March 30

Those world famous travelers, the Camel-lots, arrived in Alexandria on Friday after a whirlwind tour 24 hour tour of Jordan. In Jordan, they visited the Dead Sea and Mt. Nebo (Moses’ last stop). They arrived in Alexandria around 4:45 PM so we were able to return back to Schutz for the evening meal. That evening we settled everyone into their apartments and then journeyed out into the neighborhoods for an up close look at everyday life in Alexandria. Friday nights are pretty lively in our area so the girls got a chance to see the various shops open and bustling with activity. Normally when Pat and I walk in the area, we no longer draw much attention as the shopkeepers are used to seeing us but tonight with six of us, we did attract a many stares and the typical welcomes (“Welcome to Egypt and Welcome to my country”). The area we went (Bakos) boasts a lively evening market place that is packed with the locals. It is usually not an area where tourist will travel so a group featuring a Western man and five Western women (including a blonde!) really stand out. Overall the people greeted our family very warmly, with many smiles and friendly voices.

Saturday we spent most of the morning giving the girls a tour of the school. During the afternoon, Pat had a baby shower to attend and the travelers needed some time to rest before we took on another evening stroll. This time we headed down Schutz Street and stopped by the pharmacy and the barber shop so they could meet some of the locals who have taken care of us over the past three years. Following this, we headed to San Steffano for a look at the “other side” of Alex. We stopped at Starbucks and enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate overlooking the Mediterranean before heading back home for a few games of cards.



I headed back to work on Sunday while Pat accompanied the Camel-lots to St. Mark’s for a two hour church service, a tour of the famous Bibliotech and a relaxing lunch along the Med at Fresca’s. In the evening we enjoyed a few more games of cards and then Ruth Ann, Diane, Linda and I went out for “shopping walk.” We took a little different way home so they could see a few more of the little nooks and crannies of the side streets. From the outside, many of the streets look the same, but when you actually walk the area you find the each one is unique with their own personalities. Even though the city has over 6,000,000 people, it is like a small town because the majority of people will spend most of their lives in their neighborhood, rarely venturing out. We did get to see a basket being lowered down to the street near one of our local shops with a list of items for the shopkeeper to fill and send back up.

Today the Camel-lots will be touring Alexandria, visiting Quit Bay, Pompey’s Pillar, the Roman Amphitheater and the Catacombs. The weather looks good and I’m sure they will have another interesting day.

March 27

Last evening we visited our Egyptian family friends to celebrate their daughter’s (Sarah) 5th birthday. Earlier in the week, the mother (Eman) stopped by the school to give Pat with a present in honor of Egyptian Mothers Day. During the week, we went shopping for a present for Sarah and also for two gifts for Eman and her mother. We looked all around, unsure what to buy, not knowing what would be considered appropriate or not. We finally decided on scarves as both Grandma and Eman are scarved.

We arrived at 7:00 PM on Thursday evening for the celebration. In addition to Hosny, Eman, Grandma and the three children (Ahmed, Mohammed and Sarah), Eman’s sister who lives across the street and her three children were also there. We had a wonderful time visiting with them and enjoying the birthday celebration. Everyone brought gifts for Sarah and helped her unwrap the presents. “Happy Birthday” was sung in both English and Arabic and there was cake, rolls, cookies, jello, sandwiches, soda and tea.

Eman’s sister who lives across the street lives in an apartment house with her husband and children. Her husband has 7 brothers and 1 sisters. They also live in the apartment house along with their children. Some of the children are older and are away at college. It is not unusual for families to share an apartment house. In this type of arrangement, the children have “built-in” playmates. There can be conflicts but for the most part, the families prefer this arrangement.

Spending time with the El Gazar family has been one of the most rewarding experiences for us while teaching overseas. We have learned much about the culture and lifestyle of the typical citizens of this warm and hospitable country.

March 21

Spring is arriving on the shores of the Mediterranean. Temperatures are warming up a little and the rain is ending. Over the past two weekends, workers have been trimming trees and bushes and planting flowers. The campus really looks nice.

A few weeks ago we received shipment of 54 new computer workstations for staff. We have them all set up now and have been busy cleaning up the old machines. We have placed some of the old machines back in the classrooms for teachers who wanted extra workstations for their students. The remainder of the old machines we offered to our workers at a very low price. They were snatched up as quickly as you would see items in an after Thanksgiving sale in the states. For many, the chance to buy a computer from a retail store would be way to expensive so when we made this offer, it became affordable for them. We have a waiting list for the next round – hopefully we will be able to find some funds to purchase some additional machines for our upper school library.

Last evening we went out to movie and supper with another couple – we hadn’t been out for a couple of weeks and it is nice to get off campus. Traffic was especially heavy as this weekend is the Egyptian Mothers Day Weekend and the crowds were very large. It has been a busy time for staff recently with conferences, meetings and other events and many of the staff have been relaxing in their apartments and trying to catch their second wind before the rush of the end of the quarter in two weeks.


We are very excited as we have guests arriving in less than a week. Pat’s sisters and two of her cousins are making their first trip to the land of the sun. We have been busy making plans for their stay here. We will do many of the regular tourist type things (visiting the Pyramids, touring Cairo, shopping in the Kahn, etc) but we will also able to give them a first-hand look at the everyday culture of this wonderful country. They will walk the streets, ride the trams and taxis, meet locals and enjoy an insider’s view of living in a foreign country. They are scheduled to arrive next Friday inshallah.

March 02

Our little corner of the world has become a little less safe. Over the weekend, a few couples went to Cairo to enjoy the three day weekend. They were in the area of the Khan el-Khalili, the famous shopping market bazaar – one of the oldest in this part of the world. The Khan is a favorite stopping place for tourists and is always very busy. A couple of weeks ago, persons on motorcycle (cars are banned in the area), tossed a bomb into a crowd of tourists – actually students from France. One person was killed and seventeen others were injured. Obviously security in the area was tightened and no one really gave much thought to anything else that might happen. Well, this time it struck really close to home as one of our teachers was attacked by a man with a knife. Fortunately, the teacher was able to fend him off without serious damage. He was cut in the face and had to have 5 stitches. The man was quickly wrestled to the ground and carted off by the police. Supposedly he had been recently released from a mental facility. His motives for the attack were his dislike of the events that have been happening in Gaza, blaming Westerners for the unrest in the Middle East.

During a typical week, our school website receives approximately 3,000 hits. On Sunday we received nearly double the average for a day. The article about the attack mentions that the teacher was from an “American school in Alexandria” and visitors to our website searched in Google and Yahoo for the phrase “American school in Alexandria.” We hope this is not an indication that the mood in Egypt toward Westerners is changing. Times are tough here with an economic crisis and unemployment over 20%. The country is in a difficult position, an Arab Muslim country that is also on good terms with Israel and often serves as a peace broker in the area. We’ve not noticed any change in Alexandria, but students tell us that the overall crime rate is rising due to the tough economic times.

The weather continues to be a bit nasty. Saturday evening the rains were heavy and we even had lightning and thunder. In fact, our school internet router was hit and we were without service for about 12 hours. Hopefully the weather will clear up and warm temperatures will return.