greeted very warmly and enjoyed our time with them. It gave us an opportunity to speak firsthand with “typical” Egyptians – you learn so much more about their culture and life style in a conversation such as this. The children showed us their school books and one of the boys read to Pat. The little girl was very frightened of us when we first came and would not come out of the bedroom for quite a while. Finally her mother brought her out and held her until she got accustomed to our voices. By the time we were ready to leave – she was smiling at us.
The mother-in-law made us tea. She couldn’t speak any English so her daughter would translate to us what she was saying. She was so pleased that we would come to their home and spend time with them. Often in our conversation, they would explain to us how the Islamic religion governed how they live their life. For instance, when they want to make major purchases, they must either pay cash entirely or make arrangements to pay in installments with the person or business they are dealing with. So if they want to buy an apartment, they have to have all of the money to buy it – they do not go to the bank for a loan. With the rise in prices here in Egypt, it is getting much more difficult for the typical Egyptian to make ends meet.
We had a wonderful time with this family and look forward to visiting with them again. In fact, when our daughter and grandson come over in June, we are to contact them and visit them again. It will be a really neat experience for our daughter and grandson the meet them and for their children to speak with an American boy about their own age.
Egypt is a very fascinating country to visit, there are so many historical sites to see. We have certainly enjoyed the Pyramids, the Valley of the Kings and the trips to resorts such as Sharm El Sheik, Hurghada, and the North Coast. But interacting with the people is what has made this the neat experience that it has been for us. Our visit with this local family will leave a lasting impression on us as much as seeing the Pyramids
